View from the street: What does iHoops mean to youth basketball?

Still a relative newcomer onto the AAU and travel basketball scene, iHoops is gathering steam quickly (keep an eye out for their commercial).  If you haven’t heard of them, you will soon.

However, as is customary when any new entity is formed, iHoops was met in large part with skepticism.  Last summer I did a piece questioning the organization, and while I was hoping for a response, that’s where the dialog stayed until a couple weeks ago.  That’s when I was contacted by a parent/coach who had direct experience with iHoops, and lived to tell the tale.  While everybody has their opinion, I felt it was appropriate to share the other side of the story.

So, like them, loathe them, or undecided, here is the educated perspective of an iHoops veteran.  Which is more than I can say at this point.

I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments.

As a coach, iHoops.com means to me: resources

iHoops.com provides online basketball resources for coaches of all levels and abilities, while also filling the need to communicate with others in the field in an online forum. These online resources aren’t limited to coaches, but are available to referees, parents and players as well, with an emphasis respective to their position.

In the future, iHoops.com will offer certification that will attempt to set a precedent for acceptable coaching and refereeing in the U.S. that will coexist with the state’s current education and certification programs. With information, certification and education available to coaches, parents, referees and players, as well as the promotion of youth basketball events, within five years I can imagine a large iHoops.com presence in the current youth basketball system.  This idea is helped by a look at iHoops’ current partnerships, including the NBA, NCAA, AAU, USA Basketball, Right Guard, Nike and Adidas.

Another example of the resources available at iHoops.com is social networking. I follow iHoops.com on Twitter and added them as a friend on my Facebook. Every day I receive new tweets about drills for dribbling, shooting and other basketball related media. An example of a normal day would be on February 16th, 2010 I received the following tweets with links from @iHoopsTweets:

• Eight drills to help you gain confidence and agility to handle a basketball in a power dribble.
• We are very excited to announce @usabasketball as an official program partner of iHoops.
• Have you seen this? Barak Obama does play by play at Georgetown – Duke hoops game.

While not every bit of information shared is necessary or relevant, it keeps coming and gets your mind thinking basketball all the time (which is never a bad thing). What more would you want as a person with a passion for basketball and who wants to grow their knowledge of the game.

As a parent, iHoops.com means to me: organization

There are so many entities promoting basketball — from the Boys and Girls Club and AAU, to private club teams and scholastic teams — that it is sometimes overwhelming. It could take a year or more to find a program that you like, can afford, fits in everyone’s schedule and is consistent.

For example, Phoenix Youth Basketball Club is one of many leagues, classes and other basketball events, such as the iHoops Skills Challenge, in the Phoenix area.  Where the player lives almost dictates what basketball programs are available to him or her, unless the player’s family has resources to travel — making money a bigger contributing factor to the player’s development and opportunity.

iHoops.com will be using one of its partners, AAU, for structuring its educational system and programming efforts. Current AAU teams will see the immediate impact from iHoops.com’s influence, while basketball clubs and other programs will all be able to join the current AAU system to enjoy the benefits of national continuity. iHoops’ goal is to organize a consistent AAU product throughout the country.

As a parent I am looking forward to AAU organized leagues with iHoops.com certified coaches and referees for my player’s competitive and recreational leagues. With a brand name product, as a consumer I would feel more comfortable with the product that I’m purchasing.

• Steven E. Perez
  Owner/Head Coach PYBC
  www.phxhoops.net

So with that I’ll toss it to the peanut gallery.  What do you guys think?

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