AAU hoops designed for fun, competition

WEST JORDAN — Braden Wellman is only 12 years old but he's already figured out why his talented AAU basketball team struggles sometimes.

"Sometimes when we're down, we start getting a little selfish," said Wellman, whose 12-and-under AAU team won the Division II sixth-grade tournament at West Jordan High last month. "We try to come back on our own."

In fact, the Flash was down at half-time against Emery and came back with a strategy the boys say is full-proof team work.

"It was hard because we were down at the half," said Brendan Bailey, 11. "We had to come out and start passing. Then we started to play better."

Harris said it was the reserve players who led the way in the championship game.

"The bench got us out of our selfishness," said Brayden Harris, 12. "They were cheering us up and cheering us on."

The boys posed for pictures in the hallway outside the Jaguar gymnasium and relished a moment they say they've been dreaming about since they started playing AAU basketball a few years ago. They accept the medals from their coaches and beam for their camera-wielding mothers.

"This is our bling," said Landon Cuff, 12, whose father, Rob Cuff is also a coach. Adds Harris, "I'm going to wear this to school."

In an era where youth sports has evolved into a business aimed at developing children into elite athletes, Utah's AAU program hopes to balance the opportunity for competition with the development of the players. Cowan said the tournaments even have separate divisions for all-star or club teams, while teams formed from junior highs and high schools compete against each other in a separate division.

"The number one thing we want is for the kids to have fun," said AAU president Dan Cowan. "That's the most important thing. We also hope it teaches them the lessons of life, like bouncing back when you're dealing with adversity, working hard and working together … These kids are having fun."

Cowan said the state's AAU organization aims first and foremost to offer basketball players a chance to compete at as high a level as their skills allow. This year 136 teams participated in the state tournament, which takes place about two weeks after the high school state tournaments.

"We want the kids to come out of here loving basketball and hoping to make their high school team someday," he said. "It's not an elite league. That's why we divide into divisions for every tournament, except the state tournament."