The Legends Basketball program is a competitive youth basketball club started by Paul Heinsohn , a member of the Xaverian High School basketball coaching staff and the son of Boston Celtics Legend Tommy Heinsohn.

The New England Legends club is an AAU sanctioned organization that exists to provide a fully integrated premier youth basketball program for boys and girls of New England, ages 10 to 18.

We seek to identify dedicated and gifted young players in our geographic area, form them into teams, and then teach and train them so that they can reach their maximum potential as players. A significant part of this process is helping these young boys and girls to develop a love for the game of basketball and derive a sense of joy in playing it. We believe that if a child develops a true passion for the game and sees it as fun, they are more likely to do all of the things necessary to go on and become a standout player at whatever level they strive for.

The accomplishment of our mission is simple in concept: secure the most knowledgeable teachers of the game in the area, and provide them with all the organizational support necessary to do their job. It is for the realization of this accomplishment that the club - as an entity separate from the teams - exists.

The development a player is a long process, requiring consistency and coordination by all staff over a number of years. A child entering the program at age 8 or 9, along with his or her parents, must be able to see in the Legends the stability and permanence it will take to emerge successfully as a young man or woman 10 or 11 years later. We believe that a single team, hung around one or two individuals, cannot serve this mission; only the club as a whole can.

The club should support the mission in the following ways:

• Provide forums for coaches to learn from, help and evaluate each other and each other's players, that also allow the coaches to influence the directions and policies of the association;
• Provide courts and facilities equal to the development and competition goals of the coaches and players;
• Provide directly, though training clinics, camps, tournaments and year round training, a program structure in which coaches and players can accomplish our mission;
• Influence, at the local and state level, the development of leagues and other playing circumstances, the improvement of officiating and the progress of youth basketball in general to provide competition for our members.

AAU stands for the Amateur Athletic Union. The Amateur Athletic Union is a national organization dedicated to amateur sports and physical fitness programs. From their web site:

"The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States & dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs."

Competitive club teams like ours are sometimes referred to as "AAU Teams" because the AAU is the organization we join to get secondary insurance for practice and games. We have to become members of the AAU to enter AAU sanctioned tournaments. There are other sports organizations, like BCI (Basketball Congress International) and MAYB (Mid America Youth Basketball), but the AAU is the largest and best organized.

The AAU basketball scene is unregulated. You do not have to possess any special qualifications or even basketball knowledge to start a team. All that is required is the payment of the membership fee. This creates an environment ripe for all sorts of problems and unfulfilled expectations.

Generally at any given AAU tournament you can see both the best and worst in youth basketball on display. While you will certainly find some outstanding individual players and teams, you will also see an equal number of horrendous players and teams as well. At one point or another you’ll also run across just about every negative stereotype you can imagine from over the top coaches and parents to prima dona athletes. On the whole, however, the level of competition will be the highest available.

One of the issues that has emerged with youth sports in general is the real reduction in individual, self-directed, practice and the limitations that places on the development of a child’s sports skills. The reality is that children today just do not go out and play sports like they did in prior generations and as a result it is rare for a kid to spend hours doing things like shooting a basketball or kicking a ball. A consequence of this is they are not getting nearly enough practice repetitions to perfect the fundamentals of their particular sport and are not developing like athletes of prior generations.

In today’s world, organized programs have emerged as the cornerstone of the typical child’s sports experience. For the most part, these organizations are community based and chartered to provide all of the children within that community with the opportunity to participate in a particular sport. These organizations are largely staffed by volunteers who may or may not have experience in the sport they are involved with. A consequence of this is things like expectations and coaching quality can be widely varied within a typical community based sports program

A club sports program is a much different type of organization than a community based one. First and foremost, the coaches typically are paid for their services and as such there is an expectation of knowledge and coaching ability. More is expected from the coaches as well as from the players. When a child joins such a program, the focus is more on their development and performance than simply their participation. Not only are coaches expected to be able to teach the sport, the players are expected to actively work towards improving their game.

Since there are no real geographic limitations to a club sports program, the quality of the players in it is generally higher. As a result the teams are usually much more competitive than one from a normal community based program.

The three biggest expenditures your typical AAU program have are for tournament entrance fees, gym rentals, and coaching staff stipends. In most cases, a town basketball program is staffed with parents who volunteer their time and the town usually gives them usage of a school gym for little or no cost because they are a civic group. The league entrance fees are typically quite reasonable.

Since the Legends draw players from many cities and towns they are not considered a civic group and don't qualify for any sort of discount on gym rentals. In recent years most municipalities have had to turn to user fees to close budget gaps. As a result the typical cost of renting a school gym has risen significantly. Usually a municipality charges a fee to rent the gym and also passes through a fee for a janitor to be on site while you use the gym. The cost to rent a gym now typically ranges from $50-75 an hour

Basketball tournaments are usually money making ventures for the organizers so they are usually expensive to enter. The average cost for an AAU tournament is roughly $400 for four games. As a rule of thumb, the better the facilities and event organization, the higher the cost.

As with any club sport organization, the New England Legends pays coaches to train players and coach teams. Our coaches are professionals who not only understand the game of basketball but also have the demonstrated ability to transfer that knowledge to young players. The rate at which they are compensated at is competitive with what they customarily earn, but by no measure excessive for a part time job.

Register and come to the tryouts. The Legends have open tryouts in late February and each player has a chance to make one of the teams. No player is guaranteed a spot on a team. Players are selected not only on the basis of the individual skill but positional needs as well. Coaches may also use other settings where they have seen the player as a part of the evaluation process. Players are encouraged to make all the tryouts so that the coaches can evaluate them fairly.

There is normally 1 team of fourteen (14) players per age group that is selected by ability level during the tryouts. Where there is demand for more than one team in a particular age bracket, a developmental team may be added to assist those players in building their skills for the highest levels of competition and groom them to help the competitive team in the future.

For girls, the cut off date used for determining the lowest age group a player may participate in is January 1^st.  That said, a player may play down an age group if on March 1^st, they are in the grade associated with the age group (e.g., 14U/9th) and have a properly completed AAU grade exception form. To determine the proper age group for girls AAU Basketball click here for the girls AAU web site age group calculator.

For boys, the cut off date used for determining the lowest age group a player may participate in is September 1^st.  That said, a player may play down an age group if on March 1^st, they are in the grade associated with the age group (e.g., 14U/9th) and have a properly completed AAU grade exception form. To determine the proper age group for boys AAU Basketball click here for the boys AAU web site age group calculator.

The AAU recognizes the following age divisions, though not all tournaments sponsor competition in all divisions.

It is expected that a player will make all the games and practices. There are always conflicts and we understand but players need to understand that absences disrupt the team and are unfair to the player’s coaches and teammates. Communication with the coaches is crucial about these items. A player has to be able to make significant tournaments where team ranking can be affected.

The Legends basketball program lasts for approximately eight (8) months. It consists of three (3) sessions:

• Fall Pre-Season – September and October
• AAU Season - March through June Summer
• Post-Season – July and August

During the eight month program you can expect to have somewhere around 50 practices and play in about 30 games.

• During the Fall Pre-Season session there will be one practice a week and the team will participate in a fall league. Expect one game a week. The team will also participate in one to two AAU tournaments on selected weekends during this time frame.
• During the AAU Season there are at least two practices during the week and the team will participate in between 4 to 6 tournaments on weekends during this time frame. Depending upon the age of the team and its competitive level, the team may elect to play in Spring basketball league or participate in more tournaments.
• During the Summer Post-Season session there will be one practice a week and the team will participate in a Summer league. Expect one game a week.

Tournaments are almost always played on the weekends. Local tournaments are usually in and around Boston. Out of town games are usually in neighboring New England states. About half the time, we have a game on Friday. The bulk of the games are on Saturday and if we're still winning or the tournament has a minimum game guarantee, we will play on Sunday. Expect to play in at least three games per tournament per team and but it is possible to play as many as seven games in a tournament.

The rules of a tournament are determined by the organization sanctioning the tournament. If I decide I want to put on a tournament and I want pre-packaged insurance and a set of rules for play, for a fee, I can get my tournament sanctioned or approved by several different sports organizations. Or, if I want to do everything myself, I can make my own rules and get my own insurance. Unlike volleyball and baseball, basketball does not have a dominate organization that sanctions the majority of the tournaments. All the basic rules and fouls are consistent in different tournaments but things like how the clock runs, halves or quarters, or number of games are usually different. It's all still basketball and not really a big problem except for parents like me who yell at the clock person to run the clock because it's a running clock, right? No, darn it, that was the last tournament!

Our program is focused on the development of the individual basketball player and not on winning tournaments nor titles. Tournaments can be expensive, physically grueling, and time consuming and do not necessarily support the mission of player development. With this in mind we use participation in various leagues to provide a more consistent competitive environment. Generally speaking the leagues will be at some local venue and typically offer games on one night a week.

There is no way to guarantee any athlete will achieve success. There are so many variables ranging from injuries to intensity level to system that can affect the success of any one player. Playing for any competitive club team can give an athlete some of the most important things in improving their game: touch, game time and confidence. The more a player touches a basketball by dribbling, passing and shooting in both games and in practice the better they'll become. The more time they spend in real games with the clock running, with teammates relying on them and fans and parents watching, the better they'll become. They will also build confidence by being able to push themselves and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes without the fear of playing in front of their classmates at school. All those extra touches and game time help them reach more of their potential faster. Everyone has a God given maximum potential. Playing club basketball won't make a child 7 feet tall or as fast as an Olympic sprinter but don't think that playing school basketball for a few months of each year is enough to help a basketball player reach their potential.

The AAU is the most competitive form of basketball in America for school age players. The top AAU teams are usually better than the top school ball teams because the top AAU teams are school All-star teams. Even the middle level AAU teams are very competitive. This is not to be confused with Town Travel or even Rec Ball. Playing time in the AAU is earned.

Most teams have a 14 or 15 player roster, but few coaches and teams have a 14 or 15 player rotation. Coaches have to play the top eight players a lot for them to develop and for them to develop a rhythm in any particular game. The starters are not always the biggest or fastest or even necessarily the best five players on the team. Playing time is earned through:

• Practice attendance;
• Working hard;
• Willingness to be a team player;
• Overall attitude & work ethic:
• Skill level.

We can not build a team if one of our main players misses a lot of practices, or if one or more are lazy, selfish or unwilling to work on their fundamentals. In such cases, Legend coaches will not hesitate to give somebody, even with lesser talent, a chance to take over. There are no starters when we break camp. All players will be given a chance, and we'll go with a main rotation of players that we think will help us be the best team possible. Again, that is not the "hot shot" with Legend, as we frown on players that would rather play one on five basketball, than to get their team mates involved.