STACK AAU Tryout FAQs
1. How
many games & practices does STACK offer per season?
(Excludes Summer)
STACK
offers more games and practices than most, if not all other AAU programs in the
area. We are able to do this because we have our own facility and are dedicated
to giving our players the best basketball experience possible. That being said,
we play between 13-16 games and have between 20-25 practices, skills sessions
or sports performance training sessions per season. (Season about 3 months) All
you have to do is check the competition and see that STACK offers much more
basketball and a way better experience to our players!
2. How
do the age requirements for STACK teams work?
We have
recently moved our team age requirements to be in line with the New Jersey AAU
rules. Your son or daughter is now eligible to tryout for the age team they are
as of August 31st. If a player is in a grade but eligible to play
for the younger grade I will discuss with the parents and player to make sure
he/she is on the best team to develop. Basically leaving the decision up to the
player or parent on whether they will play with a grade down but still their
age or just play with players in their current grade.
3.
How
do you work the schedule because we have a lot going on?
AT
STACK we are fully conscious of the fact that most families are very busy and
trying to fit a lot in for their kids. We do our best to schedule around all
requests made by our parents and players. We also offer a huge benefit for our
players and that is to allow them to come to other teams practices. At STACK we
teach the same philosophy, structured offense and defensive strategies to all
teams from 4th grade and up. This allows players to come to any
practice that is on the STACK Program Schedule in case a player misses one with
their own team or needs some extra work to learn. We also have developed our
own scheduling and alerting platform called HoopAlert to keep all parents as organized as
possible when dealing with the STACK Basketball Schedule.
4.
Why
have you decided to have tryouts vs. having sign ups for STACK?
I am
trying to raise the level of seriousness in the STACK Basketball Program. I
want to organize the players based on commitment level, skill level and the
town they live in. This will hopefully lead to a better attendance at practice
and games, which will ultimately lead to STACK getting to the next level
locally.
5.
Will
you be cutting any players?
I have
said it from when I first started coaching STACK and continue to believe that I
will always find a spot on a team who wants to play for me.
6.
Will
there be A and B teams at each grade level?
Not
necessarily. Many players come to STACK from certain town travel teams who want
to stay together. I will do my best to keep these players together to help them
prepare for their travel season. I will be trying to put the most skilled and
committed players on a team but if one of those players is coming with a group
of travel players from a town, then he will be given the option of which team
to be on and have to make a decision. I
will be completely focused on putting players will they will get the most
opportunity to develop and help build the STACK program.
7.
Do
all players have to attend tryouts and how many?
ALL
players whether you have played STACK in the past or not should attend AT LEAST
ONE tryout. There are 2 dates available for players to attend and like the town
travel programs expect their players to attend tryouts STACK does too. I would encourage ALL players to attend as
many of the tryouts as they can. If for some extreme reason a player cannot
attend any of the 3 dates for tryouts please contact me.
8.
What
has motivated you to have tryouts for STACK?
The
main reason is to raise the level of our practices so we can take STACK to the
next level. I am also trying to avoid players missing practice for other
basketball programs in the area. In my opinion (and maybe I am biased) what is
being taught at STACK is one of the best ways to play basketball that I have
seen for youth in the area. I am not quite sure why a player would want to skip
an STACK practice or game for another basketball program (excluding their town
teams) but maybe they are just misinformed to how you really get better at
basketball and learning how to play is better then just playing. I am hoping
tryouts will send a message that STACK is a serious basketball opportunity.
9.
What
is the difference between the tryout days and registration day?
Like
your town travel programs you have tryout dates. Then when you find out your
team you then register for the program by filling out paper work and paying the
fee. The registration day is a 3-hour window players can come to fill out the
forms, try on a uniform and pay the fee. If you cannot make the registration
day then other options will be made available via Internet or mail.
10.
Are
the STACK tryouts different from the normal STACK teams?
There
is only one STACK program and the tryouts are just a change to the original
process of signing up for STACK.
11.
Do 1st
and 2nd graders have to tryout?
No. 1st
and 2nd graders just sign up.
12.
Will
any of the STACK teams get any more or less than other teams?
All
STACK teams will have the same amount of practices, games, skill sessions and
sports performance training. I will look to schedule games that are most
competitive for our teams to play. So some teams may play against different
teams and tournaments but all will get the same amount of games. Ryan Tremblay
and his assistants will still coach all teams. So all players will get plenty
of work with Ryan Tremblay in practices and games. All of the same
philosophies, offenses and defenses will be taught to all participants of the
STACK program.
13.
Will
there still be equal playing time on all STACK Teams?
As
always getting our players court time is one of our top priorities. That being
said the coach does have some discretion to playing time when the game is in
the balance down the stretch. In a game where the coach uses discretion players
are still playing 12-15 min of the game minimum. This may happen 1-2 per
season, if that.
14.
Is
the $20 tryout fee good for all tryout sessions?
Yes. Players are encouraged
to come to all of the sessions and they can get a good workout at each one.
15. What
are some important things we look for from players in Tryouts?
The most important thing
STACK is looking for from players is their level of commitment, ability to
listen and to work hard. The highest-level teams at STACK will demand a total
commitment to attending practices and games over other sports they play. That
being said STACK does have teams where practices can be missed without penalty
or deduction in playing time in games. | 
