AAU/Club Teams

BLAZERS – A LEADING AAU/CLUB PROGRAM WEST OF BOSTON, MA

SPRING 2026 PROGRAM OPTIONS AND SCHEDULE:

Based on our experience, we've created a few different club team options that consider families' schedules and where basketball stands on a player's list of sports priorities. You'll find some detail for these options on the registration form where you'll specify your preferred option, but here's a summary:
Spring/Summer National Teams: These teams play in very competitive tournaments, both within and outside of New England. Practices begin in early to mid March (2 team practices per week) and the team will play in 8-9 tournaments, stretching into July. In the spring, the team will play in a combination of tournaments in and outside of the Boston area (to ensure a variety of competitive opponents) and will participate in at least 2 Showcase tournaments in the summer. National Team players will also participate in our unique Shooting Academy - bringing a professional focus to improving their shot mechanics and shooting proficiency. Pricing is based on the exact schedule for each team. The pricing and general schedule for each team will be defined in offers.
Spring Tournament Teams: These teams play tournaments/games against other local and New England based club teams. Practices begin in early to mid March (2 team practices per week) and teams will play games on 6-7 weekends from the end of March until late May. Generally there are 2-4 games per weekend that are all within driving distance (generally 20-45 minutes and rarely over 1hr). Pricing is roughly $850 - $950 based on team level and extent of schedule. The practice schedule and pricing for each team will be defined in offers. Many of our Spring Tournament Team players also play at least one outdoor spring sport, so we "front load" our spring program schedule, doing most of it during the "mud season", to enable our players to also participate in other spring sports.
Spring Trail Blazers Teams: This has become a very popular program as Trail Blazers teams play "in-house" games that provide schedule certainty for both practices/games. Teams will have 2 sessions each week at the same times each week, including about 12 hours of practice time and 8-9 games. The fee for Trail Blazers team players is generally about 2/3 that of a tournament team player. The practice/game schedule and pricing for each team will be defined in offers. Trail Blazers players need to attend tryouts and team availability/formation is based on the number of players in each gender/grade that try out.
Practice Players: For players that want to practice with a tournament team but will not be available to attend weekend tournament games. This arrangement would be finalized once it's clear the scheduled practice days will work for the player. The fee for a practice player is generally about 2/3 that of a regular player on that tournament team.

SPRING 2026 TRYOUT SCHEDULE:

Tryouts will be held in Southborough at either St. Mark's School or The Fay School. The Tentative schedule is below - exact times/locations will be finalized (and emailed to those registered) based on registration counts in each grade, but in most cases the final time should be within 45 minutes of the stated time below:**  Please be sure to read the Tryout FAQs accessible via the link at the top of the Tryout Registration Form.

BOYS' SCHEDULE as of 12/17/25 (other sessions may be added):
Boys Grade 3:* Sat 1/10 @ 12:00-1:30PM AND Mon 1/19 @ 3:45-5:00PM
Boys Grade 4: Sat 1/10 @ 12:00-1:30PM OR Mon 1/12 @ 6-7:20PM***
Boys Grade 5: Sat 1/10 @ 1:15-2:45PM OR Mon 1/12 @ 6-7:30PM***
Boys Grade 6: Sat 1/10 @ 2:30-4:00PM OR Mon 1/12 @ 7:20-8:40PM***
Boys Grade 7: Sat 1/10 @ 12:15-1:45PM
Boys Grade 8: Sat 1/10 @ 1:30-3:00PM OR Mon 1/12 @ 7:30-9:00PM***
Boys Grade 9: Sat 1/10 @ 2:45-4:15PM
Boys Grade 10: Sun 1/25 @ 3:00-4:30pm
Boys Grades 11&12: Sun 1/25 @ 3:00-4:30pm

GIRLS' SCHEDULE:
Girls Grades 4-6: Mon 1/19 @ 4:00-5:15pm
Girls Grade 7&8: Mon 1/19 @ 5:00-6:30pm
Girls Grades 9-12: Mon 1/19 @ 6:15-7:45pm

Notes:
* Advanced 3rd Grade players that can comfortably play with 4th grade travel players may try out for our 4th grade program/teams
** Within a few days of each tryout session, we'll email the final times (often tweaks are made to the schedule based on the number of players in each tryout group)
*** For grades where a large number of players are trying out and we are likely to have 3 levels of teams in the grade, we often establish tryout sub-groups. This will ensure each sub-group has a reasonable number of players (so each player receives a fair evaluation) and is focused on evaluating players for one or two of the team levels. You will be notified via email of which tryout sub-group and tryout session(s) to join, and in some cases the tryout time for your subgroup would be a little different than listed above. To be clear, it really doesn't work for the player to go to the tryout session that is most convenient from a schedule standpoint, they need to come to the tryout group that most fits the team level(s) they are vying for a spot on (it can be demoralizing for your son to come to a tryout group that is overwhelming for him, and visa versa). If you register the day of the tryout and don't receive a "Details email" from us by 1 hour before the start time, please come to the gym at least 10 minutes prior to the time stated above.

Tryout Fee: $25 if registered by 1/4/26 ($30 thereafter)

Can't Make Tryouts on these dates? For guidance on what to do, please see the Tryout FAQs accessible via the link at the top of the Tryout Registration Form.

OVERVIEW OF OUR AAU/CLUB TEAM PROGRAM

Come to Play D...and put WE over ME

We have both a Fall and Spring AAU/Club Team offering.  We're passionate about delivering a high quality and comprehensive Club experience, and our primary focus is to remain the area's premier Club program.  At the heart we are innovators, not content with the status quo of club basketball in this area.  We participate in tournaments that challenge our players/team, including both AAU and non-AAU sanctioned tournaments.

Our Philosophy on Skill Development and Team Basketball:
We have a strong focus on developing fundamental skills in our players, and prepare them to go into a game ready to play smart and team oriented basketball. We love helping players see how fun and effective this style of basketball can be. To accomplish these goals, we leverage the youth basketball skill development model and curriculum that we have developed over the last 10 years, and we complement the programs we offer to help players develop individual skills with AAU/Club teams that help players develop a higher level understanding of the game and Game IQ. Unlike many clubs, we remain focused on helping our players develop the skills and mental approach that will help them in the long run, and we look to minimize time spent on tactics that many clubs focus on so their unskilled players (that lack fundamentals and a Game IQ) can win a game this weekend.

More than Just Basketball:
While we are proud of the skill development we see in our players, we are very aware that our mission extends beyond basketball. We recognize that we have an opportunity, and responsibility, to have a positive influence on the character development and maturation of the club players that participate in our program for several years. As an example, we use group volunteering to teach the value of giving back to the community (hopefully you can see some pictures on this page of several volunteering events).