AAU/Club Teams

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

(See Below for Tryout Information)

BLAZERS BASKETBALL CLUB
A Unique Balance of Skill Development and Competitive Teams

Over the past 5 years, Blazers Basketball Club advanced its position as the premier Basketball Club in the area, competing in the highest level tournaments in New England, and winning more than 50 tournament championships. In many grades, we have the strongest program West of Boston, winning 5 State Championships during this time. And while we're thrilled with our tournament successes, we're most proud of the unique, comprehensive program we offer to our Club Team Players. No Club in New England delivers a better balance of individual Skill Development and competitive Game Play. While all of the games players are playing are exciting (and there are opportunities to play games year round!), youth basketball players generally lack a balance of focus on skill development and game play. We've been developing innovative methods to accelerate skill development for youth basketball players for more than 10 years, in a way that is fun for players, and with a BIG focus on helping players develop elite shooting mechanics. We now offer a comprehensive skills program, called Quantum, to our Club Team players (those playing on a Tournament Team or In-House/Trail Blazers Team in the Fall and/or Spring). If your son/daughter loves basketball and wants to distinguish themselves from the mass of players in their grade, click HERE for more information about our Quantum Skills/Shooting Program.

See below for an overview of our Club Team program and our Club Philosophy...and please check out our testimonials page.

FALL 2024 SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM OPTIONS:

FALL 2024 SCHEDULE: Almost all of our Club Team players also play at least one outdoor fall sport, so we "back load" our fall program schedule, doing more of it in late fall, to enable our players to also participate in other fall sports. Practices will start during the week of September 9th. For most of our teams, the season wraps up by the first weekend of November, generally as Travel/School team practices begin (while a few of our top teams will continue to play into November). The specific schedule for each team will be defined right after tryouts when we finalize the number of teams/gym slots/etc. and this schedule will be communicated in player offers.
FALL 2024 PROGRAM OPTIONS: 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:
Tournament Teams: These teams play tournaments/games against other club teams. Most tournament teams have 1 team practice per week on Wednesdays or Thursdays (enabling players that would like to do an additional night of skill work with us an opportunity to do that on Monday or Tuesday), while some of our more competitive teams will have 2 team practices per week. Teams will play games on 4-5 weekends from the end of September until early November. Generally there are 2-4 games per weekend that are all within driving distance, often 20-45 minutes and rarely over 1hr (some of our more competitive teams play in additional tournaments and may travel outside of MA) . Pricing for most teams is roughly $600 - $700 based on team level and extent of schedule. The practice schedule and pricing for each team will be defined in offers.
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 7-8 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 for this option.
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.

FALL 2024 MAKEUP TRYOUTS:

We have select spots available on some of our teams. Please fill out the form via the link below and we will email you to let you know if it makes sense to have you do a makeup tryout.

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).