Christine Brissette recently completed her first full grassroots basketball parenting journey, watching as her oldest daughter, Izzy Adams, grew into a Division 1 prospect with Mass Premier, the Honey Badgers and finally MCW Starz.
At the end of the summer season, Brissette joined several other parents for a dinner where they reflected on their years spent in AAU. Would they do it all over again? She said yes, but the answers were mixed, and the table talk was honest.
“At the end of the day, your daughter is playing, doing her passion, and hopefully going to school for free or close to it,” Brissette said. “And sometimes I don't know — like, the amount of money we put into it, I probably could have paid for two or three years of most colleges.”
AAU basketball participation has become an expectation for anyone hoping to play at a high level. That plus scholastic hoops creates a near-year-round calendar that demands time, effort and a significant financial investment. The question for many families becomes: How early am I supposed to hop on this AAU train?
