AAU Scheduling Problems

#1 posting 5.16.2007
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Minnesota Reports

AAU SCHEDULING PROBLEMS
Looking at the 17u/Junior Girls D1 tournament schedule it seems the seeding process, if there was one, was screwed up or broken. According to the pools into the brackets, two of the top teams look like they are on a collision course in the QUARTERFINALS. NC Heat (pool D) and MN Stars Hested (pool B), two of the top three teams in the state, look like they are scheduled for an 11 am quarterfinal on Sunday.

I have heard more than one complaint for all the seeds in the 14u through 17u tournaments. Something isn't quite right.

If this was a blind draw it was pretty much bad luck.

If this isn't a blind draw and done on purpose then the seeding process needs to change to be transparent and open. It is a huge joke that two of the better teams play in the quarters.

Obviously this is totally unfair and wrong if you want to run a tournament that is a state qualifier. Will it change? I don't know, but every week the AAU changes the brackets on every tournament I have been to. This needs to be corrected if the AAU wants to be creditable, fair and honest. If the AAU wants to grease it for one team their reputation will suffer, teams will leave for other options.

When I was coaching in the traveling side of things every little tournament would try to stack it for themsevles to get to the finals. They would put all the powerhouses on one side so they could have a cakewalk to the finals. I expected this. I realize teams want a shiny trophy.

One time my City of Lakes Renegades opened with St. Louis Park in the quarterfinals in the St. Louis Park tournament. StLP won the State the year before as 7th graders. What they didn't know was the team I had won the 8th grade tournament the year before with three 7th graders (Kate Townley among them). They assumed we were cannon fodder. We zoomed by StLP and it was funny watching the home town folks getting more and more nervous and squirm as the game went on. It was a pretty quiet gym. We won that tournament with wins over Champlin Park in the semis and Jefferson in the finals.

GYM SPACE
Farmington will be opening a new school in the next couple of years, but they will have less space than the current HS. From the StarTribune South edition.

SUMMER LEAGUES
Champlin Park will be hosting a summer league this year. The games will run on Tuesdays starting June 12. Championships will be July 26 which is actually a Thursday.

Thanks to the readers for the great help in putting this site together. Your news and tips are extremely important in making this the unbiased source for news.

Next up: parade of states, college reports, and 2 out & abouts later today.