IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PLAYING ON A CAROLINA ELITE SPONSORED TEAM, PLEASE USE THE PLAYER EVALUATION REQUEST FORM, AND YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE APPROPRIATE COACH. WE TYPICALLY DO NOT HOLD TRYOUTS AS MOST TEAMS ARE MOSTLY FILLED. HOWEVER, WE DO ADD PLAYERS WHEN POSITIONS BECOME AVAILABLE.
Here is a summary of annual travel ball activities-
Fall Ball (short season) September - October
Players train 1-2x per week and participate in regional invitational events that help players stay sharp for upcoming school ball season.
Winter Training (school ball season) November - February
CE players tend to train 1-2x per week in the gaps when they are not asked to be at their school ball functions. Training sessions are supplemental to school team practices and tend to be skill specific for each individual player to help them maximize their personal impact in school ball games.
Spring Showcase Season (regular season) February - May
Teams tend to train 1-2x per week and participate in frequent regional events or circuit play that allows their team to become eligible for state and national championships. Most CE teams will schedule 8-10 tournaments during AAU season
LIVE Viewing Season (showcase season) May - July
Teams tend to train 1-2x per week and participate in national level showcase events. These events generally are 3-6 days and cost more because of the costs to have NCAA coaches present viewing prospective players for their schools.
What is different about CE travel teams?
We don't believe that AAU level basketball is right for all kids. We limit our travel team players to those that demonstrate the potential to compete at the top of the sport.
We build our teams in such a way that they can win tournaments if they play their best and execute on what they have been taught. A vast majority of young players are not skilled enough (or in some cases, not big enough, or athletic enough) to compete at the higher levels. There are many great programs in our area for these kids to play at less competitive levels.
How important is winning to CE?
Our primary goal is to win hearts for Christ. Inside the game of competitive basketball, coaches build lasting and meaningful relationships with kids. We see a clear path to using these relationships to mentor and teach young adults about life skills and about Christ.
We have found that our unique Christian sports message within the competitive basketball community is not really heard unless we put teams on the court that can compete at the highest level. So, we play to win. But, we play with humility, grace, and love for all, regardless if we win or lose on the court.
How much does it cost to play AAU travel ball?
Each team sets its own budget based on how much they want to practice, how many tournaments they want to participate in, how far they feel they need to travel to play the appropraite level games, how much gear they want, etc. Typically, total costs per player per year is about $300-$800. CE trys to fundraise and use sponsors to assist families that cannot afford these costs. Each coach can provide more specific information for his/her team.
If you are interested in playing on one of our travel teams, please email coach Lyn Adams for more information at Lyn@CarolinaEliteBasketball.org