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Competition should
not
be a dirty word! Ever since there have been living things on
the planet, there has been competition. What sports do is to
take the competition that goes on all the time in nature,
contain it, and take the life-and-death aspects out of it.
The reason why playing sports is so enjoyable is because
it’s so
natural. It takes us back to our beginnings.
In recent times, a great
societal effort has been undertaken to soften or outright
eliminate competition from sports. This is a misguided
effort. With proper guidance from responsible, mature
coaches and parents, our young athletes can enjoy and revel
in
healthy competition.
The Wilmington Tigers,
like most
AAU clubs, has as its core mission the goal of preparing
players for "the next level." That is to say, if we
have a team of 5th and 6th graders, we'll focus on getting
them ready for 7th and 8th grade basketball. Likewise,
we'll be preparing our 7th and 8th graders for high school
ball, and so on. Throughout the process, we won't lose
sight of the importance of fun -- the pure enjoyment
of playing basketball. The Wilmington Tigers
organization hopes to promote "competitive fun" -- a hybrid
that takes the best of old and new school thinking.
The Tiger Difference
When we have teams strong
enough to play regular AAU tournaments in A Bracket, we will
enter Division I (A Bracket) Regionals. In fact, our 13
"Orange" team did this in 2006, making us the only Delaware
team to compete in A Bracket Regionals. We won't "sandbag"
it by playing down like other area clubs. If we have a
gold-caliber team -- in any age group -- why compete for
silver?
Putting the First State First
Starting quite a few years
ago and extending up to the present, the very top elite
talent in Delaware has seen fit to join clubs out-of-state.
Some players have even been encouraged by Delaware
clubs to "go north" under the premise that only the Philly
powerhouse clubs can develop their skills. The
Tigers provide coaches and an organizational support that
can deliver the goods. From beginner to high school
all-state team selection, the Tigers are a great fit. Our
only requirements in a player are a serious attitude about
basketball and a commitment to the club that matches our
commitment to the player. Bottom line? Delaware girls,
there's no need for you to go to Philly to play AAU.
There's nothing they can do for you that we
can't.
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