“I started coaching because my niece, who was 9 at the time, came home crying one day because the coach told her she wasn’t good enough to play on his team,” recalls Aggie McCormick-Dix, founder and executive director of the Fairfax Stars AAU Basketball Program. Summer leagues, like Amateur Athletic Union and Youth Basketball of America, are where the best players come together to compete. It is also where players hone their skills and get vital exposure in front of college scouts—who start taking note of talented boys and girls as young as 11 and 12.
