Editor’s Word: This text was written for Mosaic, an impartial journalism coaching program for highschool college students who report and {photograph} tales beneath the steering {of professional} journalists.
The Beginner Athletic Union, or AAU for brief, initially aimed to assist youth in getting recruited to high schools or receiving scholarships. Nonetheless, now many AAU basketball groups cost near $1,000 per participant for a single season – with most of that cash going towards indoor coaching amenities, in addition to jerseys and uniforms.
One health club in Fremont estimates it prices $300 to $450 a month to take part in an AAU league, plus $150 to buy a gear and uniform package deal.
Pissed off by these prices, 17-year-old Arbaz Singh determined to start out his personal AAU basketball group that solely requires a dedication to taking part in basketball and a $20 cost that goes towards entrance charges for tournaments.
A participant for AAU group Jatt Da Maqabla goes as much as defend a shot throughout a match sport at Mission Faculty in Santa Clara on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Alexis Carrillo/Mosaic)
Singh stated he began the group Jatt Da Maqabla, also called JDM, with a view to give others like himself a platform to showcase their high-level talent with out paying the excessive costs that may bar some athletes.
Nishant Mundian, 16, a JDM participant who used to play for a rival AAU group, stated, “The team I used to play for would charge more because they had players that went on to play college ball. It felt like I was paying more for the name and past accomplishments of the team rather than playing the game.”
Many AAU groups spend cash on recruiting and promoting, and a few even shell out 1000’s of {dollars} with a view to have the most recent gear. JDM saves on prices by spending solely on requirements.
Singh stated JDM gamers carpool or take public transportation to a match. The group additionally doesn’t have expensive uniforms and jerseys.
¨The duct-taped numbers on the again of our shirts assist us play simply in addition to any jersey would,” Singh stated.
The group additionally trains creatively with a view to enhance basketball expertise with out breaking the financial institution.
Singh says the group checks out drills NBA gamers do and watch YouTube movies for tips about find out how to do particular strikes or photographs. “All we use is a few basketballs, some cones and tape,” Singh stated. “With that setup you can pretty much practice and do any drill you want.”
They maintain practices in parks and out of doors basketball courts, the place they’ll scrimmage towards older, extra skilled gamers and keep away from paying charges for indoor courts.
“The indoor basketball courts are the same size as the outdoor ones,” stated JDM participant Amrit Gill, who added that if he hadn’t discovered JDM, he in all probability would have give up taking part in AAU basketball.
Gill, 17, stated he may get 5 to 10 minutes of taking part in time per sport on different profitable AAU groups he has performed for, however he will get extra time along with his present group – and that would assist him and different gamers get seen by school recruiters.
“In JDM, everyone gets time on the court to show their skill and can choose to sub out if they are tired,” Gill stated.
Singh conceded that another AAU groups are usually not very welcoming to JDM.
“The other teams pick on us because of our uniforms, and before the match starts refs and coaches ask us if it’s our first game,” he stated. “Just because our uniforms may not look the best, the other teams think we aren’t at their level.”
Nonetheless, Singh stated he hopes that different AAU groups will comply with JDM’s instance, so cash will not be the hurdle that separates athletes from the game they love.
His gamers could not all have coordinated uniforms, Singh stated, however all of them do have coordination on the courtroom.
¨Everyone knows one another’s strengths and weaknesses on the courtroom; we all know when to cross the ball,” he stated.
Sami Khan is a member of the category of 2026 at James Logan Excessive Faculty in Union Metropolis.
