An AAU basketball tournament’s environment is unmatched. These tournaments have high-energy players and teams, as well as fans. Most average size tournaments have around twenty courts and about ten to fifteen teams per division. This might be the case for most tournaments, but it is not the case for the Run 4 Roses National Tournament. Run 4 Roses National Tournament is the biggest tournament in the nation and brings teams from all over the country. The huge tournament takes place in Louisville, Kentucky’s Expo Center. With over 105 courts and more than 1500 teams, the energy is incomparable. With so many teams and athletes competing, each age division is divided into different brackets depending on the team’s record in pool play. Once you are seeded in these brackets the real play begins.

A few athletes who competed in this tournament were asked about the environment and differences between such a large tournament and an average tournament they attend. Lewis Cass senior, Mylie Sipe, who plays for the Indiana’s Best, Caston sophomore, Madi Douglass, who plays for the Hooser Force, and Western sophomore, Ella Rawlings, who also Plays for the Hoosier Force. Sipe attended Run 4 Roses and played in the 17U bracket, and Douglass and Rawlings played in the 15U bracket. The three athletes were asked how the environment was different in the Run 4 Roses tournament than in an average tournament. Sipe says the environment is very different as there are so many more courts than other tournaments, and there are college coaches and scouts everywhere. Sipe’s response about college coaches does really affect the environment. This is because when an athlete knows there are scouts watching, there is much more added pressure. A large amount of girls playing at this tournament are looking to play in college. Because of this, these players know they have to bring their best game to be noticed. This causes an atmosphere that is highly competitive, as other girls are also looking to be noticed. Douglass explained how larger tournaments are much more exciting due to the large amounts of people, and the chance to be watched by college scouts. Rawlings adds to Douglass’s replay by also saying that bigger tournaments have better highly competitive teams, which brings more fans. More fans means a louder environment making playing more fun.
Another question the athletes were asked was what new challenges playing in such a large expo center brings to the players. Sipe explains how one of the challenges is referee whistles. Since there are so many courts, and whistles being blown at the same time. It can be confusing if the referee on your court is blowing their whistle, or if it is coming from another court nearby. Sipe is not the only one who finds this to be a problem. Many players get confused and will stop playing at the sound of what they think is their court’s whistle. Due to this, the opposing team can get easy layups and shots creating a small run or advantage a team has to defend. Douglass also tells how the noise is a huge challenge. Since there are so many courts and games going it gets very loud making it hard for players to hear each other and their coaches. Rawlings says another big challenge when playing in such large tournaments is getting from place to place. Players can play on a court number under 40 and play on a court above 90 for their next game. This creates a challenge because these courts are very far apart, and getting from one court to the other while trying to find time to rest before having to warm up is hard to do.

The last question the athletes were asked was if they preferred to play in larger tournaments like Run 4 Roses or more average-sized tournaments. Sipe explained she prefers to play in larger tournaments because she loves the high-energy environment. She also says it is a great way to watch highly competitive basketball and get college coaches interested in you. Douglass states that she also prefers the larger tournaments as she gets to travel farther which creates opportunities to spend time with the team outside of training to playing. Douglass tells how she and her team spent time between games at Kentucky Kingdom hanging out and bonding. This time can help the team play better together as they will learn to trust each other more as they bond. Rawlings says she prefers to play at larger tournaments because there are more fans. She enjoys this because more fans means more cheering and support for the players.

These athletes train hard year-round to be able to compete at such a high level of basketball. This training creates girls with huge work ethics that will succeed in future basketball plans. Run 4 Roses gives these girls the opportunity to be scouted by top-level D1 coaches as well as smaller D2 and D3 schools. This gives girls a better chance to be looked at as a prospect for college recruitment. Even though most of the time scouts are looking for older players to prepare for their college careers, Run 4 Roses gives underclassmen the opportunity to be scouted as well. There are many benefits to being scouted young as higher-level coaches can help players progress their skills even throughout high school. Run 4 Roses not only gives teams opportunities to bond, but the chance to fulfill their plans of playing at the next level.