Fairfax Stars

It seems somewhat implausible - an AAU organization that doesn't emphasize winning but seems to do an awful lot of it. That is the story of the Fairfax Stars. In 2003 they saw two of their girls' teams - 13 and under and 15 and under - claim National Championships.

"The whole philosophy of this program is to work on girls' fundamentals and teach the game the same way as the boys' game is played," explains Stars founder and director Aggie McCormick-Dix. "We want to teach the game the way the game is. There should be no difference between the boys' game and the girls' game."

Interestingly, McCormick-Dix was first motivated to found the Fairfax Stars in 1996 because there was no meaningful boys' AAU organization in the Fairfax County, Va., area. What she did not fully realize at the time was how quickly the demand for opportunities for girls' basketball was growing. She soon realized that girls needed to be schooled in the fundamentals of basketball, and that became the core of the Stars philosophy - for both girls and boys.

"We started working on fundamentals from the time the girls were 9," she says.

"During the high school season, it's more about the team and winning your league," says Brittany Mitch, a member of this year's championship 15 and under team and part of the Fairfax Stars since the age of 9. "Summer is a time to improve your personal skills. We take our personal skills back to our high school and put it into our high school season."

The official Stars philosophy includes the following: "Our program and all of our coaches are committed to providing an opportunity for players to expand both their knowledge and their love for the game of basketball in an environment that teaches about respect, teamwork, sportsmanship and hard work. The goal is to strive for excellence both on and off the court."

All of the coaches in the Stars program are volunteers.

"The coaches all understand the game," says McCormick-Dix. "A lot of them have played at a high level. They have coached. But they don't have the time commitment a high school coach has."

To keep their coaching skills sharp, the Stars organization pays for coaches to attend coaching clinics. It keeps a library of tapes, which it constantly adds to, that demonstrate the newest drills and techniques. McCormick-Dix has also had a psychologist meet with the coaches and talk to them about the mental aspect of the game. The same psychologist also met with parents to discuss how to keep kids grounded, motivated and excelling on and off the court.

Teams change coaches each year.

"At first I was kind of nervous about that," says Mitch, a 6'2'' guard. "But it brings different points of view to the game of basketball. We take different things from different coaches and put it together. It builds our team even more. We have all aspects of the game from different coaches."

No one in the Stars program has graduated high school yet, but veterans such as Mitch and her longtime teammate Lauren Arthur have set their sights on playing Division I college basketball.

"AAU basketball offers a lot of options," notes Arthur, a 5'1'' point guard. "Maybe your high school team is not that strong and doesn't get as much recognition as your AAU team does. When you go to the Nationals, there are tons of college scouts there to see you."

McCormick-Dix says nine college coaches came to watch the 13 and under team play, and there were more coaches than she could count watching the 15 and unders.

Not only are the players being seen, they are learning the realities that may face them every day at the college level.

"Every day in practice we're competing to keep our starting spots," says Arthur, who acknowledges that is a concern that doesn't face them with their high school teams. "There are so many talented players on our team - just like it will be in college."

Playing together year in and year out makes one of the most elusive aspects of the game easy.

"If you talk about the Fairfax Stars, that's the one word to describe us - team," Mitch states. "The team chemistry is amazing."

To learn more about the Fairfax Stars organization, log onto www.fairfaxstars.org. To learn more about AAU basketball, the Website is www.aausports.org.

Copyright Ashton International Media, Inc. Dec 2003
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