Q+A with AAU’s Director of Sports, James Parker

By Peter Robert Casey, Illinoishsbasketball.com

Today I caught up with James Parker, Director of Sports for the Amateur Athletic Union, based out of Orlando, Florida. In his role, Mr. Parker oversees various AAU Youth and Adult sports, encompassing more than 35 sports programs, 250 national championships, and over 30,000 age division events. Prior to his work with AAU, Mr. Parker served in various capacities with the International Basketball League, Orlando Magic, and Old Dominion University.

As AAU's Director of Sports, talk to us a little bit about the scope of your role and responsibilities. How did you segway into this position?

I started as an Intern in 1998, when I volunteered to help work the AAU Jr. Olympic Games when I was in college, in Norfolk, Virginia. After I graduated and worked with the International Basketball League for a few seasons, I was offered a job working with the AAU as a Sport Manager for AAU Boy's Basketball. After 7 years at this position I was offered the Director of Sports position for the AAU. I currently have a staff of 12 full-timers and a host of interns. We facilitate all 35 sports within AAU, from marketing and sales, to event management and handling customer service issues. My responsibility is to manage and give direction in order for my staff to grow our sports and keep our current membership happy.

Among other sports, AAU resonates very clearly in youth basketball. What contributed to the organization's leadership role in this space?

When AAU first started in youth basketball there weren't any other organizations really doing what we do on a national level. We had a vision for athletes from all parts of the country to play against each other at a very high level with our emphasis being on utilizing quality facilities, officials, and event operators. We have been the industry leader in devising standards to make sure our athletes are playing in a safe and fun environment. So now that there are several organizations in this space, we still believe we are the best youth basketball organization in the country.

We've all been hearing about the upcoming launch of iHoops.com, the NBA and NCAA's joint venture designed "to provide a structure and to develop programs to improve the quality of youth basketball." How does iHoops entry into youth basketball complement and affect what AAU already does?

We are working closely with IHoops and feel that many of their initiatives are aligned with the direction we would like youth basketball to go. We agree there are some negative influences in youth basketball that should be enhanced or changed. So in working with iHoops ,we believe we can provide an even better opportunity for basketball athletes to enjoy the game they love.

In 2010, what is at the top of AAU's priority list in youth basketball?

We are looking to utilize more technology and social media in order to enhance our product. We are going to work on getting more of our events televised and webcasted to make sure our program is different from all the rest.

Any early predictions on who we might see nominated for the 2010 Sullivan Award?

I'm not sure yet, but considering how well amateur athletes are performing in college athletics or on the olympic circuit, I am sure we'll see a bunch of quality names on the nominations list.

Beginning with the end in mind, what kind of legacy do you want to leave in sports?

The legacy I would like to leave in sports would be for people to know I did it for the love of sports, and was able to grow this industry for the betterment of future athletes.