Phoenix trainer says overexposure, not lack of talent, holds back young basketball players

Phoenix trainer says overexposure, not lack of talent, holds back young basketball players

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — For a lot of Arizona parents, getting their child to the next level means camps, tournaments and recruiting websites.

Phoenix Prep and Arizona Select owner and operator John Ortega said he’s seeing parents spend too much time chasing exposure instead of developing their child’s game.

“They overdo it. I’ll be honest with you, like, you got to worry about your players. They should train a lot more than they should play,” Ortega said.

Development over ranking

Ortega said instead of developing skills, some players rely on a ranking assigned by someone else.

“Instead of developing that skill, you just relied on your ranking that somebody said you were. It’s like I would recommend play less and play where the coaches are at,” Ortega said.

Ortega said the goal should be finding the right opportunity, not necessarily the biggest name.

At PHH Prep and AZ Select, players have access to a large coaching staff working with athletes across a wide range of ages, helping them develop long before the college recruiting process begins.

“We’ve had just over 305 college players. I wanna say...