John Paye and TNT

John Paye, Josh Brumm and Grady Burnett are setting up a new AAU organization:

Ten years ago I founded Paye's Place with my dream to give local kids a place to play and learn the game of basketball. Since then, Paye’s Place has achieved many of my initial goals and has served the community in developing young athletes. We have succeeded in opening the door for many of our athletes to fulfill their dreams of playing college basketball—including those receiving scholarships at Stanford, University of Southern California, Dartmouth, Connecticut, University of Washington, University of the Pacific, Brown, NYU, Redlands, Tufts, and Cal-Poly to name a few.

Today, with the inspiration of other successful coaches in the Bay Area like, Josh Brumm and Grady Burnett, I am committed to do more for our local players. Josh and Grady are parents and executives in Silicon Valley with a deep belief in the power of sports in teaching important life lessons and building confidence in kids. Their efforts, approach and success as coaches has been a major catalyst for the launch of a program with a mission to collaborate with elite players, coaches and teams to build a NATIONAL brand for Bay Area basketball. Together with Josh and Grady, I am proud to introduce The National Teams (TNT).

We Can Do More

The passion I have for helping young athletes learn, grow and compete is as strong today as it was ten years ago. Yet I noticed that there was one huge void when it came to youth basketball programs in the Bay Area today:

Our most promising young basketball players are missing the opportunity to join teams that compete NATIONALLY against the best players in their age group.

Knowing this, I want to offer the Bay Area's best players the opportunity to play on a National level, while building our own Bay Area's brand of basketball. It is time to evolve and meet the demand for an elite group of kids and families demanding more from local basketball.

"TNT" – The New Name of the Game

It is with the help and inspiration from Josh, Grady and some of our local AAU coaches and teams that I am proud to introduce the “The National Teams,” which will be become known as “TNT”.

TNT will offer elite basketball players:

• Local and National Competition (including the AAU National Championships, West Coast AAU Championships and many other high exposure national and regional tournaments)

• Skilled coaches dedicated to meeting the demands from players and parents that want more from their AAU and youth basketball experience.

We are working hard to create ONE elite TNT team for every age group for both girls and boys. These teams will be exclusively open to the best players in the area and is open to collaboration from our local AAU programs. TNT teams will be by invitation only and many of our coaches will hold tryouts to create their age group’s team in search of the best basketball players in the Bay Area. Scholarships will be available to insure that the best players can and will be able to participate on TNT teams. If we do not have a team, coach or players that make up the best team in its age group, there will not be a TNT team created at that particular age group.

What's Next?

Over the next few weeks TNT will be introducing our first teams by grade level. We intend to have at least 6-8 TNT teams for 2015 and are working to add additional elite players, coaches and teams. The first two teams to be announced competed successfully on the national stage last year taking 9th and 10th in the National Championships. These teams will offer very experienced coaches who have recruited, competed and won at the local and national level.

Our Future

As a member of the Stanford Basketball Hall of Fame and former two-sport collegiate athlete at Stanford, I believe in what sports can do for our youth. I believe in what doors it can open, the discipline it can instill, the friendships it creates and the preparation for life that it teaches.  TNT will be this platform for our kids. My promise is to bring the best coaches, players and families together with a unique basketball experience. To come together as a group to work hard, learn, have fun, compete and win together.

Sincerely,
Coach Paye

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