How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?

Welcome to the new and improved page for 292 Basketball.  On this page, you'll find information on:

• What the purpose and goals of the program are.
• How 292 got started and what 292 means.
• A brief biography of the program director.
• A brief statement of what we try to accomplish and things we try to not promote.
• Information on grade-based skills.
• Information on 292's Seven and Three Month Travel Teams.
• Information on 292's Year-Round Team Program.
• Other services 292 Basketball offers (Home visits, official and unofficial visits to colleges, academic work, camps and clinics, college contacts, and other consultation).

The question comes up all of the time... "292" is the name I came up with for the program from asking questions to those college coaches back in 2003.  I asked a number of questions on what a player needs to have in order to reach a certain level (DI, DII, DIII, etc...) in college.  After listening to the thoughts of numerous coaches, I decided to tally the results and assign a point value to each trait that came from a coach, such as "10 points if the player is over 6'0" tall, or 7 points if the player can handle the basketball successfully with both hands."  When I was done, the final number came up to 292.  What I then did was divide the 292 points into ranges and see if our program participants fell into that category. For example, if you fell between 275-292 you are probably going to be a Major DI College Recruit, and if you fell between 173-202 you are probably a high DII or low DI prospect.  The system, just like the process, is not scientific, but amazingly is fairly accurate (54/63; 86%).

Brian Robinson is the program director.  Coach Robinson, or Coach "R" began the mother program of 292, the Winston-Salem Stealers, in 1996. Coach Robinson has a number of experiences in the world of girl's basketball. Here is a brief resume' of some of Coach Robinson's basketball history and accomplishments outside of the Winston-Salem Stealers Club Program and the 292 Program:

• High school boy's and girl's coach for sixteen seasons (1994-Current), qualifying for the state playoffs thirteen times.
• A member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
• Serves on the nine member WBCA Girl's National High School All-American Selection Committee.
• Chaperone for the WBCA Girl's National High School All-American Game held in Tampa, Florida in 2008.
• Named head coach for USA Basketball's Blue Team at the Olympic Youth Development Festival held in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2007; team won the silver medal at the event.
• Selected to the USA Basketball five member National Team Development Selection Committee in 2009. The committee helps select coaches and participants for the U16 and U17 FIBA national teams. The 2009 U16 Team eventually won the gold medal at the U16 FIBA Tournament in Mexico City and qualified for the U17 Tournament in France.
• A member of the National Federation of High School Coaches (NFHS).
• A member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
• A member of the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (NCBCA).
• Serves on the Four-Person North Carolina Amateur Athletic Union's Infractions Committee.
• Serves on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Presidential Committee.
• Has been a speaker at the University of Florida (2008), Duke University (2008) and Georgia Tech (2007) Women's Basketball Coaching Clinics.
• Class of 2002 Graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem.
• A member of the Black Coaches Association (BCA).
• The program sponsor for his high school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Program.
• Wrote a book "My Foundation of Coaching" which was published in the summer of 2008.
• Won four state championships as a high school coach, as well as six regular season conference and conference tournament titles, five state sectional titles and four regional titles.
• Named conference coach of the year in 2006 and 2009.

292 Basketball does not and won't ever promise any of its' participants a scholarship to a college or a selection to any post-season all-star game.  We will do our best to help each participant reach their goal of playing basketball in college, but there are no promises. The scholarship given out to participants is determined by the college coach, not our program. We just try to prepare and then place each girl in the best light possible so they can perform at their highest level when the appropriate time comes. 

I hear all of the time from some coaches and directors in other programs "Hey, come play for me because I can promise you that I will get your daughter a scholarship." I have yet to see how anyone at this level can make that type of promise, and worse off, when the time comes and that kid and parent who was promised the scholarship doesn't receive one, there is no accountability on the coach or director who made that promise. That's not right.

I also see kids jumping from program to program in search of the possibility of being selected to play in post-season events such as Nike Skills, USA Basketball, the McDonald's All-American Game, and the WBCA All-American Game.  I am part of two of those four selection committees, but I can promise you this, that being in the 292 Program does not better your chances of eventually making one of those two events. Making promises to kids and their parents about the possibility of bettering their chances of being selected to one of those events by participating in this program compromises the integrity of not only those organizations, but of me as well, so that will never happen. That being said, we also do not place kids into the "hype machine", where we try to make kids bigger and better than they are through promoting them in various media outlets. Our experience with the "hype machine" is that kid's start to feel entitled and that they have arrived already, which leads to them not working as hard on their game and spending more time searching for the spotlight and attention.  "Already Arriving" is a dangerous thing in the growth of a player. We don't mind putting your name out there, because that is necessary so the right folks will at least take a look at you, but going overboard with it is not in our program's standards.

Kids have left our program in search of making these events and spotlights and have found out how political some of the programs and the process can be. I, personally, have lost close friends who believed that I should do whatever it takes to get their kid into one of these events or "hype" their kid up. What I have told them is this is not the role of 292 nor me to focus all of my energy on just one participant in our program for an event or spotlight like this. I believe that their kid needs to take some responsibility and perform at their highest level all the time and let what happens happen; if I start making false promises it leads to blame and broken friendships.   Please make sure that you are not joining this program in search of making an event or looking for media attention such as this. We are here to help you find a school and basketball program that fits your daughter so she can be happy for her four or five years of college.  The harder kids will work, the more they will appreciate every opportunity they receive, and the more humble they will be.

Players bouncing around article.

The grade-based skills program has become one 292's more popular programs. The program began in August of 2008, and its' goal is to help groups of 8-12 players prepare for future 292 travel team events.

Participants range from grades 4-8.

Each participant pays a separate monthly fee to participate in five, two-hour sessions per month.

More information on this program can be found on the "Grade-Based Skills Program" located on this web site.

Probably our most popular program in the 292 Program is the opportunity to participate on our travel team.

We have two options in regards to travel teams: our seven month team and our three month team.  

Our seven month team holds tryouts in March following the end of the high school season, while the three month team has tryouts following the choosing of the seven month team(s). We do allow for more than one seven month team if we have the numbers and talent to field more than one competitive team. The same thing goes for our three month team.

The seven month team is more of a national-type traveling team. This team has played as far as Illinois, Nebraska and Oregon, but also plays regionally (Georgia, Virginia, DC). The three month team plays more of a regional schedule.

The seven month team stays together from March-October, while the three month team is broken down into three seasons: spring, summer and fall. The spring teams runs from Marh -May, while the summer team plays from May-July. The fall team begins in August and ends in October. There are tryouts for each three month team, and tryouts are announced usually a month ahead of time.

One of the goals of the travel team, besides playing in front of college coaches, is to teach players how to compete for playing time within their team. College teams are made up of the best players from their different high schools, and our travel teams are the same.  Players have to learn how to compete for playing time, thus giving each player an opportunity to prepare themselves for college basketball.  While we want players to receive as much exposure as possible, we also want to try and win games (but not at all costs). By doing our best to win, we can allow our players to play and compete against better teams in travel team events.  Just "giving" players playing time teaches the wrong thing as at the next level (post-high school) it won't be that way.  It is a fine line trying to make sure we get our kids the exposure they need, but again there is nothing wrong for competing for your playing time and continuing to earn it each day instead of it being handed to you.

*Parents: one reminder about our travel teams is that we try to place players on a team where they can be their best, regardless of age.  If your daughter is fortunate enough to play "up" on a Sophomore-Senior Year Team when she is in the Seventh-Eighth Grade, remember that the older girls (and parents) are accommodating their time to help your younger daughter (and you) along. I hope that when your daughter moves into high school and has that same opportunity to help out the future of our travel teams, she'll (and you'll) remember how to act and treat the younger players and extend that same courtesy. It cannot be "alright", at least not in our program, to play up when your daughter is young, but when she is older for her not to play with younger kids who are trying to learn, just as your child did just a few years earlier.*

Our year-round team program began in October of 2008. The goal for this program is to prepare participants for competitive travel team basketball at a young age.

In October of 2008, 292 began a team for the participants in the Class of 2014. That team cannot participate in team activities during school ball season, but can work on their individual skills to keep themselves sharp and to keep improving.

The team picks up their season once the school seasons are over and then stays together for the entire year until school ball comes around again.

Future teams in this program will be for the Classes of 2015 and 2016. More information on this program will be posted soon on our "2010 Season Information" Page, including tryouts for the Class of 2015 Team.

292 offers a variety of services for our participants:

• Consultation on academic work.
• SAT Prep Class.
• Advice on home visits by college coaches.
• Advice on handling official and unofficial visits to colleges.
• Arranging unofficial visits to colleges.
• Basketball camps that 292 hosts.
• Advice on attending college camps.
• Nutrition clinics.
• Coaching clinics.
• DII / DIII  College Coaches Travel Team Showcases.
• Exercise clinics which include strength and conditioning properly.
• Individual Skills.
• Talk to the media night.
• Clarification of NCAA Rules.

292 Registration runs every August-October for those interested in the program. Email Coach Robinson at stlrzcoach1@aol.com to set-up an appointment to meet during this time period.