DACULA, Ga. — “Basketball is easy. Winning is hard.” Those are the words used by local Coach Aaron Peters when he meets a new team. Aaron is an Assistant Coach with Blackout Youth Sports (AAU Basketball). He has been coaching for seven years and also works with the Mill Creek Hawks 8th Grade County Team and the Mill Creek Recreation Team (ages 13-15).

In order to instill a sense of excitement about the game, but also commitment to the process he explains, “Dribbling is easy, passing is easy, boxing out for rebounds is easy, communicating is easy, encouraging your teammates is easy…the hard part is doing the easy things effectively, over and over again. Doing the easy things in the face of adversity, when you’re frustrated, when you’re tired…that’s discipline and that’s winning basketball!”

It is important to Aaron that his players understand the “why’s” of basketball. They need to not just know how to perform a skill, but why it is important to the overall game plan. He states, “Once a player fully understands the ‘whys’ of basketball, we generally get more buy in for the ‘hows’ of basketball.”

As a youngster, Aaron was inspired by his first coach, Coach Perry, who simply had confidence in Aaron! “I have been playing basketball most of my life. However, I really got serious and fell in love with the sport when I was in 5th grade,” Aaron shares, “I grew up in a very competitive basketball town where many of my friends went on to play at the college level.”

Later he was motivated to go into coaching by good friend, Bill Peterson. Teaching comes naturally to Aaron. He started his coaching career by volunteering at the local Boys & Girls Club. He was hooked! He is thankful for the experience he gained while serving on staff for several local coaches: Chris Brown, James Smith, Jose Hernandez, and Chris Sanders.

This past season, Aaron was faced with one of his most challenging situations as a coach. A player was suddenly stricken with an unknown illness that prevented him from walking. Aaron shakes his head, saying, “Imagine watching one of the strongest kids on your team waking up one morning and not being able to walk…tough.” It had an impact on the team, not only on the court as they missed the young man’s talents, but of course emotionally. At season’s end the entire team signed a ball, delivering it to the family. They dedicated the season to their friend. Aaron is thankful that basketball was able to bring young people together and lift spirits, even in the midst of hardship.

Aaron’s most memorable on-court moment was the championship run put together by the 7^th Grade Mill Creek County Team (GBL) in 2019-2020. “The resiliency and hard work they displayed along the way was incredible. We ultimately came in 2nd place, but I felt like a champion watching our kids grow as a team.”

So, what happens when the game doesn’t go well? After a loss Aaron takes time to recap the good, the bad, and the ugly. He emphasizes the things done well by highlighting individual player performances and praising the kids for their effort. They deal with areas of improvement in a very measured way in practice. Aaron truly creates a healthy learning environment for young men!

The biggest life lesson Aaron has learned from coaching is that “there is nothing more important than the present.” Aaron focuses on today. “We need to value today. We need to appreciate today. If we train well today, if we eat well today, if we love and share today, then we have a better chance of succeeding tomorrow.”

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