What lead us to beginning an AAU basketball organization? 

In 2010, our son had expressed an interest in playing basketball in high school. He was a decent athlete by, local standards, at the time. However, having come from very competitive area's such as Prince Georges County and Montgomery County MD via Washington DC, my wife and I, both realized that in order for our son to play at his full potential, we needed to get him out of Washington County, off season, to play AAU level talent.

We took him to an organization in Frederick County, that several families seem to take their sons, with similar intent to improve their skill set. Our son also was a decent baseball player, so like most kids, we played multiple sports.

Our son, made the tryouts, which we thought was a good accomplishment until we realized that 17 other kids had made the same team. My wife and I were very skeptical but didn't make any rash decisions. 

We paid our fee of $250 and attended the first tournament. Our son, like several other sons, may have played about ten (10) minutes in three games. Based on our expectations, coupled with the drive to Frederick for practices and ensuring that he kept his baseball commitment, we decided that it wasn't productive to further this pursuit. We informed that Director of our decision, while also inquiring that if any of our season fees would be refunded. We were told a portion would be refunded. As of this writing, we've not received any refund.

This experience left us feeling that no family so be treated so poorly, so we decided to start our own organization. Thus, UNFINISHED BUSINESS BASKETBALL was born.

The Early Days -

Unfinished Business Basketball was co-founded be Coach Bryan Barnes. Coach Barnes is a tenured High School Coach with a decade long stint at The Heritage Academy. Coach Barnes teams were routinely lauded for their commitment to team defense. Coach Barnes had also experienced a very successful stint in the Washington County Junior Basketball League, where he won his division and earned the honor of representing his division as Head Coach in the Annual Junior League All Star game in 2012.

Our journey began with one team and ten families. We had a team full of Washington County All Stars. We played ten tournaments at a cost of $250 per family. We lost every tournament but won a few games. Why? How can a team stacked with county all stars not be successful.

Simple, it proved that our kids, hadn't been giving the opportunity to be challenged at a higher level to reach their potential. They hadn't been exposed to the speed, the physicality and the mental toughness it took to be successful against any player and in any environment. As a Coach, this was my best experience. We coaches consider ourselves "teachers" and here I/we, have been afforded an opportunity to help, directly or indirectly, teach a county of middle and early high-schoolers on taking their basketball experience to the next level.

Our second season, we grew to four teams, while partnering with the very successful girls program, Hagerstown Premiere. All coaches were in sync, working towards a common goal, growing the knowledge and skill set of our players, while playing in more challenging tournaments. Parents and families were readily recognizable by me, and me to them. We began winning more games and a few tournaments, as players and coaches alike began understanding what it took to coach and play in a more competitive environment. In fact, Coach Barnes experienced the most success by placing third in the AAU National Tournament, in Hampton, VA. Also, a very good experience.

Our third season, we had explosive growth. We had approx thirteen teams. We had three times the relationships we had the year before. Yep, you guessed it...it's just a matter of time before something goes array. I have bore the title of Director, since our inception, but this experience would show me that I was really just a Coach. The good news is that we gained a few new relationships of like minded, like hearted, selfless leaders/coaches, with whom are still with our family today. However, there are other relationships that through my haste to grow the organization and grow the message in the community, that I didn't take the time to inspect what I expected. I didn't take the time to insure that those coaches, team administrators, etc. were all in sync, working towards that common goal. This experience was not a good one and one I will always regret, for not doing a better job with. However, this experience and me owning it, was the bridge to me being a true director of a sports group, not just in name but in knowledge and skill, as well.

Unfinished Business Basketball ascends to Unfinished Business Youth Sports Group.

The mantra that had be born when we began Unfinished Business Basketball was "until every youth in Washington County is able to attend college, through basketball, than we have UNFINISHED BUSINESS!"

Our fourth season, I/we had learned from the previous seasons internal experience. Though the experience had caused for some relationships to end, it also provided an opportunity to improve our external experience to players and families. Our numbers are smaller this season, we are back to four boys basketball teams, with plans to add at two girls teams in 2015, as well introductions into other youth sports.Yet, we feel that our revised processes, team empowerment, required family involvement and acceptance of quality over quantity approach, will continue to be a model of success for years to come.

Our initial mantra has been amended to become our mission statement;

Unfinished Business Youth Sports Group is committed to aiding any youth that wants to attend college, through a variety of sports, by assisting in knowledge and skill development, while providing the necessary exposure opportunities to get that youth into College.

Coach Carter - 2014