Basketball for Parents: The Complete Playbook

The 80-page Canadian guide every basketball parent wishes they had on day one. From the bleachers to the scholarship.

Most basketball parents are figuring it out as they go.

The rules feel like another language. The clock stops for reasons that aren't clear. Programs make promises that may or may not mean anything. And by the time the recruiting conversation starts, every decision a family makes — what province they live in, what courses their kid is enrolled in, what league they play in — is already shaping what's possible at the next level.

I have had this conversation with hundreds of Canadian families over the years. Basketball for Parents: The Complete Playbook is that conversation, written down.

What's inside.

80 pages. Five parts. Nine chapters. Plus a 150-term glossary so you never get lost in the language of basketball, programs, and recruiting.

• Part One — Understanding the Game. The rules. The floor. The clock, the fouls, and what the referees are actually doing. By the end of Part One, you watch your child's games the way their coach does.
• Part Two — Supporting Your Child. The sideline, the car ride home, and the hard conversations every basketball parent has to navigate. The part most coaches wish they could teach in a preseason meeting, but rarely do.
• Part Three — Navigating Programs. House league, rep, AAU, academy, prep. What each type of program is for. How to evaluate any of them. And the red flags that tell you to walk away, even when the program looks impressive from the outside.
• Part Four — Investment & Development. Where your money matters. Where it does not. The single most valuable thing you can give your athlete, which costs nothing at all.
• Part Five — The Recruiting Road. NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. NAIA. U Sports. JUCO. NIL. The transfer portal. Province-by-province eligibility. Reclassification. The PG year. Every pathway, every rule, every trap — written specifically for Canadian families navigating a system that was built for Americans.

Who this is for.

Canadian families with a child who plays basketball seriously, or wants to. Parents who feel the game has gotten complicated faster than the resources around it have caught up. Anyone who wants a single source of truth on what to look for, what to ask, and what the path actually looks like — at every age, in every province.

About the author.

Mark Maynard is the founder of Origin Sports Academy in Vaughan, Ontario, and has spent decades developing youth basketball players, on and off the court. This is the playbook he wishes every basketball parent had on day one.

What you get.

• Instant digital download (PDF)
• 80 pages, designed for print or screen
• Canadian Edition, 2026