They could have spent their summer at the beach, or working a job, or hanging out at the mall. Instead, more than 100 Maine kids ages 11 to 18 are spending these precious months practicing basketball and traveling the country as members of Maine’s first entries in the Amateur Athletic Union’s summer tournaments.

You may have seen the scores of their games run on these pages and wondered what the heck these AAU tournaments in places like Memphis, Tenn., Roanoke, Va., and Cincinnati, Ohio are all about. What they are about, according to Carl Parker, coach of the 16-year-old boys team that just returned from Memphis with a 2-3 record, is “giving Maine kids a chance to compete against kids from other parts of the country and see where they fit in.”

Parker’s summary can be read two ways. First, there’s the basketball sense of fitting in. Standout Maine high school hoop players like Matt Arsenault of Old Town, John Tennett and Ryan Bradford of Bangor, and Josh King of Hampden Academy got to see how their abilities “fit in” with those of players from distant states.

Then there’s the other sense of “fitting in,” as in, Maine kids are getting to see how they fit into the grander scheme of living in these United States. They get to travel, to talk and interact with kids their age who previously knew Maine only from the map.

“That was an important part of the experience, too,” said Parker, who is an assistant basketball coach at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield during the school year.

Undoubtedly, other Maine kids have participated in national competitions not affiliated with public school. It is the scale of these AAU events that makes them unique, and curious.

Like anything new, the AAU tournaments can’t help but raise questions, like: What’s their point? Who’s paying the bills? Is this a one-it every year?

Some background: There are five Maine AAU boys teams (17-year-olds, 16, 15, 14, and 13) and four girls teams (18, 16, 14, and 11-year-olds). Each team can have up to 15 players and has two volunteer coaches.

Players were selected at tryouts held at four sites around the state in May, with each age-bracket coaching staff doing the choosing in conjunction with state AAU coordinator Mike Methvin of Lewiston. Thus, each team brings kids from every corner of Maine together. Parker’s 16-year-old boys have a geographic representation from Old Town to Skowhegan to Portland and many points in between.

Geography and the degree of coaching intensity determine how often the teams practice. Parker’s squad held 18 practices at centrally located MCI in May and June before playing in Memphis from July 6-13.

The week-long national tournaments themselves are huge. The Memphis tourney had 54 teams involved. Maine’s 16-year-olds did pretty well in their first appearance, finishing in the top half of the draw.

While the lifetime experience angle is there, the real point of the events, Parker admits, is basketball. Which is where some people might begin to jump off the AAU bandwagon and charge “overemphasis.” Skeptics might like it even less when they learn most AAU team members must raise in the vicinity of $500 each to pay for the trips and accommodations. Then there’s the travel to practices.

“Some people might say we’re overemphasizing, but there’s two things to look at,” answers Parker. “Most of these kids want to play basketball beyond high school. Most will spend $250 or $300 to go to a basketball camp. At camp, they’ll play five days, 10 hours a day. This offers them the same opportunity as basketball camp. Plus, they get to play against the best 16-year-olds in the country.”

And the second thing to look at?

“Exposure,” said Parker. “At our tournament, there were between 100 and 200 college coaches.”

Parker admits the money-raising angle is difficult. Most of the kids had to beg a check from mom or dad. Others, less fortunate, had to fund-raise on their own. This is why Parker is already seeking corporate sponsors or a benefactor for next year’s team.

“Anything would help take the pressure off,” he said.

How well Parker, and the other coaches, succeed in raising funds could go a long way toward determining the longevity of Maine’s participation in the AAU tournaments. For this year, they are at least providing a memorable experience for more than 100 Maine kids.