ECI Breakdown With Lucas Moormann
ECI is the most prestigious and tenured AAU program in North Dakota. They have players on their squads from all corners of North Dakota as well as players from western Minnesota and eastern Montana. In the early years, ECI had…
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Continue ReadingECI is the most prestigious and tenured AAU program in North Dakota. They have players on their squads from all corners of North Dakota as well as players from western Minnesota and eastern Montana. In the early years, ECI had a South Dakota team as well. ECI has players that move on and play at the next level every year. ECI produces players at every level from junior college, D-3, D-2, and D-1.
At the beginning of ECI Dan Hodgson had boys and girls AAU teams. When Kittell and Kraft ran ECI they also had boys and girls AAU teams. ECI had a great run with female teams at the top level in the nation when Kittell and Kraft ran the operations. At one point when Kittell and Kraft ran the show, ECI also had volleyball camps/teams, tennis camps, paint-ball tournaments, and many other activities/programs.
Timeline and History of ECI:
2004 – Dan Hodgson founded and created ECI (Every Childs Important) in Wahpeton, ND.
2006-2010 – Joe Kittell and Travis Kraft take over as Directors of ECI, run out of Wahpeton, ND.
2010-2014 – Joe Kittell becomes owner and Director of ECI.
2014-2021 – Luas Moormann takes over as owner and Director of ECI.
Current ECI Teams: 17U Prospects, 17U Selects, 16U Prospects, 16U Selects Schafer, 16U Selects Hanson, 15U Prospects, 15U Selects Voltz, 15U Selects Hoeg, 14U Meissner, 14U Lowrance, 14U Winczewski, 13U West Nissley, 13U East Miller, 13U Mix Peterson, 12U Mattern, 11U Chaffee
Full Interview with owner and Director Lucas Moormann:
PHD: How did you become the Director of ECI?
Lucas Moormann: I was asked to coach a 16u team once I graduated from college. At the time, Joe Kittell was the director. Once Joe took a job coaching at the NCAA level, he was no longer able to run an AAU program so at that time he asked if I would take over. I had loved my first 3 years of coaching so I was excited to accept the offer.
PHD: Can you tell us about your basketball playing and coaching career?
Lucas Moormann: I grew up in Dickinson, ND where I played for the Dickinson Midgets. I played freshman ball during my 9th-grade year and then started to get some minutes as a sophomore for the varsity under Dean Winczewski. As a junior, I started for the Midgets, and that year we brought home Dickinson’s first-ever title with a win over the Williston Coyotes. As a senior, we were knocked out in WDA by Century and didn’t make it to state. I was voted 2004 ND Mr. Basketball and also ND Gatorade Player of the Year. From there I went on to sign to play basketball for the NDSU Bison where I redshirted my first year. I was fortunate to start as a freshman and continued that through my senior year. I had an incredible experience there and got to be a part of the 2009 NCAA tournament in a first-round game against Kansas. This was possible because of a game-winning shot off a high ball screen by teammate Ben Woodside in the Summit League Championship game a few weeks prior.
After college, I got on staff with Darin Mattern at Century HS where I coached at the sophomore level and was an assistant for varsity for 11 years. I currently am coaching the 7th-grade boys at Simle Middle School where I also teach.
PHD: Why do you run an AAU program instead of coaching high school hoops?
Lucas Moormann: After coaching a few years in the ECI program I knew that is where my passion was. I thought it may be to be a college coach or HS head coach, but after getting to work with the best kids in the state and help them get recruited, I was hooked. My goal is to get players to understand what it takes to play at the next level because I never understood it until college. I want kids to work hard and get ahead of the game so that they don’t fall behind other kids out there. I try to push them to their limits to help them exceed and become better players and people!
PHD: What qualities are you looking for when you are selecting a coach for one of your teams?
Lucas Moormann: When looking for coaches I always try to find someone who played at the next level whether it’s college basketball or another sport. Someone who knows the grind of college athletics. I also want someone who has a job involved with working with kids or daily interactions with adults. It’s super important to me that they know how to communicate with kids but also with parents.
PHD: What type of players do you want to represent ECI?
Lucas Moormann: Some of the main qualities I’m looking for in a player is one that works hard, is reliable, and comes from a good family. Obviously they need to be talented at basketball but they don’t need to be an all-star. I’m all about giving a player a chance and an opportunity to help them and develop them into a better basketball player.
PHD: How often do your teams practice and what are you focusing on in those?
Lucas Moormann: Our younger teams are able to practice from time to time as they are all usually players from the same area. As far as our older teams go, we have our first practice after making our teams at tryouts. After that we try to get a gym on the way to Spring tournaments but rarely have team practices. It’s really hard when kids are from all over the state and involved in school at the same time. We take pride in our players putting in time on their own and coming to our weekly workouts that are stationed across the state.
PHD: Do you work on skill development with your players? Please provide examples.
Lucas Moormann: We have weekly ECI workout sessions where we stress the importance of fundamentals and skill development. We frequently talk to college coaches and it doesn’t take anything fancy to play at the next level. That’s what I think some players get caught up in. If you can play the game the right way and be fundamentally solid, that can take you a long way. We also stress the importance of hard work and flat out beating the man across from you!
PHD: What is the highlight of the 2021 Spring/Summer and why?
Lucas Moormann: I would say the highlight so far has been our 15u Prospects winning the Spring and Summer Comets Tournament in St. Cloud in the Platinum Division. I would also say from a generic standpoint it’s been seeing our players put in the time over the last month and how much some of them have gotten better.
PHD: How do you find out about potential players for ECI?
Lucas Moormann: I would say I find out about most of our players through our coaches, HS coaches, and just going and watching games. Current parents in the program also reach out about teammates their son knows that may be interested in playing. From there we host a tryout and we pick our teams from that group of kids.
PHD: What role do you play in helping one of your players get recruited?
Lucas Moormann: My role in helping players get recruited mostly starts with talking to college coaches. We have a very extensive network with college coaches built from coaches our staff played for or got to know over the years. Also, just helping our players find a school that is the right fit for them.
PHD: What is the best venue and what is the best city you have played in since you took over ECI and why?
Lucas Moormann: I think the best venue we’ve played in since I took over ECI has been Homestead High School in Mequon, WI. I would pick this because of all the DI and DII college coaches in a HS with 6 courts. I’m thinking this will change though after our trip to Atlanta when we get to play in the Georgia World Congress Center. All games in one facility!
PHD: How do you decide on which events your teams participate in?
Lucas Moormann: We typically have the same schedule year to year putting our players in front of many Midwest coaches. We always like to go to 1-2 “big” tournaments as well during the live periods. This year we will be going to Atlanta, GA. We were invited into the Sanford Pentagon Tournament Series back in 2014 when it first started and this has been great for our kids to be able to play against the best teams in the Midwest. This takes up 3 of our tournaments throughout the season.
PHD: Can you describe your relationship with Sanford Power and Freddy Coleman?
Lucas Moormann: The merge of ECI Basketball and Sanford POWER Basketball Academy is to advance the basketball skills of our players. Also, to help them get the full experience of basketball, strength and conditioning, and resources to nutrition information. Freddy Coleman (Director of the Academy), is an excellent mentor to the kids as he has trained athletes of all skills up to the pros. He also coached college basketball at the Division I and Division III level. His connections are endless and does a great job of relating with the kids, figuring out their weaknesses, then working on those to become a better player.
Benefits of ECI Programs
-Provide players with the opportunity to meet new players and to enjoy basketball
-Players will develop various individual and team basketball skills
-Players will learn to compete in a challenging basketball environment
-Players will develop a sense of achievement which leads to a positive self-image and leadership skills
-Developing interest and desire to continue with basketball
-Developing speed, strength, and endurance