About
The Program

Joining The Family has been one of the best decisions we've made for our children. Coach Gio's dedication is unmatched, and the countless hours he spends teaching and mentoring the kids is incredibly special.

Rhys has played for Coach Gio for three years now, and we have watched his skills and confidence reach new heights under his guidance. Now that Tess is just getting started, we are thrilled she gets to experience that same high-energy environment where the kids genuinely look forward to practice every single day.

True to its name, The Family creates a tight-knit, supportive community where our kids have learned teamwork and built lifelong friendships. We are so grateful to Coach Gio for providing such a positive, empowering, and welcoming environment for both Rhys and Tess!

Watching my son, Jack, grow as a basketball player working with Gio has been incredibly rewarding. Jack genuinely looks forward to every session and has developed a tremendous amount of respect for the coaching and guidance he receives at The Family.

What really sets The Family apart is the quality of the coaching and the level of training. The drills are advanced, purposeful, and challenging, while still being tailored to help each player improve. Jack has developed stronger fundamentals, better basketball IQ, improved confidence, and a much deeper understanding of the game. We've seen noticeable growth not only in his skills, but also in his focus, discipline, and approach to competition.

I would highly recommend The Family to any young athlete who wants to take their game to the next level. It provides elite-level coaching, advanced training, and, just as importantly, the confidence and mindset that help young players continue to grow both on and off the court.

Both of my boys have grown tremendously as basketball players since joining The Family. I've watched them develop from barely being able to dribble into confident, skilled players, with ball handling now one of their greatest strengths under Coach Gio's guidance.

What truly sets The Family apart is Coach Gio's dedication to his players. He gets to know each kid individually, recognizes their potential, challenges them, and holds them to the highest standards. He cares not only about developing better basketball players, but also about teaching them how to compete, work hard, and respond to adversity. Through the wins, losses, challenges, and countless hours in the gym, the energy and heart he pours into coaching have helped shape my boys into more competitive, disciplined, and resilient athletes.

We are so grateful for Coach Gio and The Family. It has become a foundational part of our boys' basketball journey, and we're excited for what's ahead!

We are so happy that we joined The Family Basketball! Since our son started practicing here, we have seen such a big improvement in his basketball skills, confidence, and overall understanding of the game. We truly appreciate the coaches and the positive environment they create for the kids. We're excited to continue watching him grow and develop as a player!

The Family is an awesome AAU team to play for. My high school aged son has played a few seasons with The Family and received great coaching in practice and in games, participated in competitive tournaments and enjoyed making new friends with his teammates from different schools. Coach Gio is an excellent communicator when it comes to practices and game schedules, which is so helpful to us parents. Our family would highly recommend The Family!

The culture of The Family is real. From the intensity of practices, celebrations for achieving success, expectations on being a team player, and the level of communication from Gio about games and practices is what parents dream about.

We were looking for a travel basketball program for our son who outgrew the park district teams. He needed better skills instruction, tougher competition, more reps, and to play with kids who were at the same level. Coach Gio and his assistant coaches are amazing with the kids and my son has shown so much growth as a player after just playing in the Fall league! Gio is professional, approachable, talented, dedicated, and just all around great at what he does. This program has been a very positive experience for us and my son is so much more confident as a player after working with Gio and his team even after this short season. Highly recommend!

Aayush has been with Coach Gio since 3rd grade and has been part of The Family for about a year now. When I look back at where he started and where he is today, it's amazing to see how much he's grown. Not just with his basketball skills, but also his confidence, understanding of the game, and learning what it means to be a good teammate.

Aayush also does one-on-one training with Coach Gio, so we've gotten to know him really well over the years. One thing I've always appreciated about Gio is that he knows Aayush. He knows his strengths, his weaknesses, when he needs encouragement, and when he needs that extra push. And believe me, there are definitely times when Aayush needs that push! What means the most to us is knowing that Gio genuinely cares about his progress and wants to see him get better.

And it's not just Gio. We've been lucky to have Coach Darius and Coach Kobe working with Aayush as well. Each of them has their own coaching style, but they all care about the boys and want to see them succeed. I love that they don't just tell the kids what they're doing wrong, but actually work with them to help them understand and improve. They hold them accountable, challenge them, and also recognize when they're doing something right. As a parent, I think that makes such a difference.

Another thing I really appreciate about The Family is the team culture. The boys are learning that it's not always about who scores the most points or who gets the credit. They're learning to trust each other, play together, work hard, and understand that everyone has a role on the team. WE > ME is something the coaches really emphasize, and I love seeing the boys slowly understand what that means.

Of course, as parents, we all love watching our kids win games! But for me, what's even more important is seeing Aayush improve, gain confidence, learn from his mistakes, and genuinely enjoy playing basketball.

I'm really thankful for Coach Gio, Coach Darius, and Coach Kobe for the time and effort they put into Aayush and the boys. Knowing that he's surrounded by coaches who care about him, believe in him, and aren't afraid to push him to be better means a lot to us. We still have a long way to go, but I'm so proud of how far he's come and excited to see him continue growing with The Family!