TRAVEL BASKETBALL PROGRAM IN NORTHEAST OHIO
Founded in 2015, Luke Toth Basketball (LTB) focuses on basketball and character development of all ages.
In just two years, LTB has grown to twenty-two teams for the 2020 AAU Spring Season. Our program is considered to be one of the fastest growing programs in the state of Ohio.
The LTB travel basketball club started in September 2017 when Coach Luke Toth was training several players in his spare time as a varsity assistant coach at Lutheran West High School. With an overwhelmingly eager response from the students, parents soon approached Coach Luke to form a travel basketball team. In Fall of 2017, a single 5th grade team was established, competing in the Ohio Basketball Westside Fall League. The following Spring, LTB grew to three teams for the 2018 Spring AAU Season.
After the 2018 Spring AAU Season, the LTB program really started to grow. In the Fall of 2018, the program grew to three fall teams competing in Northeast Ohio and Akron. By the 2019 Spring AAU Season, LTB had quickly grown to eleven teams. That summer, many players and families started to hear about the LTB program, and the club gained enough momentum to take off. In the Fall of 2019, LTB had grown to seven teams for the Fall season, and then expanded to twenty-two teams for the 2020 Spring AAU Season.
In just two years, the LTB travel basketball program evolved from three teams in 2018 to twenty-two teams in 2020. LTB is considered one of the fastest growing AAU basketball programs in the state of Ohio.
LTB's rapid growth is due to the unique atmosphere and community established amongst players, coaches, and families.
The main purpose of the program is to develop players, on and off the court. Players are taught practice techniques as they are shown effective ways to become better players while exposing themselves to important life lessons throughout the program through the lens of basketball. LTB introduces new drills and workouts for players to use in development of their game. LTB aims to prepare and equip each player for high school basketball.
Many players are unaware of the time and dedication required to not only make a high school team, but to be a well-rounded player at the high school level. In the process of preparing players for high school, the main purpose of the LTB program is to develop players while learning the game. Winning is important, but it is not the main goal of our basketball club. It is only an objective. The main goal is to develop young kids and adolescents as players and as people.
To learn more about our travel basketball program, visit our travel basketball page.
Collin Lucas has been awarded the first ever LTB Legacy Award. The LTB Legacy Award was created to honor and celebrate Collin on his six year career with the LTB basketball program. Please see more below regarding Collin’s journey with the LTB program and the LTB Legacy Award.
Collin’s Story
Collin first attended a Lutheran West basketball camp in the summer of 2017. He was exceptional and stood out immediately: both on the court and as a person, receiving various awards. The director of the camp was an assistant coach at Lutheran West High School, Coach Luke Toth. Collin developed a relationship with Coach Luke, and they began private training that summer that continued through the fall of 2017. The LTB travel basketball program launched in the spring of 2018, and Collin was one of thirty players in the program’s first season.
Collin experienced many hardships in his first few years with LTB. With LTB being a new program on the AAU basketball scene, they faced many favorable opponents and teams with talent and experience. Needless to say, the first couple of years in the program were not only challening to Collin, but his teammates as well. Collin has always been a hard working player. Throughout his time with the club, he has consistently shown up, both mentally and physically. His work ethic and consistency made him stand out amongst other student-athletes in the program.
When Collin entered the 8th grade, he started to receive interest from many high school coaches, and other AAU clubs as well. Being recruited by many schools, his father and Luke started receiving calls from other established and veteran AAU clubs. They enticed Collin to join their programs, promising more exposure and the opportunity to play with more elite talent. This lasted the entirety of his 8th grade year. The decision was always put in Collin’s hands, and, despite every other offer, his loyalty remained with LTB. Collin’s reasons for staying with LTB was the belief in the purpose and the ideology of the program. In an AAU world where it is typical for players to switch clubs a few times in their playing careers, Collin was determined to stay with the program that he started with in 2018.
Following the format and structure of the program, combined with his commitment and consistency, Collin went on to be a standout player at Fairview High School. He played multiple years of varsity basketball, and had a standout senior season, leading Fairview to their first District Championship and the OHSAA Division III regional semifinals.
Collin received a scholarship to attend Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania; Waynesburg is part of the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC). Over his career with LTB, Collin played in over 100 games. We want to congratulate and thank Collin for all his hard work and dedication to the program over the past six years.
The LTB Legacy Award
The LTB Legacy Award was created to honor and celebrate Collin Lucas on his six year career with the LTB basketball program. This award will be given to future recipients that leave a long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place during their time with the program. The main requirement for receiving this award is that players must play for the program for the entirety of their AAU basketball careers, while displaying a strong work-ethic, consistency, sportsmanship, and leadership.
