Five years ago, the Mount Pleasant Jammers were just hoping to be competitive.

Now, they expect to win every time they take the court.

Getting set to make the jump to AAU this season, the Jammers will be holding tryouts March 1-4 for boys and March 9 for girls at the Park West gym.

The Jammers are run through the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department.

This year, they have expanded and will field a 14, 15, 16, and 17U boys' teams and 14 and 16U girls' teams.

"AAU is the best level; kids will be competing against the best players around, which will only enhance their game," said Jammers President Everett German.

The Jammers held an open gym this past weekend at the Park West gym and will do the same this upcoming weekend before tryouts. Each team will consist of 10-12 players.

Kids as far as West Ashley and Fort Dorchester came out.

"The word is starting to get out. We won't be able to keep everyone who came out today, but that's a good problem to have," German said.

And more than just the numbers are growing—so are the wins.

Prior to last season, the Jammers never won a tournament.

They won five last year.

"When we first started out, we were lucky to only lose by 30," German said. "Now, in just a short time, we are not only winning games, but winning tournaments, and I expect that trend to continue."

Playing AAU ball can ultimately lead to a college scholarship.

And although it hasn't happened yet, German sees the potential in this years group.

"We have our first group of seniors this year. There's definitely the talent here to play at the next level. And that's the great thing about our program, it gives kids the opportunity to travel and play in front of college scouts," he said. "We hope to have a success story."

"And that's another thing, their game really improves over the summer. The AAU competition is better than what they're going to see on a weekly basis in high school. This experience can only benefit their game," German said.

Games run through July, but players get the entire month of June off.

"That way, the kids can go on family vacations, or fulfill other obligations they may have in the summer," German said.

The Jammers will play games throughout the state as well as in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Atlanta.

"We want kids to have fun, learn the game of basketball, and experience travel and play against top competition," German said.

One key factor German wanted to make clear is the organization of the Jammers franchise. "All of our coaches have played at a higher level. No parents can coach. There are no favorites here," he said. "We will try our best to keep children in their age group, but we will entertain the idea of moving a player up if we feel that will be best for him or her.

And the goal remains the same.

"The main thing here is for everyone to have fun and make them a better player so he or she can perform at a higher level as the high school season approaches. It's also about exposure, too. We want to give our kids as much exposure as possible so that those who have that dream of one day playing at the next level have the opportunity to be seen," German said.

And with the rising success of the Jammers program, that dream looks like it will very well soon turn into a reality for more than one player in the program.

For more information, including a complete schedule, visit www.mtpjammers.com.