Burlington Youngster On Path for Success
Burlington sixth grader Michael Demartinis has had a profound impact on his Mass Elite AAU program in the last six months. Standing at nearly 5’9”, Michael features a combination of strong natural skills, consisting of both a strong outside and inside game, and also terrific handles for a big man.
Mass Elite director Eric Polli said he knew when he first saw Demartinis at last spring’s tryout that the youngster had lots of potential.
“I knew that Michael was a talented kid right away, although I did not know the kind of tireless work ethic that the kid is possessed with,” Polli said. “His dribbling really came alive near the end of last season and has improved dramatically from the 60+ games that he has played since the spring.”
While Polli says that his AAU program stresses skill development, he gives Demartinis full credit for his own improvements.
“Michael has probably played in more games than any player in our program, competing in both our spring, summer and fall AAU sessions,” Polli said. “Natural skills only takes you so far, you need to have a love for the game and want to truly get better”.
Demartinis accomplishments have been widespread, achieving success both with his AAU team as well as his winter travel team.
Last winter Demartinis’ Burlington travel team finished with the fifth strongest record in the fifth grade divisions. It was more of the same this spring when his Mass Elite AAU team won multiple tournament championships including an upset of the undefeated Maine state champions, MB Nation, which Polli describes as “the best youth basketball game that I have ever been a part of.”
During the summer session, Polli’s team defeated VBC twice in a row to win the summer league championship, while Demartinis taking home both the league’s MVP and his club’s Summer Player of the Year award. This past fall, the 12U team continued to have success, winning two tournament championships at the Middlesex Magic and Mass Rivals tournaments.
Michael recently resumed playing for Burlington’s 6th grade travel team and already Polli says he is getting rave reviews.
“I have heard that all of his coaches from last Winter are very impressed with his game, especially the big time improvement in his dribbling skills,” Polli said.
Polli will be anxiously watching not just Demartinis’ progress but also that of many of his teammates from the Mass Elite program.
“I have asked for all of their schedules and plan to be a gym rat this winter, watching the players in our program compete,” he said. “I actually will probably see a lot of these guys playing against each other which will be fun to see”.