It is not too early to be thinking about the 2009-10 season if you are a high school basketball coach.

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR Marlboro High School senior Amanda Junkierki (left) brings down a rebound before Red Bank Catholic High School junior Ali Gordon can get a piece of it during the girls basketball tournament game held at Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver on Aug. 5. Coaches, players and fans got a preview of the upcoming girls Shore Conference season when Red Bank Regional High School, Little Silver, hosted a tournament that attracted many of the top programs in the Shore Conference.

Teams played doubleheaders for four nights (Aug. 3-6), getting in a total of eight games.

The tournament used three courts in the Red Bank Regional gym and it was possible to watch Shore Conference powerhouses like Red Bank Catholic High School on the center court, flanked by Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School on one side and St. Rose High School of Belmar on the other.

There was also a chance to see these teams go head to head.

Red Bank Catholic sophomore Cydney Mooney (left) tries to drive past a Marlboro defender. The summer tournament was the idea of Red Bank Regional's new girls basketball coach James Young.

Young, who coached the Rumson-Fair Haven boys last season, said he recalled a similar summer tournament held for the boys a couple of years ago and thought it was a great idea. So he went about assembling a field of teams for the girls tournament. It all came together when he got Red Bank Catholic and Rumson on board.

"The great thing for me was working in Rumson and RBC," he said. "When I got Joe Montano (RBC) and George Sourlis (Rumson) to put their teams in, it made (the tournament) attractive to others."

Among those were Freehold Township High School coach John Sciarappa and Marlboro High School coach Brian Nash. Both coaches said it was the competitive level of the tournament and the opportunity to play more games this summer that made them want to be a part of the event.

Sciarappa, who ran a summer league at Freehold Township that concluded in July, said the Red Bank Regional tournament gave him a better idea of what he has coming up from last year's junior varsity, as well as the incoming freshmen.

"As a group, the freshmen got the most out of it," he said. "They played a lot more and they got to play with last year's experience."

The Red Bank Regional tournament also provided a chance for last season's JV players to make their case for a spot on the varsity in 2009-10.

"There is a major difference from JV to varsity," Sciarappa said. "I wanted to see how they play under pressure."

And that pressure was against some of the Shore Conference's best teams.

Nash, who used the summer to hold team practices, was pleased to see the progress his team made and said he believes it will carry over to the upcoming season.

"It was great competition, playing RBC, Rumson and St. Rose," he said. "We got to experience a high level of play. I'm happy with how the kids responded. I think it will set the tone" for the 2009-10 season.

For Young, who is looking to turn around the Red Bank Regional program, the tournament helped him to get an idea of what kind of players he has, and for his players it was an opportunity to get experience playing against excellent competition.

"I was looking to evaluate what we have in the program," he said. "I want them to be a competitive program. I wanted them to see what the elite programs are like," the coach added.

Young liked what he saw.

"I feel we are ahead of schedule," he said. "I have a great group of girls who really want to learn, which makes the job easier for me."

The summer tournament proved to be everything that Young and the other coaches were looking for.

"The way I set up the tournament, it was all about everyone being competitive and looking to learn," he said. "All of the coaches agreed they had eight good games."

In addition to the teams mentioned above, Ocean Township, Middletown North, Toms River East, Toms River North and Southern Regional high schools completed the tournament field.

Young is looking to make the tournament an annual event.

"It's been a huge success," he said. "I would like to expand it next year to two weeks and add more teams," he said.

Adding more teams should not be a problem. Young said he fielded calls from coaches in Middlesex County who are interested in having their teams participate next summer.