New London – If you walked into their home and said, "What's up, coach Vincent?" three of them would answer the question. Clearly, this is the household vocation of the Vincents of Lisbon.

It begins with Peter Vincent, the dad, who coaches girls' basketball at Ledyard High, after long stints there coaching boys' basketball, baseball and football. It continues with Chris, the older son, an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Delaware. And now comes Chad, 21, a sophomore at Stetson, a student assistant men's basketball coach.

(We should mention that Denise, the mom, is the coach of the household, a far more important job.)

There was Chad again over the weekend, too, at Connecticut College, coaching his own Amateur Athletic Union team, the Connecticut Force. Vincents, Vincents, everywhere.

"It runs in the family," Vincent said during a break Saturday at Luce Field House, where hundreds and kids and dozens of teams played before the discerning eyes of college coaches, who furiously flip through sheets of paper to make sure they're watching the right kid on the right court at the right time.

"My dad is my mentor," Chad Vincent said, now three years removed from his playing days at Norwich Free Academy. "My brother, too. What he did at AIC (American International College) led me on the path to doing what I do at Stetson."

Which is coaching, while pursuing his undergraduate degree. Vincent breaks down film, runs individual workouts with players and even helps with recruiting. Hard to find more practical training.

"I started in AAU two years ago but then I wanted to do my own thing," he said. "I was able to recruit a lot of kids I know personally because I'm not that much older than they are."

Mario Graham (Ledyard), Isaiah Jones (Waterford) and Mike Gianakos (Waterford) are among the locals playing for the Force's older team. Vincent also coaches a younger group.

There's some irony, too, to Vincent's AAU calling. His dad is a high school coach. This just in: Many high school basketball coaches can't stand AAU. They say there's less (if any) structure, no defense, no teamwork and no emphasis on the importance of possessing the basketball. Example: If you're playing three games in a day and throw a fancy-shmancy pass into the third row, who cares? There's always another game.

"No doubt, AAU and high school are different," Vincent said. "We don't have a lot of gym time to run plays. We don't scout games. You go in blindfolded, mostly. But a lot more college coaches come to these games. The competition is better. You hardly see a college coach at a high school game. The best players never get looked at in high school. Mario (Graham) didn't get looked at playing at Ledyard. Now there's coaches talking to me about him all the time."

Some high school coaches at Conn this weekend gave grudging acknowledgement that AAU offers higher levels of competition and exposure. They bristle, though, at the development – and perhaps refinement – of bad habits and a twisted view of structured basketball's rhythms. Like: Just because you shot 25 times per game in AAU doesn't mean that's how it works. As one coach said: "It seems like they're not being taught anything. It's just 'let's go play.' That's fine. But who is teaching them any skills?"

Shots fired.

"I bring these guys into practice and none of them know basic defensive skills," Vincent said. "High school coaches might say they're not being taught anything here, but I bring them in and (kids) don't know basic defensive skills. Some of these kids haven't been taught things yet.

"AAU is not about winning and losing. You want to win, sure. But the main reason for them to play is to get more exposure and expand their skills. This is a time when you improve in the offseason. It's better than summer league. There's no competition there. We play in tournaments that are extremely tough."

Chad Vincent is the guy who wants to teach them the aforementioned skills. He has found his calling. It sounds familiar. Just like his brother and father.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius