Is your child using the correct sized basketball for their age and size?

Fitting a round peg into a square hole doesn’t work. Sorta like how an 8-year-old kid with 8-year-old hands uses a ball that high school players use. It just doesn’t work in the long run for the kid. It burns me up to see so many teenagers with really bad shooting form playing basketball. Smaller kids should use smaller balls so that when they shoot the ball, their form won’t suffer. There are different basketball sizes for different age groups. My nine-year-old son used to cock the ball behind his head before shooting when he was in diapers, now he gets compliments on his form all the time. Mainly because I made sure he had the right size ball for his size and age. Other factors helped with his form like the fact that I’m a pretty decent coach. He’s also very coachable so that helps.

The height of the basket plays a role as well. I’ll be doing a blog post on hoop height very soon.

Here’s a breakdown of all the sizes for your child’s basketball needs courtesy of breakthrough basketball.com:

0-4 year-olds should use a Nerf ball or micro-mini ball.

4-8 year-olds should use a 22” mini basketball. They can also use a 25.5” ball if they’re a bigger kid.

9-11 year-olds use a standard 27.5” youth-sized ball.

12-14 year-old boys and girls should use a 28.5” ball. This is also the size for girls high school, college, and professional basketball.

Boys 15 and up should use a 29.5” ball. This is the official size for high school, college, and the pro game.

So the next time you have to go out and buy a ball for your child please make sure to refer to this blog post. It will save you a lot of time and it will help your kid become the best shooter he or she can be. Have a great day and take care.

https://ganon-s-school.thinkific.com/courses/basic-level-shooting?ref=a6fcf7