What matters more for helping young players develop as shooters - hoop height or ball size? I’d say ball size, and here’s why:

If your hands are too small relative to the size of the basketball, it’s very difficult to balance and stabilize the ball in your hand. This makes it almost impossible to shoot accurately with decent shooting form.

Additionally, when the ball is heavier (which the bigger sizes are), it’s akin to adults trying to shoot with a medicine ball. The late Bob Bigelow did a great job of demonstrating this by having adults try to play with a bouncy, medicine ball in his youth coaching clinics. It’s almost impossible!

This extra weight often results in players hoisting the ball to get it to the rim. While the shot might go in, players develop bad habits that will hurt their shooting in the long run.

With my children and the two youth teams I coached (ages 8 to 11), there were many of the same issues using a big basketball (size 6) even when the hoop was lowered to 8 and 9 feet. 

However, when we used the age-appropriate basketball size, their shooting form and shooting accuracy dramatically improved… even when they shot at a 10 foot rim.

And I’m not the only one who believes this, I’ve seen leading basketball minds such as Brian McCormick share similar experiences and sentiment.

For 9, 10, & 11 year olds, make sure to use a size 5 (youth size) or even smaller.

The problem is that many youth leagues use a size 6 (28.5”). Adult women who play in the WNBA use a size 6. There is no way that 9, 10, & 11 year olds should use the same size of basketball!

For smaller players, size 4 is great too. Last year, I used a size 4 quite a bit with my 9 year. His hands were too small for a size 5 ball and it made it difficult to achieve the proper grip.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think these age groups would benefit greatly from lowering the hoop too!

For 10 & 11 year olds, I like a 9 foot rim height. For 9 year olds, an 8 foot rim height is great. 

Adapt the game to the kids, so they can develop joy and passion by having success… not the other way around!

I do hear plenty of parents say, “My kid shoots just fine” with a big ball or on a tall hoop. They even share videos.

Most times, you are either the exception (Top 1 percentile… probably more like Top 0.1 percentile) or your child is just good at shooting with poor shooting form. Shooting form they’ll have to change later to succeed at the higher levels of basketball. 

Victor Wembanyama played on a 9 foot rim with a smaller basketball until 11 years old. I think he developed quite well and so will your kids!

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First John (Jay) Paulo says: 4/4/2025 at 10:53:30 AM Great article Joe. One of the biggest obstacles I see with teaching children basketball skills involve parents or coaches teaching "how they were taught" when they were young. The article is spot on. Not every child is at the same level (skill wise, degree of athleticism, or physical ability). The most important thing coaches forget is 90%+ of elementary kids will never make their school teams. Many kids will indeed get discouraged because of not being able to achieve success and stop playing altogether. Some of those kids may have developed at a later stage had they continued to play. I agree it is much easier to improve when taught correctly at an earlier age while using the correct age-appropriate equipment. For most kids it's about having fun. Let's face it. As most kids move up in age class, the number that play at a highly competitive skill level decrease significantly. Another good point made was correcting bad habits or improper form. It's much easier to train the brain correctly the first time rather than having to retrain the brain at a later date. Retraining requires much more effort, time, and discipline. Keep up the good work. Jay P Like     login   register

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