Basketball drills for 9 year olds

At 9

The age at a glance

This year

The first year in the 9-11 group: a 9 ft basket, a size 6 ball (28.5 in), a 74 by 50 ft court and practice twice a week. 9 and 10 year olds (the "9-10" group parents search for) play under the same rules.

The game

A size 6 ball (28.5 in), a 9 ft basket, a 74 by 50 ft court, no three-point line and a 14 ft free-throw line, with equal playing time in the first three periods.

Practice

Practices of 45 to 75 minutes, twice a week, and games of 24 to 32 minutes, once or twice a week.

Rest and hours

Two rest days a week, and no more than 5 hours a week of organized basketball.

At 9

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 9 hours for a 9 year old. Basketball alone: no more than 5 hours a week of organized basketball at this age (USA Basketball). Shooting baskets alone at home is not counted as organized basketball.

Season and sleep

At most 5 months a year of organized basketball, and 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night.

At home

SSTracker keeps one home session for a 9 year old within 45 minutes and plans at most 4 home days a week, with rest days between.

29 drills

Drills for 9 year olds

Every drill here is one the app opens for 9 year olds, at the level for the age. Each page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a practice log to print.

No hoop needed

At home without a hoop, at 9

8 drills for 9 year olds need no hoop or basket, so they work in a driveway, garage or hallway: Figure Eight Wraps, Pound Dribbles, Red Light Dribble Game, Stationary Ball Handling Circuit, Active Hands Wall Drill, Box-Out Stance, Chest and Bounce Pass Targets, Chin-It Grabs. Each drill's page says what to bring.

• Figure Eight WrapsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Pound DribblesAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Red Light Dribble GameAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Stationary Ball Handling CircuitAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Active Hands Wall DrillAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Box-Out StanceAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Chest and Bounce Pass TargetsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Chin-It GrabsAges 7 and up · 8 min

Questions parents ask

Basketball for 9 year olds: questions and answers