Mini-basketball from “A” to “Z”

Mini basketball is a ball game adapted for school children up to the age of 12. This game is suitable for younger students, who are willing to start mastering their basketball technique at a very young age.

General information

Mini-basketball is suitable for children from 8 to 12 years old. If it is not an official competition, but a simple game arranged for fun, there are no strict rules that can be applied to the size of the court and the height of the backboard above it. The basic rules of mini-basketball are no different from normal basketball.

Rules

There must be two teams, each of them must consist of 10 players. Five players are involved on the field, the rest are substitutes, which means that they can take part in the game if anything happens to the main players.

The size of the playing field is 8×14 meters. In terms of time, the match lasts 40 minutes and is divided into two periods. The match has two halves of 20 minutes, with a ten minute break between them. A half-time match has two more ten minutes’ periods with a two minutes’ break in between.  If a team hits the ball in the ring, it gains two points. A free throw is awarded 1 point. The final can be a winner or a tie.

Any period begins with a contested shot. One representative from each team is selected and together they go to the middle of the court. When the coach tosses the ball, the players must touch it with their hand and toss it aside.

Some moves are forbidden. For example, players are not allowed to kick the ball with their fist. Running around the field with ball in hand, as well as holding the ball with your forearm is also strictly prohibited.  Holding or pushing an opponent is a move that cannot take place on the field.

All team members are required to be involved in one ten-minute period. The first three periods are substituted at halftime. After the third part of the game, all athletes must have time to play. Players must necessarily know the technical methods of the game, such as movement in defense and stopping in two steps.

Equipment

Taking into account that the game was created for children, you can guess that the equipment is different, too. The shield has smaller dimensions, and is 90 centimeters in length and 120 centimeters in width. It is located at the height of 2 meters above the floor. The ball is also different. It is lighter and smaller than the usual one, the circumference is 70 cm, the weight is about half a kilogram. The baskets are fixed at a height of 2.6 meters for players under 12.

Referees

The refereeing team includes:

• Two or three referees whose job is to oversee the observance of the rules on the court, record infractions, and keep score.
• Find the best odds for sports betting.
• A secretary who fills out the match record, indicating the scores and fouls received.
• A timekeeper who keeps track of the time and announces the end of periods and the match as a whole.

The game

A mini basketball match includes 2 periods and a 10 minute break between them. The halves are divided into two more periods of 8 minutes each, between which there is a 2 minute break.

The game can be stopped by the referees if the foul has been committed, as well as in the following cases:

• A disputed ball.
• Expiration of a period.
• Disqualification or injury of a player.
• Returning the ball from touch.
• Unsuccessful penalty kick.
• Direct instruction from referee.

The 1st and 3rd periods start with the referee throwing the ball out in the middle of the court. When one of the players touches the ball, time is counted. At the beginning of the 2nd half the opponents switch halves of the field.

A goal is scored when the ball hits the basket from above, passes through it or is held there. In this case the team receives 2 points. After hitting the ball, the game continues from any point on the face line for 5 seconds. Players can touch the ball with their hands only, however, if the ball is touched unintentionally with the feet, the offense is not counted.

There are several conditions that must be followed by players when they move with the ball. They can possess the ball for no longer than five seconds, then the ball must be passed to a partner or thrown into the basket.

Training

When children are 6-7 years old, training is designed to develop motor and static abilities. For this purpose, running, jumping and catching the ball are used. At the age of 8-9 years exercises focusing on mastering the technique are incorporated into training. These exercises are: dribbling, passing, defense, shooting. Children at this stage should understand and master the roles of defense and offense.

At the age of 10-12 years the basics of basketball are improved, children begin to master the analytical component of the game: they learn to assess the situation on the court and change their role according to it. In the game, children must demonstrate knowledge of the rules, too. The task of the coach is to control the actions of young athletes during the game.

History

In 1948, Jay Archer, an American teacher, started using lighter balls, lowered the height of the rings and made adjustments to the rules of basketball specifically for children. But only in 1967, at the initiative of world basketball leaders – Spaniard Anselmo Lopez, Englishman William Jones and Frenchman Robert Buusnel – mini basketball gained official international recognition. The initiative came from the highest officials of world basketball. A year later, FIBA formed the International Committee for Mini-basketball.

Since 1991, this committee has been regularly holding international festivals under the name “Jamboree”. The FIBA Mini Basketball European Committee began to gather teams from different European countries every year. There were no losers, as the basic idea of mini-basketball is: this game is for fun and pleasure, it is not a competition.

All in all, mini-basketball is a great game for all children who want to play basketball. It can be easily incorporated in physical education classes in order to increase children’s strength, endurance, agility and other skills.