Draft night

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

I love basketball -always have, but I do NOT get the idea of 7/8 year olds playing "organized basketball". I think the game is simply too hard for most of them which leads to frustration and makes them more likely to quit the game, or there are one or 2 good players that control the action. I'd rather have them wait until 5/6 grade.

Our league starts at 3rd grade and has for over 30 years. The kids love it. They shoot at 9 foot hoops and the free throw line is four feet shorter than standard. They play running clock and we have HS kids work the games, with an experienced ref on the sideline to mentor. We've never had problems with kids quitting the program. In fact, the program just keeps increasing in numbers up to HS, when it drops off.

Because of the number of kids that sign up, boys play in separate leagues for each grade while girls leagues are combined: 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th. Starting at 5th grade, we "interlock" some games with two organizations from neighboring communities. The kids love going on "road trips".