Effect of Basketball Mass on Shot Performance among 9–11 Year-Old Male Players

Abstract

The goal of this study was to analyse with which ball the participants achieved a greater number of shot attempts and successful shots. The participants included fifty-four 9–11 year-old children from six basketball teams. We established three situations in which the participants played four games with each of the following balls: a) regulation (485 g, 69–71 cm); b) ball of smaller mass (440 g, 69–71 cm); and c) ball of greater mass (540 g, 69–71 cm). The results reflected statistically significant differences for the ball possessions in which there was no shot attempt (χ2=11.751, df=2, p=.003), for the free throw shot attempts (χ2=14.213, df=2, p=.001), the 2-point field goal attempts (χ2=6.921, df=2, p=.031), successful free throws (χ2=6.273, df=2, p=.043), and successful 3-point field goals (χ2=5.545, df=2, p=.05). The highest frequency of shot attempts and successful shots occurred with the ball that had a mass of 440g.