For basketball, NBA & USA Basketball guidelines range from one practice and one game a week at age 7-8, up to 3-4 practices and 2-3 games at 15-18. For all sports, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises no more hours per week than the child's age, with at least one rest day.
Basketball benchmarks by age
The NBA and USA Basketball published joint guidelines for youth basketball. For each age group they set a number of games, practices and a maximum number of minutes per week:
| Age | Games / week | Practices / week | Max minutes / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-8 | 1 | 1 | 180 min |
| 9-11 | 1-2 | 2 | 300 min |
| 12-14 | 2 | 2-4 | 600 min |
| 15-18 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 840 min |
These benchmarks count every session in the week: club, representative team, school, camps. They come with at least one day of rest from organised sport each week.
For every team sport
The American Academy of Pediatrics gives a simple rule that applies to any sport: no more hours of organised sport per week than the child's age (10 hours at most for a 10-year-old), capped at 16 hours, with at least one rest day a week and two to three months off per year from their sport.
Adapt to the player
These are benchmarks, not targets. The right volume also depends on growth, a return from injury, the school calendar or current fatigue. A player growing fast or coming back from injury benefits from staying below these values.
The trap of players on several teams
A player playing up an age group or for the reserve team often goes past these benchmarks without anyone noticing: each coach only sees their own sessions. Adding up the whole week is essential (see players on several teams).
To compare a player's week with these benchmarks in ten seconds, use the free training load calculator.
These benchmarks apply to young athletes. For adults and elite players, volume depends too much on level for a fixed threshold.