Basketball is a physically vigorous game, with moves that involve running, jumping, blocking, and shooting. The injuries during the game are categorized into upper body and lower body injuries. While lower body injuries can be prevented by proper shoes, training, and padding, upper body injuries are best prevented by using basketballs of proper size and weight.

According to a survey published by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), basketball ranks fourth among the major causes of injury in the US. A study quoted on iqHealth.com says that basketball causes 20% of all injuries in children aged 10 to 14. iqHealth.com goes on to suggest that proper basketball weight and size go a long way in preventing such injuries. The NBA recommended basketball size for children in this age group is 27.25”, with weight around 12 oz.

Injuries due to improper basketball size are also prevalent among children below the age of 7. NBA recommends that very young children be given foam or rubber basketballs with a 22” circumference and weight of 8 oz.

The CDC found that girls are more frequently and acutely injured than boys during basketball games. For adolescents girls between the ages of 14- 16, NBA recommends “junior” basketballs of circumference 27.75” (size 5), with a weight of around 18 oz. Also, the ball for women’s official games is 28.5” in circumference (size 6) and weigh 20 oz. The men’s official basketball, by comparison, is bigger (29.5” or size 7), weighing 22 oz.

Even training balls that are not used for official matches have certain size and weight criteria. For shot training, the men’s training basketball has 36” circumference (size 9). The women’s basketball is 33.5” or size 8. The men’s weighted ball used for muscle building exercises is 29.5” in circumference and the women’s ball is 28.5”, with weight a little more than the official balls.

Choosing the right ball is important for your health and safety, and these guidelines should be adhered to while purchasing basketballs for official or unofficial games.

There are plenty of great books out there that have baseball coaching drills in them. You can get these book either at your local library and book store. The best part about getting them this way is that once you buy the book you are free to consult them over and over again. Plus, these books are so crammed full of information that you might run out of practices before you run out of drills.

Another option is buying some coaching dvds. The dvds are usually built around a system and instead of just giving random drills they will usually progress your players around. For example, they might built a base one day and then build on that the next. One of the downfalls of dvds are that their baseball coaching drills seem to be out of date with today’s baseball practices.

A third option is searching the web, like you are now, and hoping to find some real gems. The internet has access to great drills but it’s so big that you really have to know exactly what you are looking for. A huge advantage of the internet is the access to online baseball instruction. You can pay a one time fee, and have continually updated information in the form of an online book, or ebook. Just make sure the author is credible (testimonials are great for this).

If you are looking for baseball coaching drills hopefully this article has helped you out. Keep practicing hard and keep winning games, and drills can certainly help that.