Ford Aussie Hoops is Australia's official junior game development program for children aged five to ten. Sessions are delivered by accredited, periodically assessed coaches and built around warm up games, skill activities and modified games rather than full competition. Basketball Victoria presents it as a structured, federally endorsed program a child can take part in over a five year period.
Last updated 14 October 2026.
Ford Aussie Hoops is Basketball Australia's official introductory program, and Basketball Victoria lists it as the entry point for children aged five to ten. It is delivered locally by associations and clubs, but the curriculum and the coach accreditation sit with the national body.
The framing Basketball Victoria uses is deliberately broad. It talks about skill development, self esteem and social cooperation alongside basketball, and it is designed for children of all abilities in a supportive environment. That is not marketing fluff, it changes how a session is run.
Basketball Victoria describes it as a structured, federally endorsed program a child can take part in over a five year period. In other words it is not a single term course you graduate from, it is a program designed to hold a child from their first session at five until they are ready for real competition.
A session is built from three parts, warm up games, skill activities and modified games. There is no full court, full rules competition. The modified games exist so children get game like decisions without the scoreboard pressure.
Coaches are accredited and are periodically assessed, which is one of the genuine differences between Aussie Hoops and a generic school holiday clinic.
Beyond the ball skills, Basketball Victoria lists fundamental motor skills, the basics of fitness and wellbeing, and respect, teamwork and cooperation among the benefits, which for a five year old is mostly learning to take turns. Basketball Australia says a program runs for between 5 and 10 weeks, with sessions of 45 to 75 minutes, and each centre sets its own times.
Five is the published starting age and it is about right, but readiness varies enormously at that age. The honest test is not whether your child can dribble. It is whether they can follow a two step instruction from an adult who is not you, and whether they can cope with not having the ball for two minutes.
The upper end is ten, and most children move on well before that. The signal to move is usually boredom rather than skill. When a child starts asking when they get to play a proper game with a score, the program has done its job.
The next step is your association's domestic competition, which is a weekly graded local competition. Basketball Australia's program is for five to ten year olds, and we found no official national program for younger children. Some associations run their own: Basketball Hawthorn runs an Aussie Hoops group for three to five year olds born 2021 to 2023, and Frankston runs Mini Hoops for three to five year old beginners with a parent involved. If your child is under five, ask your association what they offer.
Programs are found by location. The national Ford Aussie Hoops website has a program finder, and for Victoria it sends you to a map search of every Aussie Hoops venue in the state.
Registration is online only. Basketball Australia says participants can only be registered for Ford Aussie Hoops programs online, and many Victorian centres take registrations through PlayHQ, linked from their own Aussie Hoops page.
There's no single price. Basketball Australia says each local centre sets its own, so the cost depends entirely on where you sign up. These are the Term 4 2026 prices we found at Victorian centres.
On top of the term fee, Basketball Australia sells an optional participant pack. The core items are a personalised reversible Ford Aussie Hoops singlet and a Ford Aussie Hoops basketball, and the packs cost $50 for the Core Pack, $55 for the Lifestyle Pack and $60 for the Premium Pack. Some centres, including Nunawading and Frankston, make a pack compulsory for new players, so ask before you register.
It is not a talent identification program. Nobody is scouting a six year old at Aussie Hoops, and no coach involved is reporting up a pathway. Treating it as an audition is the fastest way to make a small child dislike a sport.
It is also not a prerequisite. A nine year old who has never touched a basketball can walk into a domestic team and be fine. Aussie Hoops exists to serve children who are too young for a real competition, not to gate entry to one.
And it is not a substitute for unstructured play. No organised program does much on its own. A hoop in the driveway and a ball that is the right size for their hands will do more for a six year old's development than any program will.
Basketball Australia runs Ford Aussie Hoops for children aged five to ten. Some associations run their own groups for three to five year olds, such as Basketball Hawthorn's Aussie Hoops 3 to 5 group and Frankston's Mini Hoops.
Three parts, following Basketball Australia's national coaching curriculum: warm up games, skill activities and modified games, all delivered by accredited coaches. There is no full court, full rules competition.
Sessions are delivered by accredited coaches who are periodically assessed. That accreditation sits with Basketball Australia rather than with the individual club.
Each centre sets its own price. In Term 4 2026 we found $10 a session at Nunawading, $90 a term at Sunbury and $72 a term at Frankston plus fees. Basketball Australia's participant pack costs $50 to $60, and some centres, including Nunawading and Frankston, require new players to buy a pack.
No. It is designed for children who are too young for competition, not as a gate. An older beginner can go straight into a domestic team.
Basketball Australia describes Ford Aussie Hoops as for five to ten year olds, but some associations run groups for three to five year olds, such as Basketball Hawthorn's Aussie Hoops 3 to 5 group and Frankston's Mini Hoops.
Online only. Find a centre through the Ford Aussie Hoops program finder or the Aussie Hoops Victoria map, then register through the link on that centre's page, usually PlayHQ.
Basketball Australia says between 5 and 10 weeks, with sessions of 45 to 75 minutes, though some centres run longer terms.
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Facts on this page were compiled from the official sources below and written up in our own words. Dates, fees and venues change every season, so confirm anything you are relying on with the association directly.
This page was last updated October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
