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.
Written by Cameron James, founder and head coach at Liddicoat Basketball. Over a decade coaching junior basketball in Melbourne, including at Big V level, and rep teams from Under 12s through to Under 18s.
Last updated August 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. It does not publish session lengths, term lengths or times, so ask the association running the program near you.
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. Some associations also run their own pre school or transition sessions under their own branding, so if your child is younger than five or in between, ask the association what they call it rather than assuming nothing exists.
Programs are found by location. Basketball Victoria points parents at its program locator to find the nearest Ford Aussie Hoops centre, and sends you to the Ford Aussie Hoops national website to register a participant.
Basketball Victoria's Ford Aussie Hoops page does not publish a price, and I am not going to guess at one. Ring the association or check its page for the term you want, and ask specifically whether a participant pack or a ball is included.
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 Victoria lists Ford Aussie Hoops for children aged five to ten, and describes it as a program a child can take part in across a five year period.
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.
Basketball Victoria's Ford Aussie Hoops page does not publish a price, so check with the local centre running the term you want. Ask whether a participant pack or a ball is included.
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.
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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 August 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Whatever competition your child is in, the thing that moves them is repetition with feedback. That is what my coaching plans are built around.