A drink bottle, court shoes, the team singlet and shorts, and something warm for afterwards will cover a normal game day. Add a mouthguard once your child's playing properly competitive games with real physical contact. You don't need your own ball, a bag or branded gear to start, and you certainly don't need to buy anything before the first session.
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 September 2026.
A full drink bottle, indoor court shoes, the team uniform, socks, and a jumper for the walk out. That's it. Everything else on the shelf at the sports shop is optional at this stage, and most of it stays optional for years.
Pack the night before. Stadium car parks at eight in the morning aren't the place to discover a singlet is in the wash. If your club issues uniforms weekly rather than for the season, the singlet gets handed out at the court and handed back at the end, which is one less thing to lose.
The singlet isn't just a colour. Basketball Victoria's National Junior Classic playing conditions set legal numbers at 1 to 99, reserve 0 and 00 for the spare singlets used when a player has blood on their uniform, and don't allow two players in a team to wear the same number. Teams are also expected to have an alternate set available, because if the referees decide two teams clash, a coin toss decides who changes. Those are the rules for Basketball Victoria's junior tournaments rather than for your Saturday game. Your association writes its own by laws for domestic basketball and they're often different, so check yours for the rules that actually govern your child.
A player out of uniform isn't automatically allowed on court. Those conditions say a player out of uniform won't take the court unless special permission is granted, and that a player with blood on their uniform must leave the court and may only resume in a non standard uniform if the referees are satisfied there's no confusion of colours.
In practice a junior domestic club will usually find a spare. Don't rely on it, and don't send your child in a similar coloured shirt and hope.
Court shoes are the one item worth spending on, and the reason is grip rather than cushioning. Stadium floors are polished timber or synthetic, and running shoes with a worn smooth sole slide on them. Ankle rolls at junior level are usually a grip problem, not a strength problem.
You don't need basketball specific shoes for a first season. You need a flat, grippy, indoor sole and a shoe that fits properly today rather than one bought two sizes up to last. Check the sole every few months. When the tread pattern is polished smooth in the forefoot, the shoe is finished regardless of how it looks.
One bottle, filled, with their name on it. Stadiums are heated, games are short and intense, and a seven year old won't ask for a drink until they're already flat. Send a piece of fruit or a sandwich for after rather than lollies from the canteen queue before.
Two things get lost constantly: the drink bottle and one sock. A permanent marker on the bottle and a spare pair of socks in the bag solves most of the weekend drama for about ten dollars.
If your child has asthma, their puffer goes in the bag and the coach is told where it's. Don't assume the coach knows.
A mouthguard is worth having once your child is playing real contested minutes. Basketball isn't a collision sport, but elbows, heads and the back of somebody's shoulder all arrive at mouth height under a ring. A fitted mouthguard from a dentist is better, a boil and bite from the chemist is far better than nothing.
Jewellery comes off before the game. Earrings, rings, hard hair clips and smart watches are all hazards to your child and to whoever is guarding them. Taping over earrings isn't the same as taking them out, and referees at junior level will often ask.
Fingernails get cut. Most junior facial scratches come from a defender's hand, not from a deliberate act.
You don't need your own basketball to start, although one at home is the single best purchase you'll ever make for a child who likes the sport. You don't need compression gear, arm sleeves, a branded bag, a shooting sleeve or a second pair of shoes.
Hold off on buying a ball until you know which size your child's age group uses, because that changes with the age group and the competition. Buying the wrong size is the most common wasted forty dollars in junior basketball.
Wait a month before buying anything beyond shoes and a bottle. Plenty of clubs have a second hand uniform pile and plenty of families have an unused ball in the shed.
Not for a first season. Any clean indoor shoe with a flat, grippy sole and a proper fit will do. Grip matters more than brand, and a smooth worn sole on a polished stadium floor is the thing that causes slips.
Rules on this are set locally rather than statewide, so ask your association. I recommend one for any child playing contested minutes regardless of whether it's required, because elbows arrive at mouth height under the ring.
Basketball Victoria's National Junior Classic playing conditions allow numbers 1 to 99, reserve 0 and 00 for the spare singlets used when a player has blood on their uniform, and ban duplicate numbers within a team. A player out of uniform may not take the court unless special permission is given.
Buy one once you know the size your child's age group uses, because ball size changes by age and competition. A ball at home is the best value item in the sport, but the wrong size is wasted money.
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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 September 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Tryout windows, grading, key dates and what each level actually costs. Written for Victorian basketball parents, sent when something matters, not every week.