THE EFFECTS OF EQUIPMENT MODIFICATION ON CHILDRENS SELF-EFFICACY AND BASKETBALL SHOOTING PERFORMANCE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of modification o f basketball size and basket height on shooting performance and self-e fficacy of girls and boys 9 to 12 years of age. Subjects (N = 74) comp leted a self-efficacy questionnaire before and after shooting 10 baske ts under four conditions. Shooting conditions were a combination of ba sketball size (women's or men's) and basket height (10 or 8ft). Repeat ed measures analyses of variance indicated that children made more bas kets and had higher shooting scores at the 8-ft basket than the 10-ft basket. This was especially evident for girls and 9- and 10-year-old c hildren. Self-efficacy was higher prior to shooting, and boys had high er self-efficacy than girls. Self-efficacy was highest when children s hot at the 8-ft basket. These results indicated that basket height mod ification can positively influence children's shooting performance and self-efficacy.