• Elementary basketball rules are designed to enhance the learning experience.basketball boy 3 image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  The primary goal of basketball leagues structured for young beginners is to create opportunities for them to learn the game. The rules for elementary level players follow the same pattern as the basketball rules in use for older youth players, with modifications built into the enforcement of certain rules to enhance the learning experience. Elementary basketball rules follow certain principles universally, but local leagues use great latitude in crafting a rule book that works best for their players.
  
  

Free Throw Line

• Elementary basketball rules use a shorter distance for free throws, particularly for beginning players who are eight years old and younger. As players get older, the standard 15-foot free throw becomes more practical. For the younger players, leagues create a 10-foot or 12-foot free throw line to help build the confidence of players as they learn how to shoot.
  
  

Three Seconds in the Key

• Regulation basketball rules prevent offensive players from staying in the painted lane area (the "key") around their basket for more than three seconds at a time. For elementary level players, the three-second rule is scrapped altogether. Some local leagues choose to use a modified rule so that they can teach it without the harsh penalties of losing possession over and over. Many use a five-second or six-second rule at the elementary level.
  
  

Back Court

• The standard back-court rule states that a team can not go backwards across the mid-court line once it has crossed into its offensive half of the court. Elementary rules, in general, don't use this rule, preferring to have teams maintain possession of the ball and learn the rest of the game before worrying about this rule. Some leagues enforce the rule or use a modified version that bans taking the ball back past the opponent's free throw line.
  
  

Fouls

• The fouls in general are defined just as they are in the standard basketball rule book, but at the elementary level, referees are instructed to call only the most obvious fouls in order to keep the game moving. Young beginning players are more prone to making contact with opposing players on almost every play, so the enforcement of fouls is more lax. The key for the game officials is to make sure enforcement keeps the players safe.
  
  

Traveling

• Traveling is also defined the same in the elementary rules as in the regulation rules. This is another rule where enforcement is the key for game officials. Beginning players regularly take an extra step or restart their dribble after picking the ball up, but the violations are only called when they become extreme. A single extra step or one double-dribble is not enough to blow the whistle.This one is left to the judgment of the referee.