In recent years, with changes in lifestyle and the continuous increase in academic pressure, the physical health of adolescents has received significant attention. Basketball, characterized by high enjoyability, wide popularity, and substantial cultur...
In recent years, with changes in lifestyle and the continuous increase in academic pressure, the physical health of adolescents has received significant attention. Basketball, characterized by high enjoyability, wide popularity, and substantial cultural influence, plays an important role in improving adolescents’ physical fitness, social development, and team cooperation skills. To promote the high-quality development of youth basketball in China, this study selects China, South Korea, and the United States as research cases, examining their national-level policies for youth basketball development through systematic comparison and exploring the underlying causes of policy differences. The findings aim to provide useful references for enhancing China’s youth basketball policies. Methodologically, this study employs literature analysis, comparative analysis, historical analysis, and logical analysis to review policy documents—including laws and regulations, national strategies, educational guidelines, age-based standards, and youth development systems—from the three countries. Based on the five dimensions of policy goals, policy targets, policy instruments, implementing actors, and support conditions, a comparative analytical framework is constructed. Additionally, the perspectives of policy networks and cross-cultural comparison are introduced to explain the mechanisms shaping policy divergences. The research findings indicate the following: (1)Policy background: The developmental trajectories of youth basketball policies in the three countries are closely connected to their political systems, sports governance structures, and cultural traditions. China exhibits characteristics of state-led, strategy-driven development; South Korea advances “institutionalized development” under a legal framework; and the United States builds upon strong basketball culture and community traditions, emphasizing equity in participation and health promotion. (2)Policy content: All three nations have experienced a shift from broad “general sports policies” to more specialized and age-specific basketball policies. They have gradually formed standardized training guidelines, competition systems, and educational frameworks, reflecting a trend toward more targeted and systematic youth basketball policy development. (3)Policy characteristics: The policies of the three countries generally form a complete chain from national planning to grassroots implementation. They share common emphases on the central role of school sports, the holistic development of youth, and the long-term, standardized nature of policies. However, due to differing governance structures, China demonstrates a “government-led network,” South Korea operates under a “collaborative network,” and the United States functions through a “polycentric governance network,” resulting in distinct modes of policy implementation and actor collaboration. (4) Causes of differences: Political systems, cultural contexts, economic foundations, educational structures, and geographic scale jointly shape the differing policy pathways of the three countries. Notably, despite institutional differences, China’s “integration of sports and education,” South Korea’s legalization of school sports, and the United States’ “sports for all” approach all aim to increase youth physical activity levels. This suggests a trend of cross-system policy convergence in global youth sports under globalization. (5) Compared with South Korea and the United States, China’s youth basketball policies still face challenges such as insufficient interdepartmental coordination, limited participation of social and market forces, uneven distribution of urban–rural resources, and competition between academic demands and students’ physical activity time. The actual effectiveness of policy implementation requires further improvement. This study provides several implications for optimizing China’s youth basketball policies, including enhancing flexible local governance, expanding social-sector participation, improving competition systems and age-based standards, advancing educational reform, and strengthening policy-network collaboration. Keywords: Youth, Basketball Policy, Sports Policy