Basketball drills at home for 11 year olds

An 11 year old can practice athleticism, ball handling and defense at home with 56 basketball drills picked for the age. Keep a session to about 30 minutes, up to 4 days a week, with rest days between. Why: Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week (NATA youth sport specialization recommendations).

A parent's page for an 11 year old: the drills that work at home, one session to follow, what changes this year and how much is healthy. Free, no account.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated November 5, 2026

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A parent's page. Free to read; no card to start; running a team is always free.

At a glance

At 11: 56 basketball drills the app opens for an 11 year old work at home, across 6 skills.
How long: One home session of about 30 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 45 minutes for an 11 year old.
How often: At most 4 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 11 hours for an 11 year old, with two rest days a week.
What you need: Most used: basketballs (43 of the 56 drills), hoop (19), cones (8), wall (5), tape (3), agility ladder or tape lines (1), chalk or tape (1), cones or shoes (1). 3 drills need nothing but space. 15 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.
Safe at home: One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

56 at-home drills

Basketball drills for 11 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for an 11 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

athleticism

Athleticism

ball handling

Ball Handling

defense

Defense

passing

Passing

rebounding

Rebounding

A 26-minute session

A home basketball session for an 11 year old

A warm-up, 1 drill and a cool-down, 26 minutes in all. Do it up to 4 days a week, with rest days between.

1Basketball Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for basketball players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then basketball moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2Form ShootingElbow in, wrist snap, hold the finish.10 min
3Basketball Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for basketball players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and inner thighs, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 11

What changes in basketball training at 11

25 at-home drills join the list at 11.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 11 hours for an 11 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting basketball into a week at 11

At 11 the limit is 11 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 4 sessions of 30 minutes is 2 hours, which leaves 9 for team practice and games. Even 4 days at the app's longest, 45 minutes, is 3 hours.

The research behind it

Ages 6 to 12 are the "sampling years": high play, low deliberate practice.
Côté and Vierimaa 2014
Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.
NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers

What basketball drills can an 11 year old do at home?

56 drills the app opens at 11 work at home. A few to start with: Jump Stop and Pivot, Lateral Shuffle Sprints and Slide, Turn and Run. One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

How long should an 11 year old practice basketball at home?

One home session of about 30 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 45 minutes for an 11 year old. At most 4 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 11 hours for an 11 year old, with two rest days a week.

What do you need to practice basketball at home at 11?

Most used: basketballs (43 of the 56 drills), hoop (19), cones (8), wall (5), tape (3), agility ladder or tape lines (1), chalk or tape (1), cones or shoes (1). 3 drills need nothing but space. 15 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

What changes in basketball training at 11?

25 at-home drills join the list at 11.