Bowling drills at home for 11 year olds

At a glance

At 11

20 bowling 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: line or tape (4 of the 20 drills), tape (4), lane (2), plastic bottles (2), soft ball (2), bowling shoes (1), bowling shoes or socks (1), flat floor (1). 1 drill needs nothing but space. 1 is 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.

20 at-home drills

Bowling 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.

aim

Aim

• Bottle Pin Aim at HomeAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Count the BoardsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Name That ArrowAges 7 and up · 6 min

approach

Approach

• Balanced Slide HoldAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Five Step TimingAges 11 and up · 10 min
• One Leg Balance HoldsAges 11 and up · 8 min

focus

Focus

• Frame RehearsalAges 11 and up · 6 min
• Bubble Breath ResetAges 7 and up · 5 min
• Courtesy and CalmAges 7 and up · 6 min

release

Release

• Pendulum Swing With a TowelAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Sock Ball PendulumAges 7 and up · 6 min

spares

Spares

• Corner Bottle SparesAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Spare Name QuizAges 7 and up · 6 min

A 30-minute session

A home bowling session for an 11 year old

A warm-up, 2 drills and a cool-down, 30 minutes in all. Do it up to 4 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Bowling Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for bowling players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then bowling moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2. 2Starting Stance and SpotSame spot, same stance.6 min
3. 3Four Step Walk-ThroughSmall first step, longer last.8 min
4. 4Bowling Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for bowling players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, wrists and sides, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 11

What changes in bowling training at 11

6 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 bowling 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