Cross country drills at home for 13 year olds

A 13 year old can practice aerobic base, finishing kick and hills & terrain at home with 40 cross country drills picked for the age. Keep a session to about 40 minutes, up to 5 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 a 13 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 13: 40 cross country drills the app opens for a 13 year old work at home, across 6 skills.
How long: One home session of about 40 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 60 minutes for a 13 year old.
How often: At most 5 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 13 hours for a 13 year old, with two rest days a week.
What you need: Most used: cones (8 of the 40 drills), watch (6), loop (4), flat grass (3), gentle grassy hill (3), stopwatch (3), open grass (2), bike, scooter or hiking path (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 19 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.

40 at-home drills

Cross country drills for 13 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 13 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.

aerobic base

Aerobic Base

finishing kick

Finishing Kick

hills & terrain

Hills & Terrain

pacing

Pacing

race tactics

Race Tactics

A 38-minute session

A home cross country session for a 13 year old

A warm-up, 2 drills and a cool-down, 38 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1Cross Country Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for cross country players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then cross country moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2Hill Walk and JogShort steps, arms drive.10 min
3Downhill ControlQuick feet, soft knees.12 min
4Cross Country Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for cross country players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, lower back and sides, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 13

What changes in cross country training at 13

The app opens advanced (level 3) drills at 13.

13 is the first year of advanced drills in SSTracker's age gate.

The app opens the same 40 at-home drills at 13 as at 12; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 13 hours for a 13 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting cross country into a week at 13

At 13 the limit is 13 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 40 minutes is 3.33 hours, which leaves 9.67 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 60 minutes, is 5 hours.

The research behind it

Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.
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 cross country drills can a 13 year old do at home?

40 drills the app opens at 13 work at home. A few to start with: Run-Walk Builder, Talk Test Jog and Talk-Pace Indoor Circuit. 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 a 13 year old practice cross country at home?

One home session of about 40 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 60 minutes for a 13 year old. At most 5 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 13 hours for a 13 year old, with two rest days a week.

What do you need to practice cross country at home at 13?

Most used: cones (8 of the 40 drills), watch (6), loop (4), flat grass (3), gentle grassy hill (3), stopwatch (3), open grass (2), bike, scooter or hiking path (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 19 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

What changes in cross country training at 13?

The app opens advanced (level 3) drills at 13. 13 is the first year of advanced drills in SSTracker's age gate. The app opens the same 40 at-home drills at 13 as at 12; the ones below are a different selection from that list.