Flag football drills at home for 13 year olds

A 13 year old can practice catching, evasion and flag pulling at home with 44 flag football 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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At a glance

At 13: 44 flag football 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 (26 of the 44 drills), flag football (22), flag belts (8), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), chair or fence (1), colored cones (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 29 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.

44 at-home drills

Flag football 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.

catching

Catching

evasion

Evasion

flag pulling

Flag Pulling

route running

Route Running

speed & agility

Speed & Agility

A 38-minute session

A home flag football 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.

1Flag Football Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for flag football players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then flag football moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2Over-the-Shoulder CatchHead turns, hands follow.12 min
3Catch, Tuck and Turn UpfieldCatch, tuck, then turn.10 min
4Flag Football Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for flag football players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, inner thighs and shoulders, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 13

What changes in flag football 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 44 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 flag football 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 flag football drills can a 13 year old do at home?

44 drills the app opens at 13 work at home. A few to start with: Diamond Hands Catch, Pinkies Together Low Catch and Self-Toss Catches. 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 flag football 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 flag football at home at 13?

Most used: cones (26 of the 44 drills), flag football (22), flag belts (8), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), chair or fence (1), colored cones (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 29 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

What changes in flag football 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 44 at-home drills at 13 as at 12; the ones below are a different selection from that list.