Gymnastics drills at home for 11 year olds

At a glance

At 11

43 gymnastics 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: mat (23 of the 43 drills), floor (7), soft mat (4), music (2), open floor (2), tape or floor line (2), cushions (1), firm cushion (1). 1 drill needs nothing but space. 5 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.

43 at-home drills

Gymnastics 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.

balance & control

Balance & Control

• Cushion Balance ChallengeAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Half Turns on a Floor LineAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Handstand Against a WallAges 11 and up · 10 min

flexibility

Flexibility

• Bridge from the FloorAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Front and Side Leg SwingsAges 11 and up · 6 min
• Split Prep LungesAges 11 and up · 10 min

form

Form

• Floor Dance ElementsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Jump Shapes on the FloorAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Partner Mirror ShapesAges 11 and up · 8 min

strength

Strength

• Floor L-Sit PrepAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Plank Shape CircuitAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Superman PullsAges 11 and up · 8 min

swing

Swing

• Cast Shape Push-UpsAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Support Walk CirclesAges 11 and up · 8 min
• Banana and Superman RollsAges 7 and up · 6 min

A 30-minute session

A home gymnastics 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. 1Gymnastics Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for gymnastics players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then gymnastics moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2. 2Forward Roll on a Soft MatChin tucked, round like a ball.8 min
3. 3Log Rolls and Egg RollsStrong, tight shape, roll as one piece.6 min
4. 4Gymnastics Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for gymnastics 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 gymnastics training at 11

20 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 gymnastics 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