1. At-home drills
  2. Rugby
  3. 17 year olds

Rugby drills at home for 17 year olds

A 17 year old can practice breakdown, catch & pass and evasion at home with 48 rugby drills picked for the age. Keep a session to about 50 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 17 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 17
48 rugby drills the app opens for a 17 year old work at home, across 6 skills.
How long
One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for a 17 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 17 hours for a 17 year old, with two rest days a week.
What you need
Most used: cones (30 of the 48 drills), rugby ball (26), mat or soft ground (3), tag belts (3), mat or grass (2), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), gentle hill or slope (1), goal posts (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 13 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.

48 at-home drills

Rugby drills for 17 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 17 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.

breakdown

Breakdown

catch & pass

Catch & Pass

evasion

Evasion

kicking

Kicking

safe tackling

Safe Tackling

A 44-minute session

A home rugby session for a 17 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 44 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

  1. 1Rugby Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for rugby players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then rugby moves at practice speed.12 min
  2. 2Tackle Shape on Your KneesChin up, head to the side, squeeze.8 min
  3. 3Neck and Core HoldsNeck long, back flat.8 min
  4. 4Ball Placement PracticeGo down strong, place it long.8 min
  5. 5Rugby Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for rugby players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and inner thighs, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 17

What changes in rugby training at 17

The app opens the same 48 at-home drills at 17 as at 16; 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 17 hours for a 17 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting rugby into a week at 17

At 17 the limit is 17 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 12.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 hours.

The research behind it

Questions and answers

What rugby drills can a 17 year old do at home?

48 drills the app opens at 17 work at home. A few to start with: Ball Placement Practice, Down and Up Game and Low Body Height Holds. 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 17 year old practice rugby at home?

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for a 17 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 17 hours for a 17 year old, with two rest days a week.

What do you need to practice rugby at home at 17?

Most used: cones (30 of the 48 drills), rugby ball (26), mat or soft ground (3), tag belts (3), mat or grass (2), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), gentle hill or slope (1), goal posts (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 13 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

What changes in rugby training at 17?

The app opens the same 48 at-home drills at 17 as at 16; the ones below are a different selection from that list.