Swimming drills at home for 11 year olds

An 11 year old can practice endurance, race mindset and streamline & breakouts at home with 21 swimming drills picked for the age. Keep a session to about 30 minutes, up to 4 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 an 11 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 11: 21 swimming 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 (5 of the 21 drills), notebook (2), resistance band (2), bench or sturdy step (1), flat surface (1), jump rope (1), mirror or partner (1), swim bag (1). 5 drills need nothing but space.
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.

21 at-home drills

Swimming 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.

endurance

Endurance

race mindset

Race Mindset

streamline & breakouts

Streamline & Breakouts

speed

Speed

starts & turns

Starts & Turns

Dry-Land Start PopAges 7 and up · 8 min

A 26-minute session

A home swimming session for an 11 year old

A warm-up, 1 drill and a cool-down, 26 minutes in all. Do it up to 4 days a week, with rest days between.

1Swimming Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for swimming players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then swimming moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2Dryland CoreBrace your belly, breathe.10 min
3Swimming Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for swimming players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, arms and chest, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 11

What changes in swimming training at 11

8 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 swimming 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

What swimming drills can an 11 year old do at home?

21 drills the app opens at 11 work at home. A few to start with: Band Pulls and Rows, Incline Push-Up Ladder and Jump Rope Rounds. 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 an 11 year old practice swimming at home?

One home session of about 30 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 45 minutes for an 11 year old. 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 do you need to practice swimming at home at 11?

Most used: mat (5 of the 21 drills), notebook (2), resistance band (2), bench or sturdy step (1), flat surface (1), jump rope (1), mirror or partner (1), swim bag (1). 5 drills need nothing but space.

What changes in swimming training at 11?

8 at-home drills join the list at 11.