Swimming drills at home for 13 year olds

A 13 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 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: 21 swimming 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: 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 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.

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 36-minute session

A home swimming session for a 13 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 36 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 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
2Race Plan CardOne cue per part of the race.8 min
3Reset After a Tough SwimLearn it, then leave it.6 min
4Stroke Shapes on LandSlow and big, then smooth.6 min
5Swimming 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 13

What changes in swimming 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 21 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 swimming 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 swimming drills can a 13 year old do at home?

21 drills the app opens at 13 work at home. A few to start with: Animal Walks, Band Shoulder Strength and Dryland Core. 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 swimming 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 swimming at home at 13?

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 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 21 at-home drills at 13 as at 12; the ones below are a different selection from that list.