Track and field drills at home for 11 year olds

At a glance

At 11

40 track and field 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: cones (11 of the 40 drills), baton (2), low foam hurdles (2), low foam hurdles or sticks on cones (2), open grass (2), tape measure (2), wall (2), baton or rolled paper (1). 1 drill needs nothing but space. 11 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.

40 at-home drills

Track and field 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

• Fartlek Play RunAges 11 and up · 15 min
• Animal Run GameAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Family Walk-Jog LoopAges 7 and up · 15 min

hurdles

Hurdles

• Hurdle Hip Mobility CircuitAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Low Hurdle RhythmAges 11 and up · 12 min
• One-Step Hurdle RhythmAges 11 and up · 12 min

jumps

Jumps

• Bounding StridesAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Hopscotch PatternsAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Jump the RiverAges 7 and up · 8 min

sprint speed

Sprint Speed

• A-Skip into a RunAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Flying 20sAges 11 and up · 15 min
• Gear Change RunsAges 11 and up · 12 min

starts & relays

Starts & Relays

• Downsweep Baton PassAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Exchange Zone TimingAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Push-Up Position StartsAges 11 and up · 10 min

A 30-minute session

A home track and field 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. 1Track and Field Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for track and field players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then track and field moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2. 2Arm Action in a MirrorHip to chin, loose hands.6 min
3. 3Falling StartsLean, catch, drive.8 min
4. 4Track and Field Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for track and field players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, inner thighs and lower back, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

At 11

What changes in track and field training at 11

15 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 track and field 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