1. Conditioning for kids
  2. Cross country, 11 to 13 year olds

Cross country conditioning for 11 to 13 year olds

Cross country conditioning for 11 to 13 year olds at home means aerobic base, hills & terrain and finishing kick through 22 drills picked for the age. At 11 to 13, conditioning can build: a session may run to 45 minutes at 11 and 60 at 12 and 13, on up to 5 days, 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).

For parents and coaches: the physical drills that work at home for 11 to 13 year olds, one session to follow and the load rules the app applies to the age group.

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

The drills
22 physical-focus cross country drills work at home for 11 to 13 year olds, 17 of them cross country's own. 3 of them are jump, bound or sprint drills, which a plan limits.
How it is built
At 11 to 13, conditioning can build: a session may run to 45 minutes at 11 and 60 at 12 and 13, on up to 5 days, with rest days between.
Load rules
Still at most one jump, bound or sprint drill in a plan, so the legs have a day to recover. Box jumps and depth jumps wait until 14, and loaded lifting is not in an at-home plan.
What you need
Most used: cones (5 of the 22 drills), watch (5), gentle grassy hill (2), loop (2), bike, scooter or hiking path (1), bottom stair or low step (1), flat floor (1), list of things to spot (1). 1 drill needs nothing but space. 8 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

cross country's own

Cross country conditioning drills for 11 to 13 year olds

These drills build the body for cross country itself: aerobic base, hills & terrain and finishing kick. Every one is open to 11 to 13 year olds by the app's age gates and works at home with one parent.

aerobic base

Aerobic Base

hills & terrain

Hills & Terrain

finishing kick

Finishing Kick

pacing

Pacing

Every sport

Athletic drills cross country players share

Speed, balance and control carry across sports. These athletic drills are the same for every sport, picked from the ones open to 11 to 13 year olds.

finishing kick

Finishing Kick

aerobic base

Aerobic Base

A 26-minute session

A conditioning session for 11 to 13 year olds

A warm-up, 1 drill and a cool-down: 26 minutes. Still at most one jump, bound or sprint drill in a plan, so the legs have a day to recover.

  1. 1Cross Country Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for cross country players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then cross country moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
  2. 2Talk Test JogIf you can chat, it is right.10 min
  3. 3Cross Country Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for cross country players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, lower back and sides, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

Healthy load

How much cross country conditioning is healthy for 11 to 13 year olds

At 11 to 13, conditioning can build: a session may run to 45 minutes at 11 and 60 at 12 and 13, on up to 5 days, with rest days between.

Still at most one jump, bound or sprint drill in a plan, so the legs have a day to recover.

Box jumps and depth jumps wait until 14, and loaded lifting is not in an at-home plan.

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).

The research behind it

Questions and answers

What is cross country conditioning for 11 to 13 year olds?

At 11 to 13, conditioning can build: a session may run to 45 minutes at 11 and 60 at 12 and 13, on up to 5 days, with rest days between. The 22 drills below are physical-focus cross country drills that work at home.

What cross country conditioning drills can 11 to 13 year olds do at home?

A few to start with: Run-Walk Builder, Talk Test Jog and Talk-Pace Indoor Circuit. Most used: cones (5 of the 22 drills), watch (5), gentle grassy hill (2), loop (2), bike, scooter or hiking path (1), bottom stair or low step (1), flat floor (1), list of things to spot (1). 1 drill needs nothing but space. 8 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.