Conditioning for kids
Football, 11 to 13 year olds

Football conditioning for 11 to 13 year olds

Football conditioning for 11 to 13 year olds at home means speed and strength through 45 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: 45 physical-focus football drills work at home for 11 to 13 year olds, 18 of them football's own. 10 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 (19 of the 45 drills), soft ground (3), wall (3), mat (2), agility ladder or chalk ladder (1), bench, step or sturdy table (1), bouncy ball (1), broomstick or dowel (1). 5 drills need nothing but space. 3 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

football's own

Football conditioning drills for 11 to 13 year olds

These drills build the body for football itself: speed and strength. Every one is open to 11 to 13 year olds by the app's age gates and works at home with one parent.

speed

Speed

strength

Strength

Every sport

Athletic drills football 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.

catching

Catching

speed

Speed

strength

Strength

A 28-minute session

A conditioning session for 11 to 13 year olds

A warm-up, 1 drill and a cool-down: 28 minutes. Still at most one jump, bound or sprint drill in a plan, so the legs have a day to recover.

1Football Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13A 10-minute moving warm-up for football players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then football moves, with a note on growth spurts.10 min
2Short SprintsDrive low, then rise.12 min
3Football Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 11 to 13A 6-minute cool-down for football players aged 11 to 13 after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and inner thighs, each held 15 to 20 seconds, never to pain, with growth-spurt notes.6 min

Healthy load

How much football 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

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 is football 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 45 drills below are physical-focus football drills that work at home.

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

A few to start with: Pro Agility Shuttle, Cone Weave Shuffle and Freeze and Go. Most used: cones (19 of the 45 drills), soft ground (3), wall (3), mat (2), agility ladder or chalk ladder (1), bench, step or sturdy table (1), bouncy ball (1), broomstick or dowel (1). 5 drills need nothing but space. 3 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.