- Conditioning for kids
- Soccer, 7 to 10 year olds
Soccer conditioning for 7 to 10 year olds
Soccer conditioning for 7 to 10 year olds at home means fitness, pace & agility and defending through 41 drills picked for the age. At 7 to 10, soccer conditioning is body weight, in short bursts and games: a session stays within 30 minutes at 7 and 8 and within 45 at 9 and 10, on at most 3 to 4 days a week. 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 7 to 10 year olds, one session to follow and the load rules the app applies to the age group.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth soccer coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated November 5, 2026
A parent's page. Free to read; no card to start; running a team is always free.
At a glance
- The drills
- 41 physical-focus soccer drills work at home for 7 to 10 year olds, 9 of them soccer's own. 7 of them are jump, bound or sprint drills, which a plan limits.
- How it is built
- At 7 to 10, soccer conditioning is body weight, in short bursts and games: a session stays within 30 minutes at 7 and 8 and within 45 at 9 and 10, on at most 3 to 4 days a week.
- Load rules
- A plan of 7 to 13 year olds holds at most one jump, bound or sprint drill, so legs recover between sessions. No weights, bands or machines: body weight, a ball and open space.
- What you need
- Most used: cones (6 of the 41 drills), soccer ball (3), music (2), agility ladder or tape lines (1), ball (1), balloon (1), boxes or cones as targets (1), bucket or target (1). 10 drills need nothing but space. 4 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.
soccer's own
Soccer conditioning drills for 7 to 10 year olds
These drills build the body for soccer itself: fitness, pace & agility and defending. Every one is open to 7 to 10 year olds by the app's age gates and works at home with one parent.
fitness
Fitness
pace & agility
Pace & Agility
defending
Defending
Every sport
Athletic drills soccer players share
Speed, balance and control carry across sports. These athletic drills are the same for every sport, picked from the ones open to 7 to 10 year olds.
dribbling
Dribbling
fitness
Fitness
pace & agility
Pace & Agility
A 23-minute session
A conditioning session for 7 to 10 year olds
A warm-up, 1 drill and a cool-down: 23 minutes. A plan of 7 to 13 year olds holds at most one jump, bound or sprint drill, so legs recover between sessions.
- 1Soccer Warm-Up, Ages 7 to 10An 8-minute moving warm-up for soccer players aged 7 to 10: easy running, moving stretches, balance and soft landings, then soccer moves. Before practice, never still stretches first.8 min
- 2Agility LadderLight feet, quick taps.10 min
- 3Soccer Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 7 to 10A 5-minute cool-down for soccer players aged 7 to 10 after training: an easy walk, then gentle stretches for the legs, hips and inner thighs, each held for a slow count of 10.5 min
Healthy load
How much soccer conditioning is healthy for 7 to 10 year olds
At 7 to 10, soccer conditioning is body weight, in short bursts and games: a session stays within 30 minutes at 7 and 8 and within 45 at 9 and 10, on at most 3 to 4 days a week.
A plan of 7 to 13 year olds holds at most one jump, bound or sprint drill, so legs recover between sessions.
No weights, bands or machines: body weight, a ball and open space.
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 2014Organized 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 soccer conditioning for 7 to 10 year olds?
At 7 to 10, soccer conditioning is body weight, in short bursts and games: a session stays within 30 minutes at 7 and 8 and within 45 at 9 and 10, on at most 3 to 4 days a week. The 41 drills below are physical-focus soccer drills that work at home.
What soccer conditioning drills can 7 to 10 year olds do at home?
A few to start with: Ball Mastery Intervals, Animal Walk Circuit and Bear Crawl Ball Push. Most used: cones (6 of the 41 drills), soccer ball (3), music (2), agility ladder or tape lines (1), ball (1), balloon (1), boxes or cones as targets (1), bucket or target (1). 10 drills need nothing but space. 4 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.