Free drill library · Bowling

At-home bowling drills for 4 to 6 year olds

This is a free sample week of at-home bowling training for 4 to 6 year olds: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 15 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

At 4, 5 and 6 sport is play, so these are games more than drills. A parent plays along and reads one line aloud for each step, so a child who cannot read yet can still follow.

A free sample week of bowling for 4 to 6 year olds

Session 1

Play session 1: Bottle Bowling + Animal Parade 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🎳 Bottle Bowling · 3 min
    Say: “Swing your arm and roll the ball at the bottles!” Praise the try: “Smooth roll! Look at them fall.”
  3. 🐻 Animal Parade · 3 min
    Say: “Let’s be animals! Can you walk like a bear?” Praise the try: “What a strong bear!”
  4. 🤲 Big Ball Catch · 3 min
    Say: “Ready hands out! Watch the ball all the way in.” Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Session 2

Play session 2: Rocket Run + Bottle Bowling 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🚀 Rocket Run · 3 min
    Say: “Crouch like a rocket. 3, 2, 1, blast off! Run to me!” Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”
  3. 🎳 Bottle Bowling · 3 min
    Say: “Swing your arm and roll the ball at the bottles!” Praise the try: “Smooth roll! Look at them fall.”
  4. 🎯 Roll Through the Gate · 3 min
    Say: “Roll the ball through the gate!” Praise the try: “Right through! Great aim.”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Session 3

Play session 3: Big Ball Catch + Rocket Run 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🤲 Big Ball Catch · 3 min
    Say: “Ready hands out! Watch the ball all the way in.” Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”
  3. 🚀 Rocket Run · 3 min
    Say: “Crouch like a rocket. 3, 2, 1, blast off! Run to me!” Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”
  4. 🐸 Frog Jump the River · 3 min
    Say: “Jump over the river with two feet. Land quiet like a frog!” Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 bowling plans SSTracker has for this group. In SSTracker every step is on the screen, your child logs the work, and you see it. No club needed: the family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 a month for the whole household, and the first 14 days are free.

Get the full plan free for 14 days Coach or club director? Set up your team free Print a free week for another sport or age

The drills in this week

Bottle Bowling

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Roll a soft ball along the ground to knock down plastic bottles set up like pins. Rolling with a smooth swing is the first bowling skill.

  1. Stand 6 empty plastic bottles in a triangle, like pins.
  2. Your child stands 3 big steps away.
  3. They swing the arm back and roll the ball along the ground.
  4. Set the bottles up together and count how many fell.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Smooth roll! Look at them fall.”

Bring: soft ball, 6 empty plastic bottles

Safety: Empty plastic bottles and a soft ball only. Roll along the ground, never throw.

Animal Parade

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Move like animals: bear walk, frog hops, crab walk, bunny hops. Animal moves build strength, balance and coordination through play.

  1. Call out an animal and do it together for about 20 seconds.
  2. Bear walk on hands and feet, frog hops, crab walk, bunny hops.
  3. Let your child pick the next animal too.
  4. Finish with a slow sleepy-sloth walk.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “What a strong bear!”

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Big Ball Catch

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

A grown-up tosses a big soft ball gently from close by, and the child catches it with hands and arms. Catching is a skill for every ball sport.

  1. Stand 2 big steps apart with a big soft ball.
  2. Show “ready hands”: arms out, fingers spread.
  3. Toss the ball gently, underhand, to their chest.
  4. They catch and toss it back. Step back a little after 5 good catches.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”

Bring: big soft ball or beach ball

Safety: A big soft ball only, tossed gently and underhand from close by.

Rocket Run

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Count down from 3 and blast off: a short run to a grown-up and back, then a rest. Short, fast runs build speed.

  1. Put a marker about 10 big steps away and stand by it.
  2. Your child crouches like a rocket at the start.
  3. Count “3, 2, 1, blast off!” and they run to you.
  4. Walk back together and go again, about 6 times.

Coach's cue: Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”

Bring: 2 cones, shoes or toys

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Roll Through the Gate

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Roll a ball between two shoes set as a gate. Aiming at a target builds bowling accuracy.

  1. Put 2 shoes a big step apart: that is the gate.
  2. Your child stands 3 big steps away.
  3. They roll the ball through the gate.
  4. Make the gate a little smaller as they get better.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Right through! Great aim.”

Bring: soft ball, 2 shoes or cones

Safety: A soft ball only, rolled along the ground. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space.

Frog Jump the River

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Two lines make a “river”. Jump across with two feet and land quietly like a frog; make the river a little wider when it feels easy.

  1. Lay two ropes or towels on the ground a small step apart: that is the river.
  2. Your child jumps across with two feet together.
  3. Land quietly with bent knees, like a frog.
  4. After a few jumps, move the ropes a little further apart.

Coach's cue: Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”

Bring: 2 ropes, towels or chalk lines

Safety: Land on two feet with bent knees on grass or a soft surface. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Safety for ages 4 to 6

  • Every game here is written for ages 4 to 6: no positions, no heading, no diving and no contact.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: bowling

  • A light ball you can control: if it is hard to hold with one hand, the ball weight is too much.
  • Bowling shoes.
  • Never step past the foul line: the lane is oiled and slippery.
  • Pick the ball up with both hands from the sides of the return; keep fingers clear.
  • Hook practice: short sets, and stop if your thumb tingles or your wrist hurts.
For every sport and age (7)
  • Head knock or concussion signs (headache, dizziness, confusion, feeling "off"): when in doubt, sit them out. See a doctor, and no return the same day.
  • Back to sport only with a doctor's written OK, after a step-by-step return. Every U.S. state has a youth concussion law.
  • Heat: drink water before, during and after. Take shade breaks, ease into hot weather over about two weeks, and stop if dizzy, sick or headachy.
  • Lightning: if you hear thunder or see lightning, go inside a building or a closed car. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder (the 30-30 rule).
  • Pain is a stop sign, not something to push through. Stop and tell a grown-up; pain that lasts or comes back each session needs a doctor.
  • Water and rest are part of training: 1-2 rest days a week, plenty of sleep, a meal or snack before and after, and other sports welcome.
  • Know where the nearest AED (heart defibrillator) is, and who calls for help in an emergency.

The research behind these plans

Which drills are shown at which age, and the safety notes, follow the 15 sources below: national governing bodies, medical associations and studies on youth sport (last reviewed October 2026). Where no study gives an exact number, the plans use cautious defaults, and we change them as the research does.

Ages 4 to 6: play and movement skills (11)
Other sports and safety for the youngest (4)

More plans