Free drill library · Cross Country

At-home cross country drills for 14 year olds and older

This is a free sample week of at-home cross country training for 14 year olds and older: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 13 to 15 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

Everything here can be done in a room, garage or yard. Drills that need a team are left out; a parent can be the partner in a pair drill.

A free sample week of cross country for 14 year olds and older

Session 1

Running Form at home 13 minutes

  1. Relaxed Strides · 4 min
    Fast but loose.
  2. Tired Form Check · 5 min
    One cue when tired.
  3. Runner Strength Circuit · 4 min
    Slow and controlled.

Session 2

Finishing Kick at home 13 minutes

  1. Long Kick Ladder · 4 min
    Hold your form when it burns.
  2. When to Kick · 5 min
    Pick your moment, commit.
  3. Kick After a Hill · 4 min
    Crest, then change gears.

Session 3

Running form: Carioca Rhythm Run 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 3 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Carioca Rhythm Run · 5 min
    Hips turn, shoulders square. Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.
  3. Answer the Surge · 5 min
    Stay with it, then settle. Safety: Drink water and eat a meal or snack before and after, run in the cool part of the day, and stop and tell an adult if you feel dizzy or sick. Thunder or lightning: go inside now and wait 30 minutes after the last one.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 cross country 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

Relaxed Strides

Ages 14 and up · 12 min

Short, fast, relaxed runs that teach smooth form at quicker speeds.

  1. After an easy run, mark 80 yards on flat grass.
  2. Build up to about 85 percent speed, staying relaxed.
  3. Ease off and walk back.
  4. Do 6 strides.

Coach's cue: Fast but loose.

Bring: flat grass

Safety: Warm up first. Stop if a muscle feels tight or something hurts. Pain in one spot that gets worse each run, or a limp: stop and see a doctor.

Tired Form Check

Ages 14 and up · 15 min

Spot how your form changes when you are tired and pick one fix.

  1. Run 3 steady laps of a loop.
  2. Have a partner watch your posture on the last lap, or a parent film it on their phone.
  3. Pick one thing to fix, such as tight shoulders.
  4. Run one more lap thinking only of that fix.

Coach's cue: One cue when tired.

Bring: loop, partner or parent

Safety: Drink water and eat a meal or snack before and after, run in the cool part of the day, and stop and tell an adult if you feel dizzy or sick. Thunder or lightning: go inside now and wait 30 minutes after the last one. Any video is filmed on a parent's phone, with their OK, and never posted online.

Runner Strength Circuit

Ages 14 and up · 15 min

Body-weight step-ups, lunges and calf raises to keep your form strong late in a race.

  1. Do 10 step-ups on each leg onto a low, stable step.
  2. Do 8 walking lunges each leg.
  3. Do 15 slow calf raises.
  4. Rest 1 minute and repeat twice more.

Coach's cue: Slow and controlled.

Bring: step or low bench, mat

Safety: Use your body weight only, a stable step, and stop if your knees hurt.

Long Kick Ladder

Ages 14 and up · 18 min

Hold a strong finish over longer and longer pieces.

  1. Run 3 minutes steady, then kick for 30 seconds.
  2. Jog 2 minutes.
  3. Repeat with 45 and then 60 seconds of kick.
  4. Cool down 5 minutes easy.

Coach's cue: Hold your form when it burns.

Bring: track or loop, watch

Safety: Drink water and eat a meal or snack before and after, run in the cool part of the day, and stop and tell an adult if you feel dizzy or sick. Thunder or lightning: go inside now and wait 30 minutes after the last one.

When to Kick

Ages 14 and up · 15 min

Practice choosing the right moment to start your finishing kick.

  1. Mark three cones at 300, 200 and 100 yards from a finish.
  2. Run steady with a partner toward the finish.
  3. Take turns choosing which cone to kick from.
  4. Talk about which one felt best; do 4 reps.

Coach's cue: Pick your moment, commit.

Bring: loop, partner, cones

Safety: Warm up first. Stop if a muscle feels tight or something hurts. Pain in one spot that gets worse each run, or a limp: stop and see a doctor.

Kick After a Hill

Ages 14 and up · 18 min

Climb a hill, then kick on the flat, the way many courses finish.

  1. Run steady up a short hill.
  2. Over the top, change gears into a 100-yard kick.
  3. Walk back for full rest.
  4. Do 4 reps.

Coach's cue: Crest, then change gears.

Bring: hill near a flat finish, adult

Safety: Pick a grassy or smooth hill with an adult nearby. Walk down the steep parts and stop if your knees hurt. If you fall and hit your head, stop and see a doctor before you run again.

Carioca Rhythm Run

Ages 13 and up · 8 min

Move sideways crossing feet in front and behind with hip turn. Builds rhythm and hip control.

  1. Move sideways, crossing one foot in front then behind.
  2. Let the hips turn while the shoulders stay square.
  3. Go 15 yards each way.
  4. Do 4 trips each way, getting quicker.

Coach's cue: Hips turn, shoulders square.

Bring: cones

Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.

Answer the Surge

Ages 14 and up · 15 min

A cooperative drill: your partner picks up the pace and you match it, then swap.

  1. Run steady side by side.
  2. Your partner surges for 15 seconds without warning.
  3. Stay on their shoulder, then both settle.
  4. Do 6 surges, 3 each.

Coach's cue: Stay with it, then settle.

Bring: partner, loop

Safety: Drink water and eat a meal or snack before and after, run in the cool part of the day, and stop and tell an adult if you feel dizzy or sick. Thunder or lightning: go inside now and wait 30 minutes after the last one.

Safety for ages 14 and up

  • Plans for this age group use beginner, developing and advanced drills only. Advanced drills open from age 13 in the app.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: cross country

  • Running shoes that fit, water, and a hat on sunny days.
  • At least one full rest day a week (two for younger runners), and a hard day is followed by an easy one.
  • Eat enough to train: a meal or snack before and after. Never any talk of weight.
  • Pain in one spot that gets worse each run, or a limp: stop and see a doctor.
  • Run with an adult on marked paths, and walk steep downhills.
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 29 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.

Cross Country: governing bodies, safety and development (9)
Youth athletic development and safety (20)

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