Game version
Trail follow-the-leader: one person leads a movement and the group copies. Swap the leader each time.
Cross-Training Day
Build your engine with a different activity so your running legs get a break.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Pick a ride, a hike or an active game with your family.
Core: As written. Aim for smooth form and compare only with your own last time.
- Ages
- 11 and up
- Time
- 20 min
- Players
- Just you
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Bike, scooter or hiking path, adult
- Level · skill
- Developing · Aerobic Base
The steps
How it works
- Pick a ride, a hike or an active game with your family.
- Keep it easy enough to talk for 20 minutes.
- Wear a helmet on anything with wheels.
- Write down what you did in your log.
Coaching point
Different move, same engine.
Safety: Wear a helmet on wheels, stay with an adult, and drink water.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (slower or smaller), Core (as written), More (one extra twist). Aim for smooth form and compare only with your own last time.
Story
You are an explorer crossing the woods like a jungle.
My best
Beat your own count
Aim for smooth form and compare only with your own last time. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free cross country week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.