Free drill library · Diving

At-home diving drills for 11 to 13 year olds

This is a free sample week of at-home diving training for 11 to 13 year olds: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 13 to 14 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 diving for 11 to 13 year olds

Session 1

Spin & Flight at home 13 minutes

  1. Quick Tuck Snaps · 4 min
    Fast in, slow out.
  2. V-Sit Pike Hold · 5 min
    Long legs, pointed toes.
  3. Tuck and Pike Shapes · 4 min
    Small tuck, long pike.

Session 2

Entry at home 13 minutes

  1. Flat Hand Grab · 4 min
    Flat hands, squeezed ears.
  2. Lying Line-Up on a Mat · 5 min
    Long from hands to toes.
  3. Hand Grab Freeze Game · 4 min
    Flat hands, squeeze ears.

Session 3

Approach: Wall Lean Drives 14 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Wall Lean Drives · 5 min
    Straight line, push the ground back. Safety: Run on flat, clear, non-slip ground with plenty of room to slow down. Stop if anything hurts.
  3. Snap-Down to Stick · 5 min
    Snap and stick, quiet feet. Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.
  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 diving 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

Quick Tuck Snaps

Ages 11 and up · 8 min

Fast, tight tucks help you spin; practice the quick pull on your back.

  1. Lie flat on your back, arms by your ears.
  2. Pull quickly into a small tuck, hugging your shins.
  3. Stretch back out long and slow.
  4. Do 3 sets of 10.

Coach's cue: Fast in, slow out.

Bring: mat

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

V-Sit Pike Hold

Ages 11 and up · 8 min

Balance on your bottom with straight legs and arms reaching to hold a tight pike.

  1. Sit on a mat, lean back a little and lift straight legs together.
  2. Reach your arms toward your toes.
  3. Hold 10 to 20 seconds with pointed toes.
  4. Rest and do 5.

Coach's cue: Long legs, pointed toes.

Bring: mat

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

Tuck and Pike Shapes

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Learn the two main shapes divers hold in the air by making them on the floor.

  1. Sit on a mat and pull your knees to your chest, hands on your shins: that is a tuck.
  2. Straighten your legs, keep them together, and reach for your toes: that is a pike.
  3. Switch between them when a partner calls the shape.
  4. Do 20 calls.

Coach's cue: Small tuck, long pike.

Bring: mat

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

Flat Hand Grab

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

Learn on land the flat hand grab that makes a hole in the water for the rest of your body.

  1. Reach both arms straight up by your ears.
  2. Place one palm flat on the back of the other hand, palms facing up.
  3. Grip with your thumbs and squeeze your arms together.
  4. Hold for 5 seconds; do 15.

Coach's cue: Flat hands, squeezed ears.

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

Lying Line-Up on a Mat

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

Make the long, straight entry shape lying on a mat so it becomes automatic.

  1. Lie on your back with your hands in a flat grab above your head.
  2. Squeeze arms to ears, legs together, toes pointed.
  3. Look at your hands and hold for 15 seconds.
  4. Do 6 holds.

Coach's cue: Long from hands to toes.

Bring: mat

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

Hand Grab Freeze Game

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

A family game: on "grab!", make a perfect flat hand grab over your head before the count of two.

  1. Move around however you like: march, hop or wiggle.
  2. When your grown-up says "grab!", stop and make your flat grab overhead.
  3. They check: flat hands, arms by ears?
  4. Play 15 rounds.

Coach's cue: Flat hands, squeeze ears.

Bring: family member

Safety: Use a mat or soft floor with space all around you. Stop if anything hurts.

Wall Lean Drives

Ages 9 to 14 · 8 min

Learn the leaning body position of a fast start by driving your knees while leaning into a wall.

  1. Lean into a wall with straight arms, body in a straight line from head to heel.
  2. Lift one knee to hip height with the toes pulled up.
  3. Switch legs on a clap: 1 switch, then 2, then 3 quick switches.
  4. Do 4 sets of 3 switches, resting between sets.

Coach's cue: Straight line, push the ground back.

Bring: wall

Safety: Run on flat, clear, non-slip ground with plenty of room to slow down. Stop if anything hurts.

Snap-Down to Stick

Ages 10 to 14 · 8 min

Rise onto your toes with arms up, then snap down into a quick athletic landing. The safest way to learn to absorb force.

  1. Stand tall and rise onto your toes with arms high.
  2. Quickly drop your arms and hips into a quarter squat on flat feet.
  3. Hold the landing: knees over toes, chest up, for 2 seconds.
  4. Do 3 sets of 5.

Coach's cue: Snap and stick, quiet feet.

Bring: soft ground

Safety: Land softly on grass or a mat, knees over toes, never caving in. Keep the number of jumps low. Stop if knees, shins or ankles hurt.

Safety for ages 11 to 13

  • Plans for this age group use beginner and developing 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: diving

  • A pool that meets diving-depth standards (about 12 ft under a 1 m board), and a diving coach on deck.
  • Head-first entries only in deep water your coach has checked; never at a home or hotel pool.
  • Learn head-first entries in order: sitting, kneeling, then standing, with the coach beside you.
  • Somersaults on trampoline or dry board only in a spotting belt with a coach.
  • Board height is picked by the coach, within your age group's limit.
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.

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

More plans