- Drills
- Flag football
- For 12 year olds
Flag football drills for 12 year olds
What a 12 year old can practice at home: drills the app opens at this age, what changes in flag football this year, how long and how often, what to have at home, and a free week to start.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Flag football rules are set league by league, and no national body we could read sets rules that change by age, so this page keeps to SSTracker's own age rules.
At 12
The age at a glance
- This year
- Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 12 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.
- Drills this year
- Beginner and developing drills. Advanced drills start at 14.
- Flag rules
- No blocking, no tackling, no contact: pull the flag, not the player, and never guard your flag. Stay on your feet; no diving for flags.
- Contact
- Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 12 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.
- At 12
- Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 12 hours for a 12 year old, with two rest days a week.
- At home
- SSTracker keeps one home session for a 12 year old within 60 minutes and plans at most 5 home days a week, with rest days between. That is up from 45 minutes and 4 days at 11.
30 drills
Drills for 12 year olds
Every drill here is one the app opens for 12 year olds, at the level for the age. Each page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a practice log to print.
Catching
Evasion
Flag Pulling
Route Running
Speed & Agility
What you need at home
What you need at home at 12
44 of the 51 flag football drills for 12 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: cones (26 of the 44 drills), flag football (22), flag belts (8), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), chair or fence (1), colored cones (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 29 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.
- Plant and Cut StepsAges 7 and up · 8 min
- Quick Feet in PlaceAges 7 and up · 8 min
- Self-Toss CatchesAges 7 and up · 6 min
- Sharp Cuts at the ConeAges 11 and up · 10 min
- Shuffle and BackpedalAges 7 and up · 8 min
- Throwing Motion FreezeAges 7 and up · 8 min
- Walk the Route TreeAges 7 and up · 8 min
- Bad Ball CatchesAges 11 and up · 10 min
A week to start with
A free week of flag football at home
- 1Route Running at home20 min
- 2Flag Pulling at home20 min
- 3Evasion: Stutter and Go15 min
Questions parents ask
Flag football for 12 year olds: questions and answers
What flag football drills can a 12 year old do at home?
44 of the 51 flag football drills for 12 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: cones (26 of the 44 drills), flag football (22), flag belts (8), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), chair or fence (1), colored cones (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 29 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.
How long should a 12 year old practice flag football?
Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 12 hours for a 12 year old, with two rest days a week. SSTracker keeps one home session for a 12 year old within 60 minutes and plans at most 5 home days a week, with rest days between. That is up from 45 minutes and 4 days at 11.
Is there any tackling in flag football at 12?
No blocking, no tackling, no contact: pull the flag, not the player, and never guard your flag. Stay on your feet; no diving for flags. Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 12 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.
What changes in flag football at 12?
Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 12 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag. Beginner and developing drills. Advanced drills start at 14.
Free for families and teams
Save this plan to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free flag football week for 12 year olds opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits for the age, with progress your child sees against their own start. Coaches can send the same drills to the whole team as homework.
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.