1. Drills
  2. Flag football
  3. For 9 year olds

Flag football drills for 9 year olds

What a 9 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.

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At 9

The age at a glance

This year
Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 9 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.
Drills this year
Beginner drills. Developing drills start at 11, 2 years from now.
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 9 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.
At 9
Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 9 hours for a 9 year old, with two rest days a week.
At home
SSTracker keeps one home session for a 9 year old within 45 minutes and plans at most 4 home days a week, with rest days between. That is up from 30 minutes and 3 days at 8.

27 drills

Drills for 9 year olds

Every drill here is one the app opens for 9 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.

Route Running

Speed & Agility

Throwing

Catching

Evasion

Flag Pulling

What you need at home

What you need at home at 9

24 of the 27 flag football drills for 9 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: flag football (12 of the 24 drills), cones (11), flag belts (3), chair or fence (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1), tape or marker (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 13 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

A week to start with

A free week of flag football at home

  1. 1Throwing at home20 min
  2. 2Catching at home20 min
  3. 3Flag pulling: Eyes on the Hips15 min
The week, with steps and fridge cards The age group's plans and sources

Free printables

Weekly planner (PDF) Parent and player card (PDF) All free printables

Questions parents ask

Flag football for 9 year olds: questions and answers

What flag football drills can a 9 year old do at home?

24 of the 27 flag football drills for 9 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: flag football (12 of the 24 drills), cones (11), flag belts (3), chair or fence (1), laundry basket (1), tape (1), tape or marker (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 13 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

How long should a 9 year old practice flag football?

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 9 hours for a 9 year old, with two rest days a week. SSTracker keeps one home session for a 9 year old within 45 minutes and plans at most 4 home days a week, with rest days between. That is up from 30 minutes and 3 days at 8.

Is there any tackling in flag football at 9?

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 9 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag.

What changes in flag football at 9?

Tackling and blocking drills, with or without contact, are never shown under 14 in SSTracker; at 9 it is flag skills: passing, catching, footwork, dodging and pulling a flag. Beginner drills. Developing drills start at 11, 2 years from now.

Free for families and teams

Save this plan to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free flag football week for 9 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.

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