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At-home football drills for 11 to 13 year olds: defensive back

This is a free sample week of at-home football training for 11 to 13 year olds, for a defensive back: 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 football for 11 to 13 year olds

Session 1

Backpedal and break 13 minutes

  1. Backpedal with good posture · 4 min
    Chest over toes, arms pumping
  2. Break forward on a clap · 5 min
    Plant and drive, full rest between
  3. Turn and run with a partner · 4 min
    Open the hips, stay on top

Session 2

Defensive back: Four-Corner Box Drill 14 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Four-Corner Box Drill · 5 min
    Plant outside foot, stay low. 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. Ladder Footwork Patterns · 5 min
    Right first, then fast.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 3

Defensive back: Comeback Route Catches 14 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Comeback Route Catches · 5 min
    Come back to the ball. Safety: Use a clear, soft area and throw at a speed your partner can handle.
  3. Brake and Stick · 5 min
    Hips back, knees over toes. Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.
  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 football 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

Four-Corner Box Drill

Ages 10 to 14 · 10 min

Move around a small square using a different movement on each side: run forward, shuffle, backpedal, shuffle.

  1. Set a square of cones 5 yards apart.
  2. Run forward up the first side, shuffle across the top.
  3. Backpedal down the far side, shuffle back to the start.
  4. Do 3 each direction with rest between.

Coach's cue: Plant outside foot, stay low.

Bring: 4 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.

Ladder Footwork Patterns

Ages 10 to 14 · 10 min

Quick foot patterns through a ladder on the ground: two in, in-out, side steps.

  1. Lay a ladder or draw one with chalk.
  2. Run through with two feet in each square.
  3. Then try in-in-out-out sideways.
  4. Do 3 trips of each pattern; get it right before getting fast.

Coach's cue: Right first, then fast.

Bring: agility ladder or chalk ladder

Comeback Route Catches

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Run up the field, stop and come back toward the ball to catch it.

  1. Jog 8 yards up the field.
  2. Plant, turn back toward your partner and come to the ball.
  3. Catch with your hands out in front and tuck it.
  4. Do 8 each side.

Coach's cue: Come back to the ball.

Bring: football, cones, partner

Safety: Use a clear, soft area and throw at a speed your partner can handle.

Brake and Stick

Ages 10 to 14 · 10 min

Learn to slow down safely: jog or run to a line and stop within three steps in a low, balanced position.

  1. Mark a start cone and a stop line 10 yards away.
  2. Run to the line and stop in three steps.
  3. Finish with hips back, knees over toes, chest up; hold for 2 seconds.
  4. Do 8 reps, building speed only when the stop stays controlled.

Coach's cue: Hips back, knees over toes.

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.

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.
  • Tackle-football contact drills are never shown under 14; younger players keep flag and non-contact fundamentals.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: football

  • Helmet fitted by a coach, mouthguard and full pads for any contact.
  • A cup and well-fitted cleats.
  • Tackling and blocking contact only with a coach, in a helmet and pads. Never practise tackling at home.
  • Tackle with the head up and out of contact (shoulder tackle). Never lead with the helmet.
  • Full-contact practice is capped (USA Football: 30 minutes a day, 120 a week). Many experts advise flag before 14.
  • Hot preseason: 14 days to get used to heat and gear, water at every break, stop on dizziness or headache.
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 28 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.

Football: governing bodies, safety and development (8)
Youth athletic development and safety (20)

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