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At-home football drills for 7 to 10 year olds: defensive back

This is a free sample week of at-home football training for 7 to 10 year olds, for a defensive back: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 12 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 7 to 10 year olds

Session 1

Defensive back: Follow the Leader Jog 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Follow the Leader Jog · 4 min
    Keep moving, have fun. Safety: Bring water, go at a pace where you can still talk, and stop if you feel dizzy, sick or have chest pain.
  3. Balloon Keep-Up · 4 min
    Light taps, watch it. Safety: Clear the space of furniture with sharp corners.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 2

Defensive back: Bridge Marches 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Bridge Marches · 4 min
    Hips high and level. Safety: Use only your body weight or a light load. Good form beats more reps; stop if anything hurts.
  3. Wall Drive March · 4 min
    Straight line from head to heel.
  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: Catching with Soft Hands 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Catching with Soft Hands · 4 min
    Eyes to the tuck. Hands, not body.
  3. Carrying and Ball Security · 4 min
    High and tight. Both hands in traffic.
  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

Follow the Leader Jog

Ages 5 to 10 · 10 min

Take turns leading a jog around the yard or park with skips, side steps and silly walks mixed in.

  1. Pick a leader; everyone follows in a line.
  2. The leader changes the movement every 30 seconds.
  3. Swap leaders every 2 minutes.
  4. Keep going for 8 to 10 minutes with walking breaks.

Coach's cue: Keep moving, have fun.

Bring: open space or park

Safety: Bring water, go at a pace where you can still talk, and stop if you feel dizzy, sick or have chest pain.

Balloon Keep-Up

Ages 5 to 10 · 6 min

Keep a balloon off the floor using hands, knees, head or feet. Great indoors on a rainy day.

  1. Tap the balloon up with your hand.
  2. Keep it in the air using different body parts.
  3. Count how many taps before it lands.
  4. Play together and count as a team.

Coach's cue: Light taps, watch it.

Bring: balloon

Safety: Clear the space of furniture with sharp corners.

Bridge Marches

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

Strong hips power every start and block; lift your hips and march in place.

  1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is a straight ramp.
  3. March, lifting one foot then the other, for 10 steps.
  4. Rest and do 4 sets.

Coach's cue: Hips high and level.

Bring: mat or grass

Safety: Use only your body weight or a light load. Good form beats more reps; stop if anything hurts.

Wall Drive March

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Learn the forward lean and knee drive of acceleration while holding a wall.

  1. Lean into a wall with straight arms and a straight body.
  2. Drive one knee up, then switch slowly.
  3. Speed up to quick switches for 5 seconds.
  4. Do 6 rounds with 30 seconds of rest.

Coach's cue: Straight line from head to heel.

Bring: wall or fence

Catching with Soft Hands

Ages 7 and up · 10 min

Catch with your hands and not your body.

  1. Make a diamond with your thumbs and index fingers for high balls.
  2. Have a partner toss chest-high passes from 5 yards.
  3. Catch with your hands, then tuck the ball away right away.
  4. Do 20 catches.

Coach's cue: Eyes to the tuck. Hands, not body.

Bring: football, partner or wall

Carrying and Ball Security

Ages 7 and up · 10 min

Keep the ball tight while you change direction.

  1. Tuck the ball with five points of contact: fingertips, forearm, bicep, chest, and elbow.
  2. Weave through five cones at a jog.
  3. Switch the ball to the outside arm on each turn.
  4. Do 6 trips, then speed up.

Coach's cue: High and tight. Both hands in traffic.

Bring: football, cones

Safety for ages 7 to 10

  • Plans for this age group use beginner 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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