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

This is a free sample week of at-home football training for 7 to 10 year olds, for a lineman: 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

Lineman: Crab Walk Path 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Crab Walk Path · 4 min
    Hips high like a crab. Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.
  3. Backpedal Basics · 4 min
    Nose over toes, stay low.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 2

Lineman: High and Low Catches 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. High and Low Catches · 4 min
    Hands first, then tuck it away.
  3. Backpedal Basics · 4 min
    Nose over toes, stay low.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 3

Lineman: 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. Puddle Jumping · 4 min
    Swing the arms, land like a cat. 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 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

Crab Walk Path

Ages 6 to 10 · 6 min

Walk like a crab, tummy up, on hands and feet. Builds strong shoulders and hips.

  1. Sit, place hands behind you and feet in front.
  2. Lift your hips off the ground.
  3. Walk forward, backward and sideways along a path.
  4. Do 4 trips of 10 steps.

Coach's cue: Hips high like a crab.

Bring: open space

Safety: Good form beats more reps: stop the set when your form slips. Muscles may feel tired; stop if a joint hurts.

Backpedal Basics

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Defensive back footwork: move backward low and balanced with your eyes forward.

  1. Start in a low stance with your weight over your toes.
  2. Push off the front of your feet and step backward for 10 yards.
  3. Keep your shoulders over your knees and your arms swinging.
  4. Do 8 trips at an easy pace.

Coach's cue: Nose over toes, stay low.

Bring: 2 cones

High and Low Catches

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Learn the right hand shape for balls above and below your waist.

  1. Stand 8 yards from your partner.
  2. For high throws make a diamond with thumbs together.
  3. For low throws put your pinkies together.
  4. Catch 15 high and 15 low.

Coach's cue: Hands first, then tuck it away.

Bring: football, partner

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

Puddle Jumping

Ages 5 to 10 · 8 min

Pretend lines or towels are puddles and jump over them with two feet, landing quietly like a cat.

  1. Lay out 5 or 6 "puddles" of different sizes.
  2. Jump over each one with two feet.
  3. Land quietly with bent knees.
  4. Go through the course 4 times, making the puddles wider if it feels easy.

Coach's cue: Swing the arms, land like a cat.

Bring: chalk, rope or towels

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 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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