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

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

Quarterback: Backpedal Basics 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Backpedal Basics · 4 min
    Nose over toes, stay low.
  3. Skipping Path · 4 min
    Step-hop, step-hop.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 2

Quarterback: Overarm Target Throw 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Overarm Target Throw · 4 min
    Point, step, throw. Safety: Throw only into clear space or a solid wall, with nobody in the way. Use a soft or light ball.
  3. What Down Is It? · 4 min
    Know the down before every play.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 3

Quarterback: Freeze and Go 12 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Freeze and Go · 4 min
    Stop low and quick.
  3. Catching with Soft Hands · 4 min
    Eyes to the tuck. Hands, not body.
  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

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

Skipping Path

Ages 5 to 10 · 6 min

Learn to skip and gallop, two of the basic movement skills, with fun patterns along a path.

  1. Gallop along a path leading with one foot, then the other.
  2. Skip with a step-hop on each foot.
  3. Add big arm swings.
  4. Do 4 trips each.

Coach's cue: Step-hop, step-hop.

Bring: open space

Overarm Target Throw

Ages 6 to 10 · 8 min

Throw overarm at a target, stepping with the opposite foot. A basic movement skill every child should learn.

  1. Stand side-on to a target 4 to 6 steps away.
  2. Point your free hand at the target.
  3. Step with the opposite foot and throw overarm.
  4. Count hits out of 10, then try the other hand.

Coach's cue: Point, step, throw.

Bring: soft balls or beanbags, bucket or target

Safety: Throw only into clear space or a solid wall, with nobody in the way. Use a soft or light ball.

What Down Is It?

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

Learn downs and yards to go with a simple family quiz game.

  1. A parent says what happened on a play, like "gained 4 yards on first and 10".
  2. You say the new down and distance.
  3. Add penalties and first downs as you get better.
  4. Do 15 questions.

Coach's cue: Know the down before every play.

Bring: paper, pencil

Freeze and Go

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

A stop-and-start game: freeze in a ready stance on "freeze" and burst on "go".

  1. Jog around a small cone box.
  2. On "freeze", stop in a ready stance in two steps.
  3. On "go", change direction and burst 3 steps.
  4. Play for 6 minutes with breaks.

Coach's cue: Stop low and quick.

Bring: cones, parent or 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

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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