1. Warm-ups and stretches
  2. Football

Football Warm-Up, Ages 11 to 13

A 10-minute moving warm-up for football players aged 11 to 13: running, moving stretches, plank, balance, landings and build-up runs, then football moves, with a note on growth spurts.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Ages
11 to 13
Time
10 min
When
Before training
Bring
Football

Before training

  1. 01Jog easy for
  2. 02Moving warm-up over
  3. 03Leg swings, 10
  4. 04Plank on your
  5. 05Balance on one
  6. 06Jumps
  7. 07Build-up runs
  8. 08Sport moves
Moving, never still holds: the still stretches come after training.

Core: All 10 minutes, before practice. Same order every time, so it becomes your own habit.

The steps

How it goes

  1. Jog easy for 1 minute, then skip, side shuffle and backpedal for 1 minute.
  2. Moving warm-up over 10 to 15 yards and back: high knees, heel flicks, carioca each way, then open-the-gate and close-the-gate walks (lift the knee and turn it out, then in).
  3. Leg swings, 10 forward and back and 10 side to side each leg; then walking lunges with a twist toward the front knee, 6 each leg.
  4. Plank on your forearms for 20 seconds, then a side plank for 15 seconds each side, body straight like a board.
  5. Balance on one leg for 20 seconds each side, reaching the free foot slowly forward, to the side and behind.
  6. Jumps: 5 squat jumps with soft landings, then 5 side hops landing on one foot and holding still for 2 seconds, each leg.
  7. Build-up runs: three runs of about 15 yards at half speed, three-quarter speed and nearly full speed; walk back each time.
  8. Sport moves: backpedal and turn, then catch 10 easy tosses from a partner while jogging. No contact in a warm-up.

Coaching points

  • Knees over toes on every landing, and hold the landing still.
  • Build speed in steps: the last run should feel ready, not tired.
  • Moving stretches now; still stretches after practice.

Safety: A flat, clear space with room to run. Stop if anything hurts: a warm-up should leave you ready, not tired.

Growing fast? Growth spurts: many girls have theirs between about 10 and 14 and boys about two years later. While you grow fast, muscles can feel tight and landings clumsy for a while; that is normal and it passes. Keep the work light (your own body weight), stretch gently and never push into pain. Sore just below the kneecap or at the back of the heel after sport? Tell a parent or coach and rest it. If the pain keeps coming back, makes you limp, or is there even when resting, see a doctor.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Mirror warm-up: face a partner and copy each other’s moves on the spot, taking turns to choose the next move from the list.

Practice makes progress

Start every session this way

In SSTracker every planned session starts with the warm-up for the child's age and ends with the cool-down, so the habit is built in.

Free for families and teams

Save the week with this routine built in, free

Sign up and the free football week 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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