Free drill library · Water Polo

At-home water polo drills for 4 to 6 year olds

This is a free sample week of at-home water polo training for 4 to 6 year olds: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 15 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

At 4, 5 and 6 sport is play, so these are games more than drills. A parent plays along and reads one line aloud for each step, so a child who cannot read yet can still follow.

A free sample week of water polo for 4 to 6 year olds

Session 1

Play session 1: Bounce, Catch, Throw on Land + Animal Parade 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🤾 Bounce, Catch, Throw on Land · 3 min
    Say: “Bounce, catch, then throw it in the bucket!” Praise the try: “Great overhand throw!”
  3. 🐻 Animal Parade · 3 min
    Say: “Let’s be animals! Can you walk like a bear?” Praise the try: “What a strong bear!”
  4. 🤲 Big Ball Catch · 3 min
    Say: “Ready hands out! Watch the ball all the way in.” Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Session 2

Play session 2: Rocket Run + Bounce, Catch, Throw on Land 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🚀 Rocket Run · 3 min
    Say: “Crouch like a rocket. 3, 2, 1, blast off! Run to me!” Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”
  3. 🤾 Bounce, Catch, Throw on Land · 3 min
    Say: “Bounce, catch, then throw it in the bucket!” Praise the try: “Great overhand throw!”
  4. 🚲 Bicycle Legs on a Chair · 3 min
    Say: “Hold the chair and pedal your legs like a bicycle!” Praise the try: “Great pedalling legs!”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Session 3

Play session 3: Big Ball Catch + Rocket Run 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🤲 Big Ball Catch · 3 min
    Say: “Ready hands out! Watch the ball all the way in.” Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”
  3. 🚀 Rocket Run · 3 min
    Say: “Crouch like a rocket. 3, 2, 1, blast off! Run to me!” Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”
  4. 🐸 Frog Jump the River · 3 min
    Say: “Jump over the river with two feet. Land quiet like a frog!” Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 water polo 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

Bounce, Catch, Throw on Land

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

On land: bounce a soft ball, catch it, then throw it overhand into a bucket. Catching and throwing on land before the pool.

  1. Put a bucket or box 3 big steps away, on land.
  2. Your child bounces the ball once and catches it.
  3. Then they throw it overhand at the bucket.
  4. Fetch it together and go again.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Great overhand throw!”

Bring: soft ball, bucket or box

Safety: On land, on grass or a non-slip floor. A soft ball only.

Animal Parade

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Move like animals: bear walk, frog hops, crab walk, bunny hops. Animal moves build strength, balance and coordination through play.

  1. Call out an animal and do it together for about 20 seconds.
  2. Bear walk on hands and feet, frog hops, crab walk, bunny hops.
  3. Let your child pick the next animal too.
  4. Finish with a slow sleepy-sloth walk.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “What a strong bear!”

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Big Ball Catch

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

A grown-up tosses a big soft ball gently from close by, and the child catches it with hands and arms. Catching is a skill for every ball sport.

  1. Stand 2 big steps apart with a big soft ball.
  2. Show “ready hands”: arms out, fingers spread.
  3. Toss the ball gently, underhand, to their chest.
  4. They catch and toss it back. Step back a little after 5 good catches.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”

Bring: big soft ball or beach ball

Safety: A big soft ball only, tossed gently and underhand from close by.

Rocket Run

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Count down from 3 and blast off: a short run to a grown-up and back, then a rest. Short, fast runs build speed.

  1. Put a marker about 10 big steps away and stand by it.
  2. Your child crouches like a rocket at the start.
  3. Count “3, 2, 1, blast off!” and they run to you.
  4. Walk back together and go again, about 6 times.

Coach's cue: Praise the effort: “Wow, you zoomed like a rocket!”

Bring: 2 cones, shoes or toys

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Bicycle Legs on a Chair

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

On land: sit near the front of a sturdy chair, hold the sides, and circle the legs like riding a bicycle. The start of treading water, practised on dry land.

  1. Your child sits near the front of a sturdy chair and holds the sides.
  2. Lift the feet a little off the floor.
  3. Circle the legs like pedalling a bicycle.
  4. Pedal for a count of 10, rest, and go again 4 times.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Great pedalling legs!”

Bring: sturdy chair

Safety: On land, on a sturdy chair that does not tip, with a grown-up close by.

Frog Jump the River

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Two lines make a “river”. Jump across with two feet and land quietly like a frog; make the river a little wider when it feels easy.

  1. Lay two ropes or towels on the ground a small step apart: that is the river.
  2. Your child jumps across with two feet together.
  3. Land quietly with bent knees, like a frog.
  4. After a few jumps, move the ropes a little further apart.

Coach's cue: Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”

Bring: 2 ropes, towels or chalk lines

Safety: Land on two feet with bent knees on grass or a soft surface. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Safety for ages 4 to 6

  • Every game here is written for ages 4 to 6: no positions, no heading, no diving and no contact.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: water polo

  • A polo cap with ear guards for every shooting, goalie or contact drill.
  • A ball your size (size 1 for the youngest).
  • A lifeguard or water-safety certified coach watches every session.
  • Deep-water play only after you can tread for 30 seconds; until then, play where you can stand.
  • Contact: hands on the body only, never on the head or neck, and never push anyone under.
  • Shoot at the goal corners, never at a person. Goalies start with soft balls.
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 15 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.

Ages 4 to 6: play and movement skills (11)
Other sports and safety for the youngest (4)

More plans