Wrestling drills for 6 year olds
At 6, practice conditioning, stance & motion and escapes & reversals: the skills the 9 drills SSTracker opens for 6 year olds train. SSTracker keeps one home session for a 6 year old within 30 minutes and plans at most 3 home days a week, with rest days between. Why: Ages 6 to 12 are the "sampling years": high play, low deliberate practice (Côté and Vierimaa 2014).
What a 6 year old can practice at home: drills the app opens at this age, what changes in wrestling this year, how long and how often, what to have at home, and a free week to start.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated November 5, 2026
USA Wrestling places children by birth year in two-year divisions (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U), so a division holds children of two or three ages in a season.
Free, no account. A week for this sport and age, kept to healthy limits.
At 6
The age at a glance
- This year
- At 6, wrestling is play on a soft surface: balance, rolling, crawling and tag-style games, with no partner takedowns. USA Wrestling's youngest division in our research is 8U.
- Drills this year
- At 6, SSTracker's plans are the ages 4 to 6 games: play with a ball, no positions and no contact. Beginner drills start at 7.
- Skin checks
- Check skin routinely, not only before tournaments; a wrestler with a rash, sore or cold sore stays off the mat and sees a doctor before any partner work (NFHS; SSTracker's rule).
- Partner work
- Partners of similar size, age and experience, at drill speed, with a coach watching. No slams, nothing around the neck, and finish takedowns to the side. Training is never about weight: SSTracker never tracks body weight.
- At 6
- Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 6 hours for a 6 year old, with two rest days a week.
- At home
- SSTracker keeps one home session for a 6 year old within 30 minutes and plans at most 3 home days a week, with rest days between.
9 drills
Drills for 6 year olds
Every drill here is one the app opens for 6 year olds, at the level for the age. Each page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a practice log to print.
Conditioning
Stance & Motion
Escapes & Reversals
What you need at home
What you need at home at 6
9 of the 9 wrestling drills for 6 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: beanbags or rolled-up socks (1 of the 9 drills), big soft ball or beach ball (1), bucket or a big box (1), cones, shoes or toys (1), ropes, towels or chalk lines (1), scarf or sock to tuck in a waistband (1), soft grass or a mat (1). 3 drills need nothing but space.
A week to start with
A free week of wrestling at home
- 1Ready Stance Shuffle + Animal Parade15 min
- 2Rocket Run + Ready Stance Shuffle15 min
- 3Big Ball Catch + Rocket Run15 min
Questions parents ask
Wrestling for 6 year olds: questions and answers
What wrestling drills can a 6 year old do at home?
9 of the 9 wrestling drills for 6 year olds work at home, in a room, garage or yard. Most used: beanbags or rolled-up socks (1 of the 9 drills), big soft ball or beach ball (1), bucket or a big box (1), cones, shoes or toys (1), ropes, towels or chalk lines (1), scarf or sock to tuck in a waistband (1), soft grass or a mat (1). 3 drills need nothing but space.
How long should a 6 year old practice wrestling?
Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 6 hours for a 6 year old, with two rest days a week. SSTracker keeps one home session for a 6 year old within 30 minutes and plans at most 3 home days a week, with rest days between.
How do you keep a 6 year old safe from skin infections in wrestling?
Check skin routinely, not only before tournaments; a wrestler with a rash, sore or cold sore stays off the mat and sees a doctor before any partner work (NFHS; SSTracker's rule).
Is partner wrestling safe for a 6 year old?
Partners of similar size, age and experience, at drill speed, with a coach watching. No slams, nothing around the neck, and finish takedowns to the side. Training is never about weight: SSTracker never tracks body weight.
What changes in wrestling at 6?
At 6, wrestling is play on a soft surface: balance, rolling, crawling and tag-style games, with no partner takedowns. USA Wrestling's youngest division in our research is 8U. At 6, SSTracker's plans are the ages 4 to 6 games: play with a ball, no positions and no contact. Beginner drills start at 7.
Free for families and teams
Turn this into your child's week
Pick the days and minutes you have and see a wrestling week for 6 year olds, kept to healthy limits for the age, with no account. A free account saves it and shows progress against your child's own start. Coaches can send the same drills to the whole team as homework.
30 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.