Sports
⭐ Drill of the day: Cone weave
Put five shoes in a line in the driveway. Down with one hand, back with the other, three times. Count your best time.
🏀 Basketball, ages 4–13. Easier: Walk it, and use two cones farther apart.
🏀 Basketball on your own
Ball tricks
In the kitchen or the yard: twenty circles round the waist each way, then count how many bounce-and-catches you can do in a row.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Fingers spread”
Cone weave
Put five shoes in a line in the driveway. Down with one hand, back with the other, three times. Count your best time.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Eyes up”
Stoplight dribble
Ask someone at home to call the colors, or call them yourself every ten bounces.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Head up”
Roll it, bounce it, catch it
Bounce the ball to yourself off a wall and catch it with two hands, ten times in a row.
ages 4–7 · Say to yourself: “Hands ready”
Partner passing
Chest pass against a wall from three steps. Catch it, and count how many in a row.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Step in”
One-hand form shooting
Lie on your back and shoot the ball straight up so it lands back in your hand, twenty times. It trains the same finish with no hoop at all.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Elbow in”
Jump stop and pivot
In the yard: dribble five bounces, jump stop, pivot all the way round, ten times.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Two feet land”
Mirror slides
Slide from one side of the room to the other ten times, touching the floor at each end.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Stay low”
Shooting spots
Mark five spots with chalk round any hoop. Three shots at each, and write down how many went in.
ages 8–13 · Say to yourself: “Catch ready”
⚽ Soccer on your own
Toe taps and sole rolls
In the yard or the hall: one minute of toe taps, then one of sole rolls. Count your taps and try to beat it tomorrow.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “On your toes”
Dribble through the gates
Two shoes as one gate in the yard. Dribble out and through it, turn, and back, twenty times.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Little touches”
Stoplight dribble
Have someone call the colors, or call them yourself every ten touches.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Small touches”
Knock down the cones
Stand three empty plastic bottles in the yard and knock them over from five steps, one at a time.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Look at the cone”
Pass through the gate
Pass against a wall or a step, inside of the foot, stop it, pass again. Fifty, with both feet.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Inside of the foot”
Roll, stop and pass
Kick the ball gently against a wall and stop it as it comes back, right foot then left.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Get behind it”
Shoot for the corners
Two shoes as posts against a fence. Ten shots, aiming between the shoe and the middle.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Plant beside it”
⚾ Baseball and T-ball on your own
Tee stations
Dry swings in the yard, with nobody near you: twenty slow swings, freezing at the finish each time.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Eyes on the ball”
Step and throw
Throw a tennis ball against a wall and catch it, stepping with the glove-side foot each time.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Point and step”
Alligator ground balls
Roll a ball against a wall or step and field it as it comes back, twenty times.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Down early”
Run the bases, call the bases
Four cushions or shoes in a square in the yard: run them in order, saying each base.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Touch the base”
High toss catch
Toss a soft ball up to yourself, a little higher each time, and catch it with two hands.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Call it”
🏈 Flag football on your own
Flag grab
Tuck a sock into each side of your waistband and practice spinning away from a grown-up's hand in the yard.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Eyes on the hips”
Tuck and run
Tuck a ball and jog round the yard switching arms at every corner.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “High and tight”
Handoff exchange
Practice the pocket: toss the ball gently into the air and catch it with your arms closed like a handoff, twenty times.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Make a pocket”
Diamond hands catch
Throw a ball against a wall and make the diamond for every catch, high ones and low ones.
ages 4–13 · Say to yourself: “Make a diamond”
Keep your flags
Tuck a scarf in your waistband and run a zigzag round the yard while a grown-up tries to grab it.
ages 4–9 · Say to yourself: “Hands on flags”
Target toss
Set a laundry basket in the yard and throw at it from three distances, ten throws each, counting the ones that land in.
ages 6–13 · Say to yourself: “Side-on”
Three routes: slant, out, go
Mark the cone with a shoe and run each route five times, saying its name at the cut.
ages 8–13 · Say to yourself: “Sell it straight”
Toes in: the sideline catch
Toss a ball up, catch it, and land with both feet inside a line of shoes on the grass, ten times.
ages 8–13 · Say to yourself: “Eyes on it”
Play with friends
The Gym's games are for a group, and nobody is ever out. Warm up first with a warm-up you build.
⚽ Everything in Sports
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