Track & Field Throws Practice Plan for 11 and 12 Year Olds
At 11 and 12, throws training is throwing ATHLETICISM: rotational power built with a medicine ball or any weighted substitute (a basketball in a bag, a heavy playground ball), the standing shot put's PUSH pattern (a press from the neck, never a baseball throw: the one safety-critical distinction), and general explosiveness. Real implements join where programs provide them; the engine builds fine without.
This session runs about an hour with a med-ball-ish object (4-8 pounds suits most), chalk, and open grass with a safe throwing direction. The throws' secret gets shared early: throwers are the strongest SPRINTERS-AND-JUMPERS on the track, and the youth curriculum is exactly that athleticism with a rotational accent.
This plan was written for every 11 and 12 year old. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
Why medicine-ball work instead of a real shot put?
Because the engine precedes the implement: rotational power, leg drive, and the press pattern build completely with a med-ball, safely and at home, while real shots (and discs especially) want proper circles, sectors, and supervision. Programs supply implements; the home job is the athlete who makes them fly.
What weight of ball is right?
Four to eight pounds for most 11 and 12 year olds: heavy enough to demand the whole body, light enough that patterns stay crisp and joints stay happy. A basketball in a sturdy bag or a heavy playground ball substitutes fine. When the pattern breaks, the ball is too heavy: downsize without ceremony.
Is the press-not-throw rule really that important?
It is the shot put's foundational safety and technique law: pressing from the neck loads the big safe structures, while baseball-throwing a heavy implement loads the elbow and shoulder exactly wrong. Installed as the first habit, it never needs unlearning: every coach the kid ever meets will thank this rule.