--- title: "120 touches: ball-control reps with Dad tossing" published: "2026-10-18" updated: "2026-10-18" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "20 min" cost: "$0" ages: "4 to 12" where: "A flat spot about 15 feet long, away from the street. Use a soft foam or light ball indoors." topics: ["indoor"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=120-touches" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/120-touches/" --- # 120 touches: ball-control reps with Dad tossing > You sit and toss. Your kid traps and catches and counts out loud toward a goal. 120 is a target to work toward, not a training standard. ## What you need - A ball: soccer ball outdoors, soft foam ball indoors (have) - A chair or stool for Dad (have) - Water bottle for each of you (have) - A pencil and this card for the tally (have) ## Before you start - **Drink up.** AAP says to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise or play, and to cut back or stop in high heat and humidity. - **Take breaks.** AAP says rest periods during play can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness. The plan has one halfway. - **Stop if it hurts.** AAP says to stop the activity if it hurts and not to play or exercise through the pain. - **Away from the street.** Play in the yard or a room, not the driveway or near the street. If the ball rolls toward the road, Dad gets it. ## Steps 1. **Warm up and drink** (Together) Three easy minutes: jog in place, then jumping jacks, then a few big arm circles. Take a drink of water before you start. 2. **Pick the goal** (Together) Sit in the chair about 6 to 10 feet from your kid (4 to 5 feet for ages 4 to 6). Pick tonight's target by age: 20 for ages 4 to 6, 60 for 7 to 9, up to 120 for 10 to 12. Say it out loud: "120 is something to work toward. Tonight we're just counting." Ages 4 to 6: do only rounds 1 and 3 (catch, then foot), 4 minutes each, with the water break between them. 3. **Round 1: catch** (Together) Toss underhand at about waist height, and your kid catches and tosses it back. Hands make a basket, pinkies together, and pull the ball in. Your kid counts each clean control out loud: the ball ends up in their hands or at their feet within one touch, without bouncing away. About 2 minutes, then move on even if the goal isn't reached. Ages 4 to 6: 4 minutes, then the two-minute water break. 4. **Round 2: thigh, then a water break** (Together) Toss soft and a little higher. Your kid lifts one knee to waist height, lets the ball land on the flat of the thigh and lowers the leg as it lands so the ball drops to their feet. About 2 minutes. Then stop for a two-minute water break and shake out your legs. 5. **Round 3: foot** (Together) Toss so the ball bounces once just in front of your kid. As it comes down, they put the sole of the foot on top of it and stop it, or cushion it with the inside of the foot. About 2 minutes. Ages 4 to 6: 4 minutes. 6. **Round 4: chest** (Together) A soft toss to chest height. Your kid leans back a little, arms out, bends the knees and lets the ball drop to their feet. About 2 minutes. 7. **Total it up and stretch** (Together) Add up the clean controls and write the number on the card. Hit the goal? Celebrate. Missed it? "That's tonight's number. Next time we start there." Don't compare with other kids. Then two minutes of easy stretches for legs and arms, sitting on the grass or floor, and put the ball away together. ## If it stalls - If they miss a lot, toss slower and shorter, or drop the goal in half. Fewer clean reps is fine. - If it gets too easy, toss a little higher, scoot your chair back a step or switch feet. - If they lose interest in counting, let them pick the next skill or add a silly one, like a knee trap. - If there's no yard, use a foam ball in a cleared room away from lamps and glass. ## Variations - **Ages 4–6:** Goal 20. Two rounds of about 4 minutes, catches and foot traps only, and you toss from 4 or 5 feet. Let them count the reps on their fingers. - **Ages 7–9:** Goal 60. All four rounds. Add one challenge round where they pass it back with the other foot. - **Ages 10–12:** Goal up to 120 across the four rounds. They keep the tally on the card and set next week's goal. - **Rain:** Move inside with a foam ball in a cleared room, or wait for a dry afternoon. - **Cold:** Warm up a little longer and wear layers you can shed. Skip the chest round if their jacket is stiff. ## Sources - **Kids and daily activity.** CDC says children 3 to 5 need to be active throughout the day, and children and adolescents 6 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day, mostly aerobic. This plan is a ball-skills session, not a substitute for that daily activity. (checked 2026-10-17) - **Fluids, breaks, stopping when it hurts, stretching.** AAP says to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise or play to avoid dehydration, and to decrease or stop in high heat and humidity; to take breaks, because rest periods can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness; to stop if it hurts; and that stretching after play can increase flexibility. (checked 2026-10-17)