November 14, 2003, Newsletter Issue #136: IN SEASON CONDITIONING

Tip of the Week

I prefer to do most of the conditioning with a ball, or by doing some activity that works on a basketball skill. We might do an intense full court dribble drill, offense vs. defense, a full court passing drill or some type of transition drill. One of my favorites is playing full court 3 on 3, no dribble. Watch how fatigued they get running, trying to get open, pivoting to protect the ball, and defending all of the above. Players focus on the activity and skill, rather than thinking that they are just “conditioning”.
If players are required to stay in stance, play with intensity, and run the floor as fast as they can throughout practice then mixing in a few “conditioners" should be all that you need. Running at the very end of practice can cause players to try to “save” themselves by not practicing as hard as they can. This can create a negative effect, and players may develop bad habits.
Finally, if the last thing that players do at practice before they hit the locker room and go home is something that they do not enjoy (or even dislike!), that is what they will be talking about until the next practice comes around. A negative atmosphere may be brewing, without even knowing it. A much better method is to end practice on a positive note, and have everyone looking forward to getting back to work at the next practice.

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