One of the biggest mistakes that players can make is to show up at the conditioning sessions a week before tryouts, or even worse at tryouts, out of shape. As Coach mentioned, to play basketball you have to be in basketball shape. Working out for one week isn't going to get you to where you need to, or want to be, to perform at your best. As an athlete who played both football and basketball at the high school level I can tell you that being in good football shape, or other sport shape, does not mean that you are in good basketball shape. Along with line drills mentioned by Coach Langley here are some other drills to get you in good "basketball shape."
**As always please stretch out properly to avoid any sort of injury**
1.) Jump Rope Drills
30 seconds jumping on both feet
rest for 30 seconds
30 seconds jumping on your left foot only
rest for 30 seconds
30 seconds jumping on your right foot only
rest for 30 seconds
jogging jump rope the length of the court and back
As you start these drills just go for 30 seconds. Once your endurance builds increase the time to continue building your stamina.
2.) Speed/Agility Ladder Drills
Both feet in every square
Left foot in every square
Right foot in every square
Machine gun (left foot in 1st square, right foot in 2nd square, left foot in 3rd square)
Both feet skip a square
Left foot skip a square
Right foot skip a square
These are just a few examples of the numerous ladder drills you can do.
3.) Interval Track Running
Spring full speed on the straight-aways and then jog the corners of a quarter mile track. When first starting out do this for shorter distances, maybe only a few laps around the track, and as you build up your stamina increase the total distance you cover.


