John Havlicek--beating people mentally, not physically

John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics, was a true genius when it came to using conditioning as a weapon. His goal was to get his opponent to give up, to stop overcoming fatigue, to stop pushing himself. Havlicek saw it as a matter of who gives up first. "You'll pass out before you're overworked, but most people don't know that," he once told Orlando Magic senior executive vice president Pat Williams. "They think they're overworked, so they stop. They could have kept going, but they didn't. They weren't beat physically; they were beat mentally."

--Taken from Values of the Game by Bill Bradley

Pre-Season Conditioning Routine

ENDURANCE TRAINING
Metabolic Speed Program

While coaching high school in Tennessee, we used this program to break up the monotony of pre-season conditioning.
This type of program will involve sprinting, carioca, backpedal and side shuffle with a brief amount of rest between each set. It will simulate the running and resting times during a game.

Distance Rest—15 seconds between each drill
1. Baseline to top of key
2. Baseline to half-court line
3. Baseline to foul line
4. Shuffle, baseline to foul line
5. Baseline to foul line
6. Baseline to half-court line
7. Back pedal, baseline to foul line
8. Carioca, baseline to foul line
9. Baseline to half-court line
10. Baseline to baseline

3 Minute Rest
1. Baseline to baseline
2. Side shuffle, baseline to half-court line
3. Baseline to foul line
4. Baseline to baseline
5. Carioca, baseline to top of key
6. Baseline to top of key
7. Side shuffle, baseline to foul line
8. Baseline to top of key
9. Baseline to baseline
10. Back pedal, baseline to foul line

3 Minute Rest
1. Side shuffle, baseline to baseline
2. Baseline to baseline
3. Baseline to foul line
4. Carioca, baseline to foul line
5. Baseline to baseline

Repeat 3 Times Equals One Game