— TRAINING SESSION

Conditioning Without Pain (U10)

Block and Bank · 39 minutes · 6 drills · Generated 13 May 2026

Age group: U10
Focus: Conditioning
Duration: 39 minutes
Drills: 6

Build fitness through play. No suicides, no punishment running. Just continuous activity that leaves kids tired but smiling.

6DRILLS

39MINUTES

7AVG / DRILL

1 Animal Walks Warm-Up

5 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

Players cross the court doing different animal walks: bear crawl forward, crab walk sideways, inchworm forward, frog jumps, spider crawl.

Full-body dynamic warm-up that's actually fun. Activates hips, shoulders, core, gets kids laughing.

Coaching points

Bear crawl: opposite hand and foot together.
Crab walk: bum off the ground, eyes forward.
Inchworm: straight legs on the walk-out.
Frog jumps: explode from squat, land soft.
Don't sacrifice form for speed.

2 Full Court Dribble Warm-Up

8 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u10 Court: Full

Pattern: right hand only down, left hand only back. Then crossover every other step. Then between-the-legs every third step. Then behind-the-back every third step.

Daily warm-up mixing movement, ball-handling, conditioning. Five minutes prepares hands AND legs.

Coaching points

Eyes up the whole length, never look at the ball.
Low stance, engage the legs.
Fingertip control, no slapping.
Game speed by lap 3.
Finish with a layup at the far rim every time.

3 Lines Conditioner

8 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u14 Court: Full

Players start on the baseline. Sprint to free-throw line and back, half-court and back, far free-throw line and back, full-court and back. Touch every line with a hand. Track times.

Classic basketball conditioner. Builds anaerobic capacity and mental toughness.

Coaching points

• Touch every line with a hand — no shortcuts
• Plant on the line, don't run through it
• Stay low on the change of direction
• Push through the second half — that's where conditioning is built
• Times posted on the wall = motivation

4 Touch the Lines

8 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u12 Court: Full

Players on baseline. Coach calls a line ('half-court!', 'free throw!', 'three-point!'); players sprint, touch with hand, sprint back. Random order.

Reaction-based conditioning. Builds explosive change of direction.

Coaching points

React fast, first step matters.
Touch with a hand, no cheating.
Low on the turn.
Return HARDER than you went out.
Listen actively, don't drift.

Note: Reaction conditioning

5 Conditioning Triangle

6 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u14 Court: Half

Three cones in a triangle, 10 metres apart. Defensive slides between cones 1 and 2, sprint between 2 and 3, backpedal between 3 and 1. Repeat 5 times.

Full-body conditioning that mimics game movement: forward, lateral, backward.

Coaching points

Touch every cone with a hand.
Stay low on slides.
Full sprint, don't pace.
Backpedal with arms swinging.
Maintain pace across all 5 sets.

6 Cool Down Routine

4 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

End-of-practice: 30 seconds each, toe touches, quad stretch, hamstring stretch, calf stretch, lunge stretch, cobra back stretch, shoulder rolls. Total 4 minutes.

Most coaches skip it. Don't. Recovery starts here. Players who stretch consistently miss less practice from soreness.

Coaching points

Slow movements, no bouncing.
Breathe, exhale on stretch.
Don't push through pain, just to the edge.
Hold each stretch.
Debrief while stretching: what worked today?