Monday, March 18, 2024

Volleyball: Hitting Harder

"Dig, set, spike." Work the process, developing your run up, timing, arm swing, and athleticism. 

Versatile attacks also matter - power, tooling, down the line, tips, cut shots. 

Arm swing exercises:

Arm swing engages core for torque, shoulder, triceps, and wrist snap.

Bean bag drill. 



Weighted ball practice. An old baseball or softball can be weighted by hammering nails into it. 


Medicine ball and band exercises. Bands are versatile and relatively inexpensive online. 


Think about consulting former teammates who were 'big hitters' for tips about their technical and physical training programs. 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Public Speaking

Public speaking is a life hack. People judge us by the content of our writing and speaking. That may not be fair, but it's true. Improving all communication helps you advance. 

The best time to fill your toolbox and add life hacks is when you're young. That allows you to maximize the Achievement Equation: 

ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME

Start young and the TIME lasts the longest. 

The MVB blog informs MVB history, culture, volleyball principles, physical training and more. And it shares ideas for personal growth:

Remember that "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement" and "experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted." Consider how to speak well. 

Here are concepts, some adapted from MasterClass.

Impact. Great addresses change the world. You've heard some, like The Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy's Inaugural ("Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."), General MacArthur's speech to West Point graduates ("duty, honor, country"). 

Audience. Know your audience. To reach them, know them. Learn their needs, desires, and backgrounds. The graduates of the most affluent communities differ from those in less affluent ones. 

Connection. Find ways to touch the hearts of your listeners. Admiral McRaven spoke to graduates at the University of Texas explaining SEAL training, starting with make your bed. After the hardest day imaginable, it's great to return to a well-made bed. 

Communication. Speak the language of your audience. Jargon, slang, and cursing might work for a few audiences, but usually not. I recall a speaker at a college event telling students about preparing for interviews. She began, "flip flops are not shoes." 

Humor. Humor helps us connect. Most stories have three parts - beginning, middle, and end. "What were the last words Washington told his men before crossing the Delaware? (Pause.......). Get in the boat." 

Stories. Make stories memorable. In Made to Stick, the Heath Brothers advise the acronym SUCCESS - simple, unexpected, concrete (specific), credible, emotional, stories. Reading the blog helps arm you with stories. 

Questions? Sometimes questions help frame a debate. Dan Pink reminds us of the 1980 Presidential election where Ronald Reagan asked, "are you better off than you were four years ago?" But only ask when you are certain... You remember 2020, being in the throes of the Global Pandemic? MVB didn't have a 'real' season. 

Practice! To become a better speaker, practice your delivery - by yourself, in front of a mirror, in front of trusted friends. 


Screenshot from MasterClass

"But they might not like me or my presentation." Don't worry about what other people think. Remember this Four Agreements suggestion, "Don't take anything personally."

Lagniappe. Take instruction from YOUR coaches first. But study other video and develop new skills. Above all on defense, "keep the ball up." 

Third Helping - We Always Know Less Than We Need to Know

Don't worry about being the 'smartest guy in the room'. Walk into a library and look around. What fraction of the available knowledge do we know? It's tiny. That doesn't keep us from being productive, making progress, and being successful.

Knowledge about 'X' like Romanian History, probably won't help me solve a problem or relate to another person. But it might, such as knowing about Nicolae Ceausescu. "The last 15 minutes of a dictator's life are always the worst."

If Coach Scott Celli and his staff ask you to practice something, do something, or read something, it's because they believe it adds value for you. 

Last season doesn't count toward this season. 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Pay the Rent

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

Find your mantra:

  • "Champions do extra." - Legacy
  • "Always do your best." - The Four Agreements
  • "How you do anything is how you do everything." 
  • "Be the best version of yourself."  
  • "Impact the game." 

Fight For It

Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

As a youth coach, I trained players to compete for contributing roles on varsity as freshmen. That's uncomfortable for upperclassmen and their families. It made some coaches' job harder, too. 

Sport is a meritocracy. Varsity spots are not union jobs. Seniority shouldn't factor into team selection, minutes, or roles. 

Practically, most freshmen aren't ready to play from a skill and experience standpoint. Many are physically developed. Frosh can impact winning and have earned big roles in MVB.   

In Give and Take, Adam Grant categorizes peoples as givers, matchers, and takers. Those who fare best are ambitious givers. When applied to sports, that means concern for one's role and opportunity while staying 'team first' guys. 

Production is a numbers game. Every team has a finite number of positions. It's a battle to make the squad and contribute. 

What are you willing to fight for? 

Lagniappe. The new (NCAA rule) and the old days of volleyball. 


Friday, March 15, 2024

Productivity

"Good artists borrow; great artists steal." - Picasso

Productivity gains speed education. Here's an image to study.  

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Start...to get started. Pick a few that work for you. 

Pomodoro technique. 25 minutes on and 5 minutes off studying. 

Eat the frog. Do the hard thing first. 

"Not to do" list. Achieve more by eliminating time wasters. 

The same principles can work for approaching athletics. 

1. Take breaks to hydrate and refocus mentally. 

2. Zoom in on your "must have" MVB craft. 

3. Simplify. If it doesn't impact winning and your skill set, let it go. 

Lagniappe. There's no such thing as defense that's "too good."
 

The Glass Ceiling

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. 

Hear Sheryl Sandberg's TED lecture. The glass ceiling is real. 

Stand up for opportunities for women in sports and everywhere else. Be competent, be confident, and be liked. "Strong" men get viewed as assertive. Strong women often get labeled something else.  

Teach girls to compete and succeed. They become women who compete and succeed. 

Here are some notes: 

9/190 heads of state are women.

13 percent of Parliament members in the world are women. 

In the "C-suites" of America, women percentages top out at 15-16%.

Sandberg asks how do we fix this? She thinks women are dropping out of the high end. 

What messages do women hear? 

Women feel guilty balancing work and family life. 

"Sit at the table." Women systematically underestimate their ability. Successful men credit themselves and women say they're lucky. "Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women." Keep your hand up...men are reaching for opportunities. You can, too. 

"Make your partner a real partner." Women do twice the housework and three times the childcare. Working at home is hard. 

"Don't leave before you leave." Dividing time between work and children challenges...especially women.

She wants her daughter not only to succeed but to be LIKED for her accomplishments. 

Stand up for yourself.

Lagniappe. Great players are students of the game. Study the game. 

Being Your Best Version

Model excellence.

Little girls come to watch you compete, to be the best versions of yourselves. Make their MVB experience life changing.  

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Extinguishing a Habit

Breaking habits is the inverse of establishing them.  

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Instead of easy, attractive, obvious, and rewarding features of the habit cycle, make it hard.

The most obvious time waster is social media. Habit forming games like Candy Crush can burn lots of time. Sports gambling is a problem habit for many adults. The easiest way to make 'playing' hard is to delete the app. 

When the bad habit disappears, replace it with a better one - work around the house, reading or study, more time and focus on developing your physical presence. 

Lagniappe.  


Volleyball jump exercises. Three simple ones:

Single leg jump rope
Drop jumps - be safe!
Lateral shuffle to jump (blocking simulate)...maximal effort. 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Defying Gravity


Volleyball celebrates defying gravity. Defense "keeps the ball up." Attackers soar over the net. Teams succeed by overachieving, punching above their weight. 

Blending power and flight forge formidable challenges. Nobody did it better than Cuba's Mireya Luis. 


Work on your vertical. Keep it simple. 
  • Jump rope
  • Weighted squats
  • Weighted lunges
  • Pogos
  • Power (distance) skips
  • Rear leg elevation squats
  • Serial jumps 
  • Tuck jumps (single and double-legged) 
Here's advice from ChatGPT: 

Increasing jump height involves a combination of strength, power, and technique. Here are some exercises that can help improve your vertical jump:

  1. Squats: Squats are essential for building lower body strength, particularly in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Both back squats and front squats can be effective.

  2. Deadlifts: Deadlifts primarily target the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Strengthening these muscles can contribute to a more powerful jump.

  3. Lunges: Lunges help to strengthen the muscles in each leg individually, improving balance and stability, which are crucial for explosive movements like jumping.

  4. Box Jumps: Box jumps are a plyometric exercise that directly translates to improving vertical jump height. Start with a low box height and gradually increase as you progress.

  5. Jump Squats: Jump squats combine strength training with explosive power. Perform a regular squat but explosively jump as high as you can on the way up.

  6. Calf Raises: Strong calves are important for generating power during the push-off phase of a jump. Perform both seated and standing calf raises to target different parts of the calf muscles.

  7. Plyometric Exercises: Incorporate plyometric exercises like depth jumps, bounding, and hurdle jumps to improve explosive power and fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment.

  8. Single Leg Exercises: Exercises like single-leg squats or Bulgarian split squats can help to address any strength imbalances between your legs, improving overall jump performance.

  9. Core Strengthening: A strong core is essential for stability and transferring power from the lower body to the upper body during a jump. Include exercises like planks, Russian twists, and leg raises in your routine.

  10. Proper Technique Practice: Work on refining your jumping technique, including arm swing, knee drive, and landing mechanics. Technique plays a significant role in maximizing jump height and minimizing the risk of injury.

Remember to incorporate a mix of strength training, plyometrics, and proper technique work into your routine. Additionally, allow for adequate rest and recovery between workouts to prevent overtraining and optimize performance gains. If possible, consider working with a qualified trainer or coach who can provide personalized guidance and feedback on your training program.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Believe

You can only be as good as you believe you are. Years ago we walked into a Middlesex League gym and overheard girls sitting on the bleachers. One said, "we'll probably lose by 40." Another said, "it might only be 30." It went poorly. 

Adopting that attitude brings defeat before you've even started. You face no team that cannot be beaten. But you have to beat them. Don't expect them to roll over. Be the alphas. Lead. Impact winning. 

Defeat doesn't bring shame. Not showing up does. 

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Third Rails

"Social Security is the third rail of American politics. Touch it, you're dead." 

What are the third rails of coaching? What areas are so toxic as to foster fatality? 

1. Politics. Nobody can isolate politics from sports. Carl Pierson's The Politics of Coaching belongs on every coach's bookshelf. Carl examines how many in the sports ecosystem work to undermine others. 

2. Work-life balance. Finding a balance to maintain healthy family relationships challenges every coach. 

3. Isolation. Coaches need help. Whether it's formal like Coach Calipari's "Personal Board of Directors" or less so with mentors, assistants, or other confidants, hear other voices. Good ideas come from anywhere. 

4. Acrimony with parents. A state Coach of the Year coach told me a parent literally "bought out" his contract with a generous donation. Even a hired gun can get taken out by bigger munitions. 

5. Playing time. The Unholy Trinity of minutes, role, and recognition dominate perception. Despite the wisdom of Solomon, you will not divide the three to everyone's satisfaction. A coach who won multiple state championships told me he got a phone call from a parent FIVE MINUTES into the season complaining about his son's playing time. He turned off the phone from then on. 

6. Strategy. Unless your name is Krzyzewski or Summitt, you'll be second-guessed by people with only fractional sport knowledge and experience. That doesn't even account for game management. 

7. Lack of discipline. Players seldom work to undermine coaches through on-court actions. But all too often, off the court actions can be coaches' undoing. Academics, chemical health, and social media all require restraint. 

8. On-court player decisions. It's the math. Teams need a maximal number of winning possessions to succeed. Execution begins with vision and decisions. 

Lagniappe. Excellent video analysis of positioning and touches. Your coaches have the final word. 

Coming Attractions

Commit to learning every day. Empower yourselves. 


















 









Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Find Ways to Raise Your Game

Winning is hard. Doubters abound. Most programs have to take their lumps. MVB wasn't an instant success. 

Incubating the 2012 title was losing the State Championship the year before. Having more upperclassmen who have fought the battles matters. 

Another part is confidence borne of proven success. Don't live at the extremes of arrogance or doubt. Inhabit the middle - confidence.

Elevate your game with skill and harnessed fury. Burlington basketball in 2006 knocked out two star players but Melrose still led by 25 with four minutes left. Melrose cleared the bench and Burlington scored the final 18 points. Their parents were saying, "we're just as good as you." In the rematch, the girls asked the Melrose coach if they could unleash their full fury. Melrose led 42-10 after 10 minutes. Then the coach called off the dogs.

A first division North Shore League coach told MVB players, "we should have beaten you today." In the rematch first set, Melrose won 25-3. A Melrose player quipped, "is that good enough?" 

If you're going to run your mouth, then you had better be able to back it up. Usually, silence is better. 

Lagniappe 2. Trust. 

Lagniappe 3. Martin looks at Setter 4.