Monday, September 30, 2019

Setbacks


"Are you going to give in and give up or get up and get in?" - Kevin Eastman 

Setbacks are inevitable on the sports landscape. Adversity keeps us company, a companion on life's journey. How we respond to adversity defines us. 

Lady Raider Notes: Via Coach Celli, Melrose's next game at Wilmington is at the WILMINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. 

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Always Be Ready


Sport situations overlap. Injuries and illness happen. Erin Torpey missed a game this year. Karen Sen had back issues and missed half a season. Laura Irwin suffered ankle injuries in two postseasons. Players get the flu, mononucleosis, or asthma. Some might call it force majeure

Here's a recent excerpt from The Athletic's Jeff Howe from Jakobi Meyers, Patriots receiver:

“I grew up, all my sports career, I’ve always been on the back burner,” Meyers said. “I always had to work my way up. It’s the same situation here. I’m used to it at this point, just being patient, working hard. Because all that crying doesn’t really do anything for your situation but just sheds some negative light on it. So, I just try to stay positive, and I want to be ready when my name is called so that way I don’t embarrass myself by crying about playing.”

Be ready at your best when your chance comes. 

Notebooks - Who and What Is Important?

All information contained within is solely the opinion of the author. This does not represent the official opinion of the City of Melrose, the School Department, Melrose High School, or the Melrose Athletic Department. 

Do you keep notebooks? A blog is a form of notebook, although phone apps like Notes, Google Drive, note cards, as well as an 'old fashioned' physical notebook work well.

You decide what belongs... quotes, pictures, inspirational messages, autumn's first leaf. 

Coach Don Meyer kept three notebooks, one for new basketball information, one for new general information, and a third of appreciation for his wife...which he gave her annually...before starting a new notebook. 

In Thinking Volleyball, Coach Mike Hebert shares a few thoughts about his notebook.

Event Management: The Birth of a Resource 

I kept a notebook. It included notes on just about everything volleyball related that I didn’t know enough about or couldn’t do. There were so many things that I had not thought about as I began the job. What equipment should I order? How do I scout an opponent and present a game plan? What about fund-raising? By the way, our first fund-raiser called for our players to scour the faculty offices and hallways on Tuesdays to secure sandwich orders. The sandwiches would be delivered in cardboard boxes to my office on Wednesday morning. Our players would pick up their orders in time to make their deliveries by lunchtime. We made 50 cents per sandwich. One week we took in a whopping total of 58 dollars. I suspect that not many of today’s active coaches can relate to the bottom-feeding fund-raising schemes hatched in the old days. Nor was there anything in the notebook that would guide our fund-raising efforts.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Coaching Perspective


People go into coaching for a variety of reasons, including love of competition. And anyone who coaches knows that defeat is part of that landscape. 

Every loss is disappointing, Fewer bring discouragement. The effort pleased Coach Scott Celli, "proud of the compete and the willingness to hit even when down." 

Volleyball like most sports rewards intent and aggression. Deep playoff runs demand winning points, not just scoring points off opponent errors. 

Many Melrose sectional championships benefited from regular season losses. The 2004 season saw regular season defeats to Arlington Catholic, Central Catholic, and Reading. The 2004 team avenged both of the latter in the post-season en route to the Division 2 North sectional title. 

Game 9: Devil of a Time, Burlington 3 Melrose 2

Burlington (8-1) defeated Melrose (8-1) in five sets to hold the top spot in the Middlesex League Freedom Division. This was the first of three potential meetups with the Red Devils this season. 





In any highly contested match, the winners simply make a few more plays than the vanquished.

Melrose had three attackers with at least thirteen kills - Emma Randolph, freshman Chloe Gentile, and Erin Torpey. 

Melrose is tied for second in the overall Middlesex League race. 

Melrose has a pair of matches next week. 



Friday, September 27, 2019

Define Yourself

Be positive. Be a good teammate. Be here now. Share. Define yourself. 




At Burlington Today, Battle for Liberty Division Lead

Melrose (8-0) travels to Burlington (7-1) to face off against the Red Devils for Liberty Division bragging rights. 


 Via Maxpreps.com


Melrose won the most recent match with a comeback from 0-2, in five closely contested sets. 



Mass Girls HS VB Rankings

Boston Globe poll

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Junior Varsity Roster

Toiling in obscurity, junior varsity players will emerge to become future contributors and linchpins of future success. MANY league title winners, sectional champions, and All-State players began on sub-varsity rosters. In fact a minority of the most successful players began their careers as varsity players.


Many factors inform the end results - size, athleticism, skill, resilience, and engagement. 



The coaching staff is watching you. 

Middlesex League Volleyball Standings

There's a crowd at the top. 


via Maxpreps.com


Getting It Done: One Way or Another


There's no "one way or the other" to play or coach volleyball. My daughters loved the game, partly because I couldn't tell them what to do, when or how to do it. Hand positioning on an outside double block partly determines whether the block works or gets wiped. Run-up, core strength and turn, and arm swing all inform an attack's power. And the game looks a lot easier from the stands than courtside. 
Cuba's Mireya Luis developed a 45-plus inch vertical jump by...jumping. As a child she jumped to pick fruit from trees. 




Mike Hebert's book shares the broader background for volleyball, a global game. His top 20 US team went to Japan and got culture shock. 

"Our nationally ranked Minnesota team competed against four different Japanese college teams. Altogether we played 42 sets against them. Our overall record was 0-42. We scored in double figures three times (side-out scoring). After one of our double-figure outings, the coach of the Japanese team was furious. He ordered his team outside to practice on the asphalt parking lot. There were a few scrapes and bruises visible on his players when they reentered the gym an hour later. As a gesture of kindness, the trip organizers arranged for us to play against an all-star high school team from the local Akita prefecture. We went 8-3 against the high schoolers and were fortunate to do so. They were very good. In my opinion they were better than a lot of college teams in the United States. For the record, the University of Minnesota team returned home to post a 30-4 record for the season and a number 11 national ranking."




It's about getting it done, "one way or another." 

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Game 8: Melrose 3 Wakefield 0

Homestanding Melrose (8-0) beat Wakefield (2-6) in straight sets 25-19, 25-13, and 25-17.


Despite the score, Wakefield put up a lot of resistance with aggressive attacking and solid defense. Melrose's superior consistency and fewer mistakes made the difference. Melrose had only one service error while Wakefield was in double digits. 

Melrose jumped ahead 9-6 and Wakefield took a timeout at 11-6. Emma Randolph was immense on the outside. Melrose expanded the lead to 19-12 forcing another Warrior timeout. Wakefield hung around before dropping the set 25-19. 

Set two was all Wakefield early as the visitors led 1-5, before Melrose captured 14 of the next 16 points to lead 15-7. Melrose has ridden the coattails of Triple E (Emma, Erin, and Emily) most of the season. Today saw growing production from "Club Med" hard-hitting freshman Jen Gentile and sophomore Elena Soukos who are also off-season teammates. Their efforts forced a Wakefield timeout at 20-9, but Melrose cruised 25-13. 

The third set showed Wakefield's resilience and willingness to hit. The Warriors led 11-13 before a Melrose timeout proved to be a wakeup call. Melrose went on a 12-5 run with more good work from Emma and Erin and a key kill from opposite Grace Davis. With Melrose leading 23-17, Chloe punctuated the victory with a pair of kills at the net to apply the coup de grace. 





Game notes: Wakefield did not go "gently into the night." In no way was the match a rout. Melrose got exceptional performance from back row leaders Nicole Abbott and Mary Kate Mahoney and the Lady Raider's "blocking game" continues to mature over the course of the season. All of the blocking combinations are improving. 

Faces in the crowd included long-time photographer Don Norris and former Division 2 Player of the Year Brooke Bell. 

Next up: Melrose travels to Burlington (7-1) on Friday for a major Freedom Division clash. 

Winchester beat Arlington 3-1, Lexington defeated Woburn 3-1, and Reading topped Belmont 3-2 in Liberty Division play. 

Another Day, Another Poll

From Mass Girls HS Volleyball...



Photoessay from Bill Heafey

Bill's-Eye view of Melrose - AC. Good stuff. Click pics to enlarge. 

























Home Today Vs Wakefield and Massachusetts Stat Leaders (Top 10)

Melrose (7-0) seeks its eighth win, hosting Wakefield today at @515 PM at the Veterans Memorial Middle School Gym. 

"Statistics are for losers." - Anonymous

Struggling teams usually struggle statistically. Melrose has Massachusetts leaders in major categories - attacking, assists, and digging. The sum of the three (dig-set-spike) culminates in offensive proficiency. 








Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Middlesex League Standings


Melrose hosts Wakefield tomorrow with the Warriors on a two-game winning streak. As of today, eight ML teams would qualify for the postseason with .500 records or better. 


Updated Maxpreps.com Massachusetts computer rankings