Thursday, September 15, 2022

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Mark Twain attributed the following to Benjamin Disraeli, "there are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics." That's old school. 

In Michael Lewis's classic, "Moneyball," Billy Beane asks a scout, "If he's such a good hitter, why doesn't he hit better?" 

There's the eyeball test, I know what I see, analytics, the numbers, and the hybrid approach. Truth lies in the middle. 

Coach Scott Celli tracks and enters the stats on Maxpreps.com.  

There's no interpretation applied - no diving saves, pancake digs, miracle returns, or crunch time versus late game rout analysis, just raw data. Click to enlarge.






Players impact success in many ways:
  • Modeling excellence in character and academics
  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Positivity and energy
  • On-court performance (including statistics)
  • Practicing hard daily, challenging rotation players
  • Being supportive teammates
  • Persistence

As a long-time fan and former volleyball parent, I root for the team. That parallels the success of individual players. When the most girls present the best version of themselves, great things happen. 

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