Dinner Time

We have an odd family saying, "Don't waste it." For instance, if someone asked, "how was that cake?," answering "Don't waste it" means that it was fantastic...as in "don't eat all of it."

Experiences are similar. Entrepreneur Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, explained how her father asked her brother and her each Saturday night dinner, "What did you fail at this week?" He not only gave them permission to fail, but made failure a badge of courage to explore. 

Here are some "Don't waste it" thoughts:

Don't 'waste' practice, be it passing, hitting, attacking, or a session in the weight room. Einstein used to think in pictures. 

Graph created with ChatGPT Plus:

Attackers choose among complex options that depend on the set, the defensive alignment, and the attacker's skill set. There is obviously less margin for error down the line or with the cut shot, with the tradeoff being more 'room for landing' without defenders close by. 

By studying film, your "mind's eye" can see what is actually happening at any given moment in a play. 

I've shown wonderful attack mechanics by Adriana, an elite athlete. Here's one that's less efficient and worth learning from...watching in slow motion (use the 'gear' adjustment) and repeatedly reveals what happened. 

1. Runway... plenty of room for her three-step (left-right-left) attack

2.Footwork...instead of her usual medium-long-short desired footwork, the timing is off and it's long-short-short-shuffle (I think it's because she was early)

3.Armswing...tends to parallel footwork. Her high initial upswing leads to a shortened back armswing and the timing is disrupted...that compromises the lift on the jump and therefore the potential contact point and attack angle. 

4.Notice that the Ipswich OH has dropped behind the block to cover the tip and the entire right side of the court (shorter) is open. 

What I suspect happened was that the set was higher than anticipated and that changed the timing. The point is solely to illustrate how small difference can disrupt the attack. 

Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla emphasizes that in each match, there may be fifteen or so points that might be managed differently and that players can learn by studying the details. 

Lagniappe. Passing off the midline 

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