Kelvin Sampson shares why coaches should coach out of positive fear to drive you to be the best you can be and to always have a chip on your shoulder. pic.twitter.com/f6TwEio1XQ
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization. Adapted from my basketball blog.
"How you do anything is how you do everything."
"Focus is a superpower."
What is focus?
Focus synthesizes awareness of surroundings- time, space, and situation - and the ability to make decisions under pressure.
We did a drill in high school with a passer and a line of receivers about 12-15 feet away. The passer would start by passing a medicine ball to the next person in line and the "line" would be passing a basketball back. Two balls in play. Pay attention or risk getting a medicine ball in the kisser (it happened!).
The Focus Spectrum
Focus includes the ability to prepare, to learn the playbook, assignments, and the scouting report. Restated, focus happens long before you ever step onto the court for games.
Focus is knowing where your scorers thrive with the ball, how an opponent wants to attack. Focus is being able to play "harder for longer." Focus is learning to "see the game" by being coachable and through video study.
Teams without focus are often "not on the same page" and unlikely to execute. Conversely, players and teams that execute have proven their ability to focus.
Keep it simple
Focus includes "wide focus" about what happens in the geometry and player motion and "narrow focus," being able to read a defender (e.g. attack the front hand/foot) or go for a steal as it leaves a dribbler's hand (e.g. Kawhi) or returns after bouncing off the floor.
Games are won and lost because of missed assignments or loss of focus, where players "got lost" during a timeout.
Charles Barkley noted that Zach Randolph scored partly because of "Dummies."
Training Focus
Mindfulness
Asteroids is a cheap version of high tech training available
No free shooting...add focus with constraints...time, scoring requirement and a hand in the face
Focus isn't a solitary skill. Sometimes it requires intense physical training and at others the ability to sit your butt in a chair to study a playbook, opponent video, or American history.
Lagniappe. "If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus." - Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant defined focus through singular, unwavering attention to a specific goal, "I focus on one thing and one thing only - that's trying to win as many championships as I can."
Focus translates not to playing matches or sets, but playing hard to succeed this play. It's ability to be present and to reset immediately.
Some of the freshmen from MVB recently participated at the USAV Nationals in Indianapolis. The team improved throughout the tournament and gained valuable experience playing top teams from around the US.
Here are some photographs courtesy of Lee-Anne Dautovic.
Sport training isn't mandatory...unless you thirst for success. It doesn't have to be drudgery.
Find fun activities that raise athleticism and train with a teammate. Think "out of the box."
Jump rope - five minutes once a day.
Pilates
Dance (AI assist)
A randomized pilot study compared a dance video game training program to traditional agility ladder drills in elite volleyball players. The investigators used the Wii system with "Just Dance" 2014. Athletes could presumably substitute other dance video exercise.
After six weeks:
Both groups improved.
The dance-training group showed significant agility gains.
In some analyses, the dance group improved more than the ladder-drill group.
The study is small, but fascinating because it suggests that rhythmic movement training may transfer to volleyball agility.
Why Dance Might Help Volleyball
1. Better Footwork
Elite dancers spend thousands of hours learning:
Weight transfer
Change of direction
Precise foot placement
Movement efficiency
That sounds a lot like:
Setter footwork
Defensive movement
Blocking footwork
Transition movement
2. Enhanced Body Awareness
Researchers consistently find that dance training improves balance and proprioception. Years of ballet training appear to alter how the nervous system organizes movement and balance.
Better body awareness can improve performance and potentially reduce injury risk.
3. Better Landing Mechanics
One of the most intriguing findings from dance research is the emphasis on controlled landings.
Dance training teaches:
Soft landings
Alignment
Joint control
Force absorption
Those same qualities are critical for volleyball athletes who may perform 100+ jumps in a training session.
4. Rhythm and Timing
Many volleyball actions are timing problems disguised as skill problems.
Examples:
Blocking
Hitter approach timing
Setter-hitter connection
Defensive reads
Dance develops rhythm, timing, and synchronization.
A hitter who is consistently early or late often has a timing issue rather than a strength issue.
Historical Examples
A surprising number of elite athletes have incorporated dance:
NFL receivers
Figure skaters
Martial artists
Boxers
Basketball players
Perhaps the most famous basketball example is Hakeem Olajuwon, whose footwork was frequently described as dance-like.
A Volleyball Blog Angle
Lessons:
Balance before power
Footwork before speed
Body control before athleticism
Rhythm before force
Grace before explosiveness
"Volleyball players often admire the vertical jump of great athletes. They should also admire the movement quality of great dancers."
Volleyball players often think athleticism begins with jumping. Athleticism begins with movement. Anything that trains athletes to move with rhythm, balance, coordination, and confidence deserves consideration. Shuffle dancing may look unconventional, but so did jump rope, yoga, and ballet -until athletes discovered they worked.
Lagniappe. Not a replacement for skill or volleyball play, but a possible supplement for 5-10 minutes a couple of days a week.
Leaders don't travel the same path as everyone else. They model excellence. They set the standard. They challenge others to meet it.
Some young women don't want the mantle of leadership. They don't want to stand out or be a called a "witch" or worse.
Leaders make leaders.
Leaders take ownership of the program. "This is who we are. That is not how we play."
During tryouts at another school, $20 went missing from a player's locker. The captain spoke up. "I don't know who took that $20 and I don't care. But if you did, don't show up here tomorrow." Not everyone came back.
Leaders make everyone around them better.
Leaders aren't on time. They're early.
Leaders leave the gym and the bench area better than they found it.
Leaders "prove others wrong."
Leaders champion accountability.
Don't set the standard. Raise it.
Some of you have only a few months remaining in your volleyball career. How are you going to invest them?
Successful people have something in common. They've failed...a lot. Failure allows us to make "course corrections" in reassessing what we've done and how we can improve.
Failure is data. Take advantage of data to learn from it.
This doesn't mean an all-consuming obsession with failure. From studying game (and sometime practice) video, examine both strengths and areas to practice.
Years ago Melrose had a relatively tall attacker who often struggled because her contact point was barely above the net. When attackers struggle, break down (video) the process:
1) Attack footwork
2) Coordination of footwork with armswing
3) Decision making - "the right shot at the right time"
4) Contact point and difficulty for defense
5) Execution of the shot
Each of us has "three lenses" of visualization:
How we see ourselves
How we see others
How we see the world
Take ownership of our attitude, beliefs, values, and actions. Model excellence for teammates. Don not become a victim of "bad officiating" or "bad luck" or "bad sets." As Coach John Wooden advised, "Don't whine. Don't complain. Don't make excuses."
Great players want to be coached, to be informed of how they can be better. Setbacks are inevitable. Overcoming them is a choice.
Lagniappe. "Champion Mentality:
Stays positive
Takes responsibility
Finds solutions
Admits their faults
Asks for feedback
No Victim Mentality
No Complaints
No Blame for others
No excuses
Recognizes faults
Wants feedback" - Allistair McCaw in "Habits That Make a Champion"
Titles get reorganized. Companies get acquired. Markets shift, layoffs happen, the role you trained five years for can disappear in a Tuesday morning meeting.
Twenty-four years of watching MVB reveal one point about all - simplify the game. Like most sports, volleyball rewards skill, strategy, and athleticism. But there’s more.
1. Strong teams radiate competitive character. Strong opposition doesn't quit either.
2. Successful teams score points and don’t rely on opponent weakness.
3. Scoring “positive” points comes off attacks, service, and block-kills. Continually put your opponent in an unfavorable position.
4. Strong teams find ways to win and weaker teams find ways to lose.
5. Communication is underrated. It starts in practice.
6. Use "economics." Strong teams get more attacks to better players - the allocation of limited resources.
7. "Utilize strengths, attack weaknesses."- The Art of War Take advantage of your advantages. Coaching is a strength.
8. Support each other. That is not always human nature. All great achievements in society occur as collaboration.
Sport is often about "space" and "time." In baseball there's a pitching saying, "Work fast, change speeds, throw strikes." In basketball, "Offense is spacing and spacing in offense." In football, "Control the line of scrimmage."
Volleyball also rewards controlling space and time.
Control what you can control. Body language falls one-hundred percent within our control.
"When an individual displays poor energy and body language in a team setting, it not only disrupts the balance of the team but also indicates a selfish and ‘only I matter’ attitude." - Allistair McCaw in "Habits That Make a Champion"
Attitude and body language are trainable habits.
Athletes show strong body language by standing upright, with their heads up and shoulders back. In the image above, the athlete leaves no doubt that she is a competitor.
You've seen this video many times. Note how Elena and Autumn (serving) carry themselves, projecting confidence. That attitude extends through the play where Elena attacks from the back, Billerica is on the defensive, and Gia sets perfectly to Abby for the match winner.
Ask your coaches, teammates, and family to watch your body language. Champions act like champions before they are champions.
Lagniappe. "You can see a Champion from a mile away. They look like Champions. They act like Champions. You can tell by the way they walk, the way they talk, and the way they present themselves. A Champion shows a humble confidence." - Allistair McCaw
"Every play's got a life and a history of its own."
Extract value from speeches and reading.
Play every play as though it's the most important. Approach every class as meaningful. Treat every practice, every drill as foundational to your growth.
Do that while growing character and competence and you've done your best with a great chance at success.
As a coach, my philosophy is "share something great." For example:
Books
Philosophy
Quotes
Learning Strategies
How not to repeat painful losses
Everyone decides:
- What we want
- What that will take
- Can we pay that price?
1. Surround yourself with great people.
Find mentors, your Personal Board of Directors. "You lie down with dogs you get fleas."
2. Traffic in Specifics.
"Do the right things, the right way, every time." Young people don't know what that means. Explain this is what I'm going to tell you, explain it, and close the loop by asking them to explain it. And keep doing that process. "Deets."
3. "The Power of Negative Thinking"
Live "via negativa." Avoid traps - bad people, alcohol and substance abuse, risky behaviors - selfies on cliffs, free climbing, fast or distracted driving. "Physics is real."
4. "Do hard better."
Focus. Plan. Write your plan. Build great habits like punctuality, preparation, reading, and gratitude. "The wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain."
5. Avoid complacency.
Chop wood, carry water. Don't return to fundamentals. Never leave. Do the work with college focus every day. Sweat. Persist. Inspire.
You might say, "that is all simple." Simple is hard.
Lagniappe. Rolf Dobelli's "The Not To Do List" has a multitude of wisdom. Chapter 13... "Don't get involved in other people's drama." Drama kills teamwork. Your teammates are your sisters. How do you treat your sisters?
The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
The Silver Rule: "Do NOT do unto others as you would not have them do unto you."
