Making progress takes a sense of humility. You must be humble enough to believe that you can constantly improve and that you never arrive.
— Logan Simmons (@CoachLSimmons) March 2, 2026
It takes intentionality to move forward. You cannot drift to a desired destination. You must intentionally move forward with your focus on… pic.twitter.com/lytSIi2Xyg
Bring your best focus, effort, and energy today. That's the way to honor the support and sacrifices your family makes.
Our imagination helps us answer the question, "What don't you see?" What could make you an impactful player?
When watching a sport, ask more than "What am I seeing?" Ask, "What am I not seeing?"
In basketball, that includes:
Not enough blocking touches. Not enough aces. Not enough aggressive swings in transition.
Teams sometimes lose not because they are terrible - but because they are slightly insufficient. Close matches have little margin for error.
The stat sheet tells you what happened. It does not tell you what should have happened.
Final arguments
So the next time you watch a match - ours or anyone’s, ask two questions:
"What am I seeing?" And, "What am I not seeing?" Championships often hide in the invisible.
Lagniappe. An unavoidable truth, exceptional players become exceptional athletes.
Use this 3-tier jump circuit to improve your vertical ⬇️
— Keith Ferrara (@keithjferrara) March 1, 2026
a) Pogo Jumps
b) Box Jump
c) DB Squat Jumps
3-4 sets per exercise
Start with 50 reps & accumulate volume over time pic.twitter.com/mrgJ0ex5n6
Lagniappe 2. Excellence requires that you see what isn't there.
View on Threads
Process makes progress.
Put the best version of yourself on display every day - at home, at school, and in the community. Excellence starts with wanting to be your best, showing up consistently.
At school, you share presentations with teachers and your peers. Welcome them as opportunities to demonstrate your preparation, practice, and competence.
Your audience judges you by substance, content presentation, and your style, how well and how confidently you speak.
Preparation
Audiences crave not only content, but remember The Big Three:
Style
Know your audience. You wouldn't address first graders as you would University representatives during a college interview.
Show good posture. Keep your hands out of any pockets. Some hand movement may reinforce points. Avoid speaking too slowly or too fast.
Avoid punctuating your speech with "er," "um," "like" or "you know." Better to ask, "am I being clear" if you're uncertain.
Humor can be helpful as can "emphasis points." In 1986, at a tuberculosis lecture at National Jewish Hospital in Denver, John Sbarbaro began by walking up to the first row (there were maybe 40 of us attendees), and coughing violently over them. "If I had symptomatic active tuberculosis, now you'd all have it."
Substance
Statistics can mean a lot in context. Imagine that a defense attorney says, "DNA testing is not infallible" and the prosecution expert says, "The odds that the DNA on the victim are not the defendant's are one in a million." Or that the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, "Here's our annual budget. In 1,600 years, that equals that of NASA."
Be a Storyteller
Tell a compelling story that will move your audience. Remember the SUCCESS acronym, better yet, write it down.
View on Threads
Every season ends in tears.
Some are joyful tears, team tangled at midcourt, a dogpile of red and white beneath banners that did not help them win but remind them that others once did.
Some are tears of frustration, mascara and silence in a visiting locker room, the long bus ride home heavy with “almost.”
The match would start in a few hours. More chaos than chess on hardwood maple.
Red and white banners overlook the silent gym, memories of something special. Banners don’t win matches. They reflect sacrifice - early lifts, film sessions, bus rides that smelled of Gatorade and nerves.
The gym itself sits in that middle ground - neither new enough to be antiseptic, nor old enough to be charming. Green hoses snake rainwater from ceiling seams toward the crow’s nest broadcast booth, as if engineering were an afterthought. Red composite stands, set well back from the court, hold rare wads of Wrigley’s and lollipop stems - artifacts of adolescence.
Gyms are theaters of joy and frustration. MVB postseasons seldom die at the Middle School. Symbolically, a defibrillator hangs nearby.
Team chairs sit opposite the stands, flanking a narrow cutout that leads to small offices. “Benches” are history. Nobody’s a benchwarmer anymore. Acronyms like ROOTS - Royal Order of the Splinter - are relics from another era. Roles exist. Contribution is expected. Identity is earned.
Many Melrose Volleyball players have plied their trade here - soaring above the tape, cooking pancake digs, hitting hard at the pins. They did whatever it took to vanquish opponents and imprint banners with numerals: league, sectional, state.
An area coach once labeled Melrose a “legacy program.” Others were less charitable, calling MVB “simple.”
If simple means collaborative culture, positive coaching, and consistent winning, then simple isn’t so bad.
Volleyball receives too little credit as a thinking person’s sport. Servers blend power, spin, and sector to craft edges. Attackers read seams and block hands in fractions of a second. Defenders rely on short-area quickness and the tiny reaction time of platform angles. A setter calculates tempo and mismatch like a point guard with gravity.
Chaos at speed.
Coach Scott Celli has piloted the program for as long as many can remember. Nothing immunizes a coach from criticism. Once sixteen consecutive league titles. Ten sectional crowns. One state championship. Those help. But banners cannot defuse a parent’s advocacy for minutes, role, or recognition. That advocacy belongs to the ecosystem.
Empty gyms conjure loud memories.
The echo of a clean kill. The hush before match point. The thud of a service error at 23–23.
Precious few players strike the ball with both sound and fury - power married to poise. Volleyball is the only sport where a parent can stand and celebrate a child’s kills with pride and without apology.
Losses bring lessons. No Melrose team has gone undefeated - not even the 2012 champions. There is always film to review. Always a serve to tighten. Always a seam to close.
Strong teams adopt an “anyone, anywhere” mentality. Raising your level means seeking better competition. Records don’t lie. You are what your record says you are.
Harsh New England winters frame the halcyon days of MVB. Snow banks outside. Steam rising from breath in parking lots. Inside, the season will unfolds - practices upon practices, habits layered upon habits.
And then, suddenly, it ends. Every season ends in tears. Because something mattered. Teammates became sisters.
Because banners, for all their limits, reflect something deeper, willingness to give more than was required.
The gym will go silent again. The green hoses keep dripping. The red stands wait patiently.
Until winter breaks.
And chaos returns.
Are you a hero or a Warrior? pic.twitter.com/qhksbOT7KX
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) February 22, 2026
In individual sports, it's about you. Golf, singles tennis, individual swimming events..."run your race."
Team sports differ. The Brits would say, "The sum of the parts..." in the fashion of "...lead a horse..."
Here are a few Anson Dorrance quotes:
*All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official product of any City of Melrose Organization. This piece has significant AI contributions.
"Rare things are dear." The Latin phrase is short. The lesson is not.
In volleyball, the most valuable things are rarely the loudest.
We live in a highlights culture, ESPN top tens. Big swings. Monster blocks. But factors that win consistently - the things that travel in tournament play and hold up in November - are almost always quieter.
They are rare.
Everyone wants to swing hard. Fewer want to master serve receive.
An outside hitter who can deliver a pass on a tough float serve in the fifth set? Rare.
A middle who closes the block on time instead of chasing stats? Rare.
A libero who communicates early, clearly, and calmly when the gym is loud? Rare.
In recruiting, coaches seek separation. Not “good.” They look for something scarce. Because scarcity change matches. Difference makers are hard to find. Rarer is dearer.
Adequate sleep is common knowledge. Film study is available to everyone.
Journaling after matches? Almost extinct. All add value.
You know this saying, “Every day is player development day.” Development doesn't inhabit the dramatic moment. It lives in the repeatable one.
A player who stretches without being told. A player who asks for feedback without defensiveness. nA player who sprints to shag balls when she’s not in the drill.
That athlete becomes valuable not because the behavior is flashy - but because it is scarce.
In economics, scarcity drives price. In sports, scarcity drives trust and trust wins matches.
Talent is distributed widely.
Unselfishness is not.
A teammate who celebrates the assist as much as the kill. A senior who mentors a freshman without insecurity. A captain who is accountable when things go poorly.
Those are rare behaviors.
And they are dear to coaches.
Team-first culture sounds obvious. But ego creeps in quietly. Statistics get compared. Playing time gets monitored.
Character under pressure? That’s scarce.
Ettore Messina once said, “Character is skill number one.” He understood something essential: skill without character is common. Skill with character is rare. And rare changes programs.
In tight matches, outcomes often hinge on restraint.
Not every ball needs to be crushed. Not every error needs a visible reaction.
The rare player can regulate arousal. The rare setter can choose the high-percentage option instead of "hero ball." The rare defender resets after a shank and doesn't let a drop become a river.
Emotional control is invisible — until it isn’t.
The Paradox
The rare qualities in volleyball are not secret. They are neither advanced tactics nor exotic systems. They are ordinary disciplines, repeated -consistency, communication, accountability, effort. They are rare not because of complexity - but because of sustainability.
The ability to maintain competitive character is where separation lives.
If rare is valuable, what do we need it?
Rare in ball control?
Rare in transition defense?
Rare in service pressure?
Rare in composure after errors?
Programs don’t become elite by accident. They become elite by cultivating scarce traits intentionally.
Practice what is uncommon. Because in volleyball - as in life - rare things are dear.
Be rare. Be special.
Lagniappe. Culture rules.
Young players, be inspired by the all-around excellence of "The Unicorn," Gia Vlajkovic.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on the importance of mental health and the role coaches play:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) February 25, 2026
“I get to see these guys every single morning… I see their faces. So, after a few weeks you know when things [are off]... Don’t just ask somebody how they’re doing. There’s a follow up to… pic.twitter.com/mBAQfFypL9
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.
"Be easy to play with and hard to play against." What does that mean for volleyball?
The best teammates make the game lighter for everyone else. They reduce friction.
Easy to Play with (top qualities):
Stars matter. So do the grinders. Legacy is built in that tension.
BUY IN signs:
— Daniel Makepeace (@PureIntensityBB) February 25, 2026
🏀Eye contact
🏀Good body language
🏀Talking in practice
🏀Echoing instructions
🏀Quick to praise
🏀Enjoying the process
🏀Coachable
🏀Helping up teammates
🏀First to everything
🏀Last to leave
10 @TedLasso leadership lessons:
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) February 22, 2026
1 be curious
2 winning is an attitude
3 all people are different people
4 see good in others
5 forgive first
6 stay teachable
7 believe in yourself
8 optimists do more
9 be honest
10 doing right thing is never wrong thing
pic.twitter.com/BNiTnZfmpU
*Lightly adapted from my basketball blog
"In all of the professional walks of life - medicine, the law, politics, the arts, and so on - the ability to rationally describe and ultimately perform the function of leadership is essential. The heart of truly professional activity is a sense of community, an accepted set of normals, traditional processes of advancement, and an orderly application of effort in pursuit of important goals." - R. Manning Ancell in The Leader's Bookshelf about "The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil Military Relationships"
Books inform important inputs sculpting our leadership. The half dozen books below resonated for me.
Teaching how to become a leader is an important coaching function. Becoming a leader as a student-athlete is both a choice and an obligation. Lead by modeling excellence and building your leadership portfolio. Professionals maintain a professional reading practice.
Your experiences with family and peers, teachers/coaches, and books shape your leadership arc - knowledge, philosophy, and style. Add value by sharing your volleyball wisdom. Get buy-in through relationships that capture hearts and minds.
They Call Me Coach (John Wooden) 1972
Wooden shares an abundance of beliefs inhabiting his coaching. Two worth noting:
Excellence is built in daily habits and revealed in moments of pressure. We make our habits and our habits make us.
In his "Letter to Players" he marks his territory, telling players that he makes decisions, whether they like them or not, with the intent of doing what is in the best interest of the team.
Legacy (James Kerr) 2013
Kerr gets under the hood of the legendary New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team. Two key messages:
"Leave the jersey in a better place." The All-Blacks have an enduring tradition of excellence. Players understand that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Few organizations inhabit that domain.
"Sweep the sheds." Leaving the locker room or the bench area in better condition than you found it is consistent with metaphorical "commitment to excellence."
The Score Takes Care of Itself (Bill Walsh) 2009
Walsh was the architect of the 49ers dynasty and later was a professor at Stanford. Two lessons:
Walsh's "Standard of Performance" embraced a philosophy of discipline, detail, and commitment to improvement. "Standards" are a common theme in sport and business and Walsh was an 'early adopter' if not founder.
Attention to detail was a core concept for everyone in the organization - how staff answered the phone, striped the field, or taught blocking.
The Leader's Bookshelf (James Stavridis) 2017
Admiral Stavridis and others summarize fifty books recommended by high ranking military officers, not necessarily books about the military. For example, Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" are included. Two principles:
The best leaders lead from the front not from "ivory towers." King Leonidas (Sparta) made the ultimate sacrifice at the Battle of Thermopylae against Xerxes' Persian "Million Man Army." Fight for your beliefs or your civilization.
Brilliant minds do not always translate to good decisions. During the Kennedy Administration, "The Best and the Brightest" led the country into a disastrous quagmire of Vietnam.
Lincoln on Leadership (Donald Phillips) 1992
Many historians consider Lincoln America's greatest president, preserving the Union and ultimately killed in office. The best authors share unique insights into the character and mindset of their subjects. For example:
Lincoln was a technology geek. He constantly reviewed patents that might help the Union, for example, the telegraph. Lincoln is also the only President with a patent, on a device to lift boats run aground.
Lincoln's "Hot Letters" were written often in response to actions that upset him. They helped him 'get it out of his system'. He wrote, "Never signed, never sent" and filed them
Leadership in Turbulent Times (Doris Kearns Goodwin) 2018
Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of America's most well-known and prolific historians. "Leadership in Turbulent Times," formidable in itself, is a 478 page "Cliff Notes" to her tomes on the Roosevelts, Lincoln, and Lyndon Johnson. A couple of key points amidst thousands:
Teddy Roosevelt was a sickly child and challenged himself physically so that ultimately he could "do hard things."
The author was not a fan of LBJ (Johnson), so much that he hired her for his administration to try to convince her of his leadership skills. Sometimes it is better to bring critics into your circle than to exile them.
The most recent data I read reported that 48 percent of Americans had not read a book in the past year. "Education changes behavior." Coaches are educators and have a responsibility to our players to teach both our sport and life lessons.
Lagniappe. Find the NBA, "Next best action."
Lagniappe 2. Did you play to the best of your ability?
