Sport rewards athleticism...three days a week exercises.
Almost three months until tryouts.
Remember the four-legged stool.
Work out with a partner to improve a teammate.
You got this.
The long offseason provides many opportunities to explore the intersection of sport and history.
One of the great 'commanders' of over a century ago was Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, a master of tank warfare. His book, "Infantry Attacks" remains relevant to both military and sports today.
Rommel’s Infantry Attacks is not a book about weapons. It’s a book about decision-making under stress, small-unit leadership, and how advantage is created when conditions are chaotic.
That makes it relevant to volleyball.
Rommel commanded at the point of contact. He was a legendary observer and note-taker. He valued initiative and speed over perfection. His lessons translate well to a game decided in fractions of seconds.
“Opportunities are fleeting. Whoever acts first often wins.”
Rommel emphasized junior officers acting without waiting for orders. Delay, he believed, was often fatal.
Volleyball rewards the same mindset.
The best defenders don’t wait - they go.
The best setters don’t freeze - they choose.
The best teams solve problems on the fly.
Over-coached teams hesitate. Decisiveness shows up as initiative. Practice should create players who act decisively, not players waiting to be told.
Lesson: Consider Drake Maye's game-clinching bootleg to send the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Trained spontaneity...
Movement confuses opponents more than strength.
Rommel prized rapid movement to dislocate defenders mentally before overwhelming them physically.
In volleyball:
Fast offense beats bigger blocks.
Quick transitions beat organized defenses.
Tempo creates mistakes.
Speed creates advantage. It’s pressure applied before the opponent is ready. Teams that play faster than opponents think gain free points without superior talent.
Quote: "Speed kills."
Predictability invites resistance.
Rommel repeatedly attacked where he wasn’t expected - not where doctrine suggested.
Volleyball equivalents:
Serving the setter
Back-row attacks in predictable rotations
Quick dumps at emotionally vulnerable moments
Surprise isn’t trickery. It creates the unexpected. Once a team relaxes into pattern recognition, it’s already late.
Lesson: "Utilize strengths, attack weaknesses." - Sun Tzu
Observation never stops.
Rommel constantly gathered information - terrain, morale, reactions -during action, not before it.
Great volleyball teams scout while playing:
Who struggles after an error?
Which passer backs up under pressure?
Which hitter tips when late?
Good teams see plays. Great teams find edges by attacking weaker opponents.
Quote: "Find the fish."
Attack where resistance is lightest.
Rommel avoided frontal assaults whenever possible. He looked for gaps.
In volleyball:
Attack poor passers
Isolate weak blockers
Target rotations that fracture under pressure
This isn’t cruelty.
It’s efficiency.
Winning teams don’t prove superiority—they apply pressure where it works.
The front line knows more than headquarters.
Rommel trusted subordinate leaders to adapt.
Volleyball thrives on the same principle:
Setters lead the offense
Liberos organize defense
Captains regulate emotional tone
A coach cannot control every rally.
Teams succeed when leadership is distributed, not hoarded.
Psychology shapes outcomes.
Rommel understood that confidence, fear, and momentum mattered as much as positioning.
In volleyball:
Long rallies break belief
Tough serves create visible doubt
Body language spreads faster than strategy
Morale isn’t fluff.
It’s a competitive variable.
Teams that protect each other emotionally last longer under stress.
Complexity collapses under pressure.
Rommel favored clear objectives and direct execution.
Volleyball agrees:
Simple serve-receive rules
Clear defensive priorities
Few, trusted offensive options
Clarity frees players to play hard.
Under pressure, athletes revert to habit. The question is whether those habits are useful.
Infantry Attacks is not about war. It’s about how humans perform when uncertainty is high and time is short.
Volleyball lives there.
Teams don’t need more information.
They need:
Initiative
Speed
Observation
Simplicity
Emotional steadiness
Rommel reminds us that advantage often comes not from power, but from clarity applied early.
Lagniappe. A principled "Set Five" hitting game...
"The short game requires the same uncluttered mind, the same focus on the target, and the same disciplined routine that’s a long game requires - only more so." - Bob Rotella in Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect
Focus is a superpower. Focus is a superpower. Mindset of success. Game management. Execution.
When attacking the ball, disallow all distractions. The set is coming and you can perceive the location of the blockers. No thoughts belong about mechanics as you have automated your run-up and arm-swing.
History is replete with players making "the shot" in the moment.
“Whatever you do in life, have the courage and commitment to do it to your absolute best.” - Pat Summitt
— Greg Berge (@GregBerge) May 25, 2026
Not halfway effort.
Not excuses.
Not “good enough.”
The courage to show up.
The commitment to stay with it.
That’s where excellence lives. pic.twitter.com/5guzAoYjGK
Find the key words from Pat Summitt. The top players are different, driven by a combination of autonomy, pursuit of mastery, and discipline. Examine the careers of a Mia Hamm or Dan Gable.
Seek the path that brings success without obsession.
The stretch run. The end of the school year is just around the corner. That means free time and free will.
Character and Competence
Bill Walsh wrote, "Champions behave like champions before they are champions." Our behavior defines us.
This isn't new. Consider the expression, "You pays your money and you takes your choice." Here are the origins (from AI):
The expression "You pays your money and you takes your choice" (or chances) first appeared in print in the British humor magazine Punch in 1846, specifically in a cartoon titled "The Ministerial Crisis" on page 17 of the January 3 edition. The cartoon depicts a showman telling a customer, "Which ever you please, my little dear. You pays your money, and you takes your choice."
This actually restates words from Aristotle. "You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Worries for Coaches
Coaches care about players and their families, their academics, and their development. After families, nobody is a bigger fan of your children than their coaches. What do they worry about?
Writing Your Narrative
We don't control so much - our attitude, choices, and effort. "Control what you can control." Actions have consequences. Literally hundreds of people have died taking selfies. Write your narrative, not your obituary.
Lagniappe. Can you edit your behavior?
How do you get noticed if that's your ambition? It boils down to character and competence.
Character words: (The play hard, play smart, play together words)
*Adapted from my basketball blog.
Analogies connect us to unrelated subjects in meaningful ways. Analogies help athletes see familiar truths from unfamiliar angles. Good coaches teach skills; great coaches help players understand why those skills matter. Offseason development is often invisible in the moment, but its effects become obvious under pressure.
Here are a few analogies that connect preparation, growth, and competition. Find a few that get your players off the cellphone and onto the court or the weight room.
"Having no offseason plan is like building a house without a blueprint."
The tortoise, although slow, can still defeat the hare through persistence.
"Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
Complaining without doing the work is like taking poison and hoping for your enemy to die.
Although, "there will always be another train," failure to start training doesn't mean that the next one will arrive soon enough to get you to your destination on time.
Not understanding our competition means ignoring that a six-foot person can drown in a pool with average depth is four feet.
Talent isn't enough. It doesn't matter if you have the best seats in the house if you show up at 7:00 P.M. for the 2:00 P.M. matinee.
You don't 'need' a mentor to cook a gourmet meal. But having one increases your chances and exponentially decreases your learning curve.
“The offseason is where future playing time quietly gets decided.”
“Expecting to improve without offseason work is like planting seeds and refusing to water them.”Lagniappe. Roles matter.
A good high school basketball team doesn't need 5 scorers.
It needs a floor general, a lockdown defender, and somebody who knows their job is to rebound everything in sight.
Roles win games. Superstars are built out of teams that commit to those roles.
— Steve Collins (@TeachHoopsBBall) May 20, 2026
Ambition and hard work aren't enough. Ambitious players need a process, monitoring and revision of that plan to earn minutes, role, and recognition.
CARE is an acronym - concentrate -> anticipate -> react -> execute.
There's no single element that allows you to succeed. Making plays requires the 'full spectrum' of qualities to complete this drill.
Plan your course. When plotting a course from Los Angeles to Boston, a one degree navigational error results in about a 45 mile miss. Which is why "course corrections" matter.
As student-athletes, acquire tools that allow course plotting, flight, navigation, and landing. Applying analogy is worth learning.
Develop a Philosophy
Be open to multiple inputs in crafting your philosophy. Families often have the biggest influence, followed by teachers, coaches, and reading. In Sapiens, Yuval Harari argues that economics, politics, and religion are major inputs into policy. Be conscious about contributions to your philosophy.
Build Better Habits
Habits have a profound impact on development. Be intentional in developing "productive" ones. Legendary coach Nick Saban asks, "Are you investing your time or spending it?" The habit "bible" is James Clear's Atomic Habits. Clear says that habits are votes for the type of person you want to be.
Learn How to Learn
Time will tell how individuals can use AI to inform learning. The Coursera free course, "Learn How to Learn," has value. Three keys:
Find Mentors
"Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Many teachers and coaches welcome chances to help motivated student-athletes reach their potential. They may be demanding. One of my Navy mentors, CAPT Tom Walsh said, "I am your mentor and your tormentor."
"Make Friends with the Dead"
Only about seven percent of people ever born are alive. Learn from great teachers, leaders, philosophers, and authors both living and dead. They may help you learn how to think more than what to think.
Consider Keeping a "Rethinking" Journal
Professor Adam Grant is the most popular professor at Penn and also the youngest to earn tenure. Read or review concepts from his Think Again. The Greek word "dogma" (A formally stated and authoritatively settled doctrine; a definite, established, and authoritative tenet) comes from the root "dok" - to seem good. Only through curiosity and openness can we explore ideas that oppose held beliefs. Consider keeping a journal about how you change opinions.
For example, what's the best serve? Karch Kiraly shares. "Flean" to the right area.
Do well what you do a lot.
Lagniappe. Effort is within your control.
Luke Kuechly shares must-listen advice for young athletes and the coaches who develop them.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) May 18, 2026
"Your effort is a decision that you make."
"You might get beat - that's cool. We just teach effort and consistency."
You can't control everything, but you can always control your… https://t.co/4oi3wHMWMI pic.twitter.com/mI9gzCG0pQ
Bob Knight gave one of the best definitions of discipline I've ever heard.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) April 13, 2026
4 simple steps.
But most people forget about the last 2.
Here's his exact definition: pic.twitter.com/N8CxbtLzOR
Discipline defines destiny. Discipline gets chores done, schoolwork done, and development done.
Coach Bob Knight dissected it into four parts:
The "authentic achievers" know their job and when, and do it consistently well. ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME
Lagniappe. Stay positive. Stay present. Refocus.
As an athlete, your biggest problem in games isn't making mistakes. It's your negative response to making mistakes. Once you learn to stay positive and resilient, you'll perform much better in games.
— Sports Psychology (@SportPsychTips) April 9, 2026
Coach Steve Collins asks a great question. Everybody says "we're about mental toughness, execution, and identity." But are we?
When the game is on the line, what behaviors show up?
St Joseph's head coach Steve Donahue breaks down the intricacies of how they develop the "soft skills" throughout practices.
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) May 15, 2026
Catch his return to The Basketball Podcast:https://t.co/RpScld3B3Z pic.twitter.com/M7JtVWHTm3
