Make learning your superpower. That includes learning to read the game.
Opponent strategy
Symmetry. Sports often show symmetry - give and take, the yin and the yang.
Consider baseball. Hitting is timing, pitching is disrupting timing. Or basketball. Offense is about creating advantage with spacing, cutting, and passing. Defense shrinks space and tries to limit the separation created by cutting and passing.
Volleyball has its symmetry:
A marketing gap emerges when perception and reality drift apart. Some programs market themselves through social media, uniforms, hype videos, or selective storytelling while neglecting actual player development and competitive substance. Conversely, strong developmental programs sometimes fail to communicate their strengths clearly to players and families. In volleyball, trust grows when messaging matches experience: organized practices, honest communication, visible improvement, and consistent culture become the best form of recruiting and reputation-building.
A capability gap appears when aspirations exceed current skills, systems, or preparation. A team may want to run a fast tempo offense, aggressive serve pressure, or complex defensive schemes without possessing the technical skill, volleyball IQ, or communication necessary to execute them. Coaches close capability gaps through deliberate training, representative practice, repetition under pressure, and incremental mastery. Vision matters, but execution determines whether philosophy survives contact with competition.
The best way to get respect is to give it.
⚠️ EVERYONE KEEPS CALLING THIS "MAN VS MACHINE."
— Shredder (@Shred_0x) August 2, 2026
That framing already lost.
You're watching a human go up against a system that doesn't accumulate fatigue, doesn't carry yesterday's injury into today's round, and doesn't have a contract that expires.
The human brings… https://t.co/6BVgA2TDTE pic.twitter.com/WUjU2tMT6D
Back in the day, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert had memorable tennis matches. Navratilova was ranked number one for 332 weeks.
Navratilova would deliver smashes from all over the court...and Evert would send them back, a model of consistency.
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all." - General George Patton, 1944
Sport tests character and competence. Extended competition tends to degrade both.
Legendary pitcher Johnny Sain said, "If running did it, they'd look for pitchers on track teams." He used this quote to justify his controversial belief that throwing was a more important training tool than running drills. Another saying went, "you don't run the ball across the plate."
Nevertheless, tradition dictated conditioning for pitchers. We had an annual "Pitcher's Mile" on an elevated, indoor track at Briggs Cage. It felt more like competition than training. In 1976, my personal best was 5:07. That wasn't the best time among all the pitchers.
Volleyball tests you physically and especially mentally. The long matches and long rallies measure your skill and your focus. The players who have paid the "training price" often stand up well "close and late."
The purest measure of aerobic fitness is "maximal oxygen consumption" or VO2max. This is measurable with a cycle ergometer and metabolic cart, neither of which are readily available. The Cooper 12-minute run is a good substitute. Athletes run as far as possible in 12 minutes.
The original Cooper equation is:
VO₂max (mL/kg/min) = (Distance in meters − 504.9) ÷ 44.73
The equation is not sex-specific—the physiology is already reflected in the distance covered. Normative interpretations differ by age and sex, but the equation itself is the same.
Here's a practical table for female athletes:
| 12-Minute Distance | Miles | Estimated VO₂max |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 m | 1.12 | 28.9 |
| 1900 m | 1.18 | 31.1 |
| 2000 m | 1.24 | 33.4 |
| 2100 m | 1.30 | 35.6 |
| 2200 m | 1.37 | 37.8 |
| 2300 m | 1.43 | 40.1 |
| 2400 m | 1.49 | 42.3 |
| 2500 m | 1.55 | 44.5 |
| 2600 m | 1.62 | 46.8 |
| 2700 m | 1.68 | 49.0 |
| 2800 m | 1.74 | 51.2 |
| 2900 m | 1.80 | 53.5 |
| 3000 m | 1.86 | 55.7 |
| 3100 m | 1.93 | 57.9 |
| Estimated VO₂max | General Rating |
|---|---|
| <35 | Below average |
| 35–40 | Average |
| 40–45 | Good |
| 45–50 | Excellent |
| 50–55 | Exceptional |
| >55 | Elite endurance capacity |
Perhaps fatigue does something even more specific. It exposes which behaviors survive stress.
| State | What is revealed? |
|---|---|
| Fresh | Talent |
| Moderate fatigue | Conditioning |
| Severe fatigue | Habits |
| Extreme competitive pressure | Character |
A recommendation of "The Courage to Be Disliked," one principle is to neither praise nor rebuke, but encourage.
Adler's philosophy teaches that praise or criticism live within hierarchical structures with unequal power. The 'critic' adopts a higher position of ability passing judgment upon the lower status person without ability.
Encouragement is this 'system' serves the individual who finds the courage to practice or ply their craft.
"You did well" or "you could do that better" are observations not always intended to change behavior. It is true that some athletes may 'lack' the courage to practice extensively, to struggle with failure, or endure strength and conditioning. Most recognize strong play differing from weaker play.
I would argue against the value of Adlerian Philosophy in this regard although I favor "horizontal" relationships.
We can learn about a topic without being in full agreement with its entirety. The Red Sox in large part started to hit when the exorcised "Driveline" from the building.
We own our growth and development. That is part of what psychologist Alfred Adler would call "life tasks."
Reading serves you as a cornerstone to build knowledge and extract wisdom from that knowledge.
One of the books I'm reading is, "The Courage to Be Disliked." Here's an image with valuable principles.
As a player, your "tasks" are distinct from your coaches'. As an adolescent, your tasks likewise differ from your parents'. You can excel or struggle with these tasks independently from others. Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland shared powerful social commentary about roles within relationships.
You make choices. When you make a team and don't have the role you would like, how do you respond? Do you have the courage to work hard or choose to become withdrawn and sulk?
If you help every day at practice with setup, breakdown, and keeping the bench area clean, do you stop if nobody recognizes that or thanks you? Or do you continue because it is "the right thing to do?" Adlerian psychology says don't seek recognition. Seek contribution.
Whether a thousand or thirty thousand readers visit the blog daily doesn't increase its meaning or value.
"All problems are interpersonal problems." Relationships tend to segregate as vertical (hierarchy) or horizontal (community). Respect and mutual participation flow better in horizontal groups.
It takes courage to be part of a team, to accept a role, and to stay focused and sacrifice regardless of what is happening.
Lagniappe. Everyone should learn fundamentals of setting to help with out-of-system play. In particular, the 2005 team had multiple players who could set each other, allowing for three attackers with at least 200 kills.
I asked ChatGPT Plus to create an image reflecting a false narrative (life as linear) and a realistic one - life as a series of moments - triumphs and setbacks - and everything in between.
The first graph represents the story we tell ourselves: "If I'm improving, the line should keep going up." That's wishful thinking. It isn't how athletes, leaders, and 'everyday people' grow.
The second graph captures something aligning with my coaching philosophy. Life is a series of moments. Every practice, conversation, decision, success, mistake, and recovery is a point. We win, we fail, we muddle along. A few moments change everything. The 'signature moments'. Unforgettable points. The story makes more sense after we've moved along our journey.
It meshes with recurrent themes:
Food for thought: if you could only include 3-5 drills in your practices for the rest of the entire season, what drills would you choose?
— Hoops Companion 🏀 Resources for Coaches (@Hoops_Companion) August 1, 2026
Do them more often.
Coaching excellence develops and prepares players and puts them in the best position to succeed.
"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't."
I couldn't name the five most vital volleyball drills. In basketball, great drills have offense, defense, decision-making, and competition.
Rely on Coach Scott Celli and staff to put you in position to succeed. It's not the roster with the most talent, but the roster that is the best team that ultimately succeeds.
What keeps coaches awake at night? Coaches don't control what happens when players leave the gym. Chemical health is an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp."
My mother "offered" me alcohol when I was thirteen. I didn't know much then, but I could already see how it was affecting her. I declined.
First, there is no "stay in your lane." As a physician who practiced for 44 years, I've seen the acute, chronic, and mixed effects of alcohol. I've seen dual diagnosis patients (mental health plus alcoholism) and patients commit suicide related to alcohol. I've seen alcohol-related cancers. I trained with a Navy doctor who had to have his ship's Captain "relieved for cause" because the CO came back to the ship intoxicated on multiple occasions.
Every story was tragic and preventable.
I've seen a teammate show up intoxicated for a game - and play poorly. The coach said, "What's the matter with you today?"
The simple answer is "alcohol impairs every thing about you." It degrades memory, concentration, strength, endurance, recovery, and sleep.
Here's a list of prominent NBA players (AI can make mistakes) whose alcohol issues impacted their careers.
In addition to alcohol health impairment, alcohol use or being at gatherings with alcohol could result in a four game suspension - twenty percent of your season. There's no DATU (doesn't apply to us) do-over.
If being your best is your brand, alcohol is one way to destroy it.
Lagniappe. School ball is not 'club ball'.
