Transactional or Transformational?

Players don’t quit teams.
They quit transactional coaches.

Saban breaks down why.

🎥 Watch. Bookmark. Share.pic.twitter.com/5uGMr5Dj3f

— Greg Berge (@GregBerge) July 27, 2026

There's a saying that has merit, "People don't quit jobs. They quit people." 

Coach Saban discusses the difference between transactional and transformational coaching. He noted the moment when he switched to transformational.

MVB has been fortunate to have strong, consistent (27 years for Coach Scott Celli) leadership that emphasizes process.

The results speak for themselves both in terms of team but also in developing citizen-leaders in many different professions. 

As an outsider, I see elements that enrich the experience: 

• The people - without exception, MVB has good people as players and coaches
• Relationships - player-player, player-coach, coach-coach 
• The experience - practice is fun, purposeful, and development oriented...everything impacts performance. 
• Few agendas - one of the UNC Women's Soccer mottos under Anson Dorrance was: "Excellence is our only agenda." 
• Traditions - traditions help craft culture, whether it's brownies on the bus, pasta parties, or "Who Let the Dogs Out?" 

Happiness can't arise solely from the win-loss record, playing time, role, or recognition. We are all responsible for ownership of our processes and our happiness. The template is there for you to build upon. 

Example: Dr. Victoria Crovo, one of Melrose volleyball’s outstanding former players and leaders, earned her DVM from St. George’s University in 2026 and has begun her veterinary career at Banfield Pet Hospital in Woburn.

There Is Always Another Hill to Climb

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— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) July 27, 2026

Develop authors whom you admire for content and style. I'm a fan of Jon Gordon - The Positive Dog, Soup, Training Camp, The Hard Hat and more. 

Blood, sweat, and tears go into winning. Fans don't often see the "sweat equity" that goes into success - the offseason practices, weekend trips, video study, plyos, strength and conditioning.

And even with that work, successful players need something else. Belief. Belief in their teammates, in themselves, and the conviction that they have earned the right to succeed. 

This Will Be Hard to Read

Doc Rivers explains why friends and family can become the “peripheral opponents” every championship team must overcome:

“There are a lot of guys who say all they’re trying to do is win. I say, ‘Yeah, not really.’ You’re trying to win as long as you get to do whatever you want to… pic.twitter.com/dwBdoFmBOJ

— Josh Chambers (@JoshChambers) July 27, 2026

Sports teaches a lot of lessons, many enduring and exceptional and others valuable yet hard to hear. 

Everyone doesn't want you to succeed. Everyone cannot or will not put the team first. Sometimes it's selfishness and sometimes it's human nature. I call it WII - FM radio (What's in it for me?).

Hard conversations are, by definition, uncomfortable. Especially in basketball, some players are "stat hounds." They want stats because that earns them recognition, more minutes, and even more shots. They say they want to win, but they want themselves to win first. 

MVB has not had the same "Me, first" reputation as some sports. It's hard to win and harder to "win happy" when there are selfish players. Part of the reason people enjoy MVB is the culture. When teams radiate joy, it ripples. 

I've known multiple, multiple teams collapsing under "internal politics." I don't know if that was an issue with the Celtics. I doubt we'll ever know.

And if you watch sports, you will see players who don't succeed because they're more concerned about what goes on off the court than on it. 

Some stories can't be shared publicly...to protect the guilty. 

In "Why the Best Are the Best," Kevin Eastman shares some of the words that separate the best from the rest. 

The complete list is:

1. Truth
2. Action
3. Intentional
4. Preparation
5. Accountability
6. Trust
7. Sacrifice
8. Discipline
9. Commitment
10. Belief
11. Unrequired
12. Choices
13. Circles
14. Competition
15. Passion
16. Habits
17. Urgency
18. Standards
19. Courage
20. Curiosity
21. Respect
22. Adjustment
23. Humility
24. Investment
25. Talent

Here's what Chat GPT thought would appeal to me:

Eastman Word	Why it fits your philosophy
Truth	"Tell it. Live it. Take it." Coaches are truth tellers.
Preparation	"Outcomes are not predetermined, but preparation is."
Accountability	One of your three pillars: Teamwork, Improvement, Accountability.
Habits	Daily behaviors create long-term results.
Standards	"The standard is the standard."
Curiosity	Your reverse-engineering process, reading, Gardner, Housel, Go, military history.
Adjustment	Find answers for that match; don't miss twice.
Humility	Learn from history; ego blinds judgment.
Investment	Coaches invest in players; players invest in teammates.
Unrequired	Perhaps Eastman's signature idea: champions consistently do what is not required.

That last word—Unrequired—may be the most uniquely "Eastman." He argues that average performers do what is expected. The best look for the extra film session, the extra repetition, the handwritten thank-you note, the extra sprint, the difficult conversation, the attention to detail—things nobody can force them to do. Those "unrequired" actions compound over years.

The word from the list that appeals to me most is sacrifice. The teams that will sacrifice the most are those who share and care the most about each other. Be that type of team. 

Everyday Goal

A simple strategy says, “Do the work of improvement daily.” As Bill Walsh said, “Champions behave like champions before they are.”

Focus on our daily process. “How do I get better today?”

Sometimes it’s an intense workout. It could be watching video. Sometimes it’s a day off for physical and mental recovery.

Whether playing or coaching, it’s executing what makes the team better - nothing more, nothing less.

Coachspeak

Success isn't "normal." Coach Cignetti realizes that another word for "normal" is average.

Athletes don't aspire to be average. "We had a great year, we won half the games." Players and coaches consider that mediocre.

Success is hard. Success takes commitment, discipline, sacrifice. It means the ability to say "No" and to invest our time when others spend it. It means developing more skill, more volleyball IQ and instinct, more physicality, more resilience. 

The "unseen work," time in the gym, the weight room, film study, keeping your notebook, and mindfulness are the decisions that define destiny. 

Former Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer had a saying, "A to B, 4 to 6 seconds." Most volleyball points last longer. In basketball there's an expression, "Find POSSESSION ENDERS." Possession enders get scores and stops. They earn points or prevent them with great defense, rebounding, or plays that change possession like forcing turnovers, taking charges, or blocking shots.

The ability to "win possessions," to control the ball and control the play defines most sports. The best teams don't think about winning the game but winning this play. 

More Curt Cignetti Gold

“It’s a process. It’s a way you go about doing things. It’s a high standard, high expectation, it’s accountability. It’s discipline, commitment, toughness, work ethic, pride. It’s wanting to be great”

(Via @thewinningdiff1 🎥)

pic.twitter.com/lQ8x52hDhj

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) January 2, 2026

Lagniappe. Watch at 1.5 speed. Take notes. Do it. 

Simplify

Everyone wants to be successful. To make that more likely:

• Have a plan
• Emphasize character and competence
• Get help
• Focus
• Choose these values

Every Role Matters

Your performance shapes and defines your role. Roles are dynamic - subject to evolution. 

Regardless of role, you matter. Don’t equate self worth with role.

“Do more to become more; become more to do more.” 

“Stay ready” players have key roles to challenge starters. Be valuable as part of the “red team” or the “white team.”

What's the Dream?

Every season presents with a spectrum of possibilities.  

If all teams were close to equal and we "played" an large number of seasons, then results might approach a "normal" distribution. Because teams have unequal talent, coach, traditions, and other sports, we would have a "skew" distribution with results shifted. 

The 'dream' or 'story' you want to write as a team is shifting 'wins' far to the right, beyond all others. 

Individual dreams differ. A player might imagine:

• A) Making the team and having a positive experience
• B) Contributing 
• C) Earning a starting role 
• D) Impacting winning 
• E) Recognition at the league level
• F) Recognition at the regional or state level

Moving up happens all the time. But the levels are uneven and require different inputs. Recognition comes with winning, because there is "always a straw that stirs the drink." 

Your dream is your choice. Some players dream of making the team and others dream for more. Aspirations of earning all-league or all-state honors are a cut above, different dreams. The path begins in the same place: today's habits. Goals may vary but today's work seldom does.

MVB has a lot of talented players. Dream big and do the work. 

Lagniappe. Coaches are invested in the players. 

Do you want know what coaching is really all about?

Watch Brad Underwood explain why coaches coach.

100% spot on. 🥇 pic.twitter.com/CDfmZCrAEf

— Greg Berge (@GregBerge) June 17, 2026

Getting an Extra Step (Important)

Reading plays supplies 'advantage'. 

CARE -> Concentration → Anticipation → Reaction → Execution 

Equivalent to: “See sooner → decide sooner → arrive sooner.” The reading progression is: Ball → passer → setter → hitter → contact → ball

The 'extra step' comes from the "Gretzky" approach, skating to where the puck is going to be. Read the server earlier, the pass, the setter, and the hitter. 

The goal for the video is to help you "get information early enough to act on."

Table created by ChatGPT Plus

Probability not Certainty

Imagine the opponent’s pass pulls the setter eight feet off the net. Immediately, several offensive options become less likely: the quick attack may disappear, combination tempo becomes difficult, and the outside or high-ball attack becomes more probable.

A bad serve-receive puts the setter in unfavorable position. Something wide makes both quick sets and setting across both less likely. More likely out of system and into free ball territory. 

Pass → setter → set → hitter.

The blocker shouldn't simply chase the ball. The pass predicts setter options; the setter narrows them via 'body lean' and tendencies; the hitter supplies the final information.

Reading creates apparent athleticism

This explains why some players seem “quicker” than their testing numbers suggest. In my opinion, Danni's early reading helped her defend short attacks at a "higher than expected" rate. 

A volleyball READ acronym

R - Recognize cues.
What information matters: pass, setter, hitter, block?

E - Eliminate possibilities.
What can no longer happen?

A - Anticipate probabilities.
Given the situation and tendencies, what is most likely?

D - Decide and move early.
Convert information into positional advantage.

As a player, you want to reduce the "what am I missing?" question to a more manageable number of possibilities.

Lagniappe. What happened last season is done. Move forward. 

Major cheat code for life: Stop dragging yesterday into today. The argument. The mistake. The missed chance. It’s already gone. Stop reliving it. Life happens in the direction you face.

— Blake Burge (@blakeaburge) July 19, 2026

 

What Is the Lesson for You?

Watch the video. What are the lessons for you? What can you take away to improve? 

 

Failure Is Part of the Process

There’s a Japanese saying:

“If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember, trees lose their leaves every year, yet they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.”

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 11, 2026

As night follows day, so failure meets everyone. 

Everyone strikes out. Everyone shanks a ball or hits out. Everyone.

In Moneyball, Billy Beane discussed how his baseball playing career was cut short with inability to handle failure. 

John Wooden, a basketball coaching legend at UCLA with ten championships, won his first in his sixteenth season. 

Sometimes a player struggles at one position and shows excellence at another. Positional change is not failure. It often reflects a better fit. Alyssa DiRaffaele moved to libero from front row and helped get MVB 2011 to the Finals. 

Injury can change career arcs. Injury creates frustration and can require mental and physical adjustment. 

Failure is our companion on life's journey. The Japanese proverb "Fall down seven times, get up eight" serves as a symbol of resilience and perseverance. Success is not defined by the absence of failure, but by the will to rise again. 

Often, the difference between failure and success is the ability to press on.

Lagniappe. Mindfulness is a tool for coping with failure.  

Strength Is Showing Up Every Day, Regardless of the Outcome

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization. 

Gregg Popovich's teams won five NBA Championships. They also lost heartbreaking games. Popovich 'represented' either way.

I don't remember too many summer Sunday night "open practices" for whomever showed up. Jeff Mate' usually came with Kira and some others. After about thirty minutes, I asked him to take over. "I don't have it tonight." I got home and took my temperature which was almost 102. Fortunately, it was a manageable infection. 

The best players, coaches, and leaders "show up" even when the 'easy road' leads elsewhere.

Ten year-old Paula had her gear on and headed out the door. "Going out to play softball?" She responded, "No, Daddy, I'm going out to win."

Consider the following:

The phrase “To whom much is given, much will be required” originates from Luke 12:48 in the Bible, where Jesus states, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.”

MVB 26 has a lot of potential. 

Disappointments will happen.

Setbacks will happen.

You will experience frustration. 

No matter what, keep showing up. That's what leaders do. 

Image created by ChatGPT Plus

 

Dreams Require Choices

There is an old African Proverb that I love:

“A cat that dreams of becoming a lion must lose its appetite for rats.”

To achieve greatness, you must let go of old habits that could hold back your progress.

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 20, 2026

The families, players, and MVB coaches sacrifice "A" for "MVB."

Everyone makes choices amidst time and resources.

Volleyball choices (examples):

• Off-season skill development
• Off-season club teams 
• Skill building with teammates
• Physical training (e.g. strength and conditioning)
• Travel, lodging and team expenses
• TIME  
• Video study

Alternatives (examples):

• Part-time employment
• Texting and socializing with friends
• Family time
• Hobbies 
• Miscellaneous leisure

There are no 'rats' among the choices. And still, big dreams demand big sacrifices. 

Blunt Objects

Blunt objects have places in the world...crowbars, tire irons, and baseball bats.

But they make lousy instruments in volleyball.

Every message should refine the player's skill, strategy, physicality, or psychology. Making a blunt object blunter falls on nobody's agenda.

Greenberg's Law says, "If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail." Don't make your skill into a hammer or your strategy into tire iron. 

Make your agenda refinement. Become a scalpel, useless in itself, magical in the hands of the surgeon. 

"Blunt objects" rise and hit. That won't be enough against quality opposition.

Volleyball players solve problems...double blockers, defenders taking away tips, imperfect sets. 

Because you want a bigger role as a contributor, develop the versatility to understand and execute the game and to become a difference maker, to move from a backup to a primary role. 

Lagniappe. "Not that this was set in stone. If you wanted a plan to work, you had to be ready to improvise." - Mick Herron in "Nobody Walks"