Volleyball Breakup Dinner

Melrose Volleyball held its annual Awards Night at the Montvale Plaza. Coaches Celli, Schmitt, and O'Neill honored their teams after an excellent dinner. 

Freshmen received certificates and Chloe Orcutt received their MVP. 

The Junior varsity also received certificates. Two players earned special recognition, Amarea Shepard as Most Improved and Nora Sheehan as Most Valuable. 

Lily Fitzgerald presented an excellent video representing the program. 

Coach Scott Celli reviewed the varsity season, including a 24-3 record, tying for the most number of wins in the state. The team won the Middlesex League Freedom Division, their 14th title in 15 years, the D2 North championship (eight in fifteen years), and appeared as a Finalist for the fourth time in fifteen years. 

Coach noted that Jill Mercer, Saoirse Connolly, Lydia Lombardo, and Lily Fitzgerald all earned Middlesex League All-Star selection. He presented Lily as the ML MVP. Lily also earned Massachusetts Girls Volleyball Coaches Association All-State Honors and selection as Boston Herald All-Scholastic. Lily set a new Melrose single-season record for assists with 663 and finishes as Melrose's second All-time assist leader (after Brooke Bell) with 1832. 

Individual varsity awards: 

Top Server - Lydia, points scored on 72% of her serves. 
Top Defender - Saoirse
Most Improved - Erin Torpey
Unsung Hero - Emma Randolph
MVP - Lily Fitzgerald
Coaches' Award - Jill Mercer 

As always, Coach explained that future opportunity depends on performance, and that positions are open to those who rise to fill them. 

Coach Celli explained the captaincy selection process, including application, interview, and discussion with coaching staff, captains, the Athletic Director, and Guidance. The Captains selected for the 2018 season are: Nicole Abbott, Erin Torpey, and Emma Randolph. Nicole and Erin both had sisters in the program. 

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

The volleyball team, family, and friends gather tonight to celebrate an outstanding season. 

But "the magic is in the work." Success sits on the four-legged stool of size, athleticism, skill, and game experience. This season's team earned a reputation for hard work and competitiveness, and those calling cards garnered twenty-four wins. 

Tonight we will hear about individual and team accomplishments, praise for the outstanding senior leadership of Lily Fitzgerald, Saoirse Connolly, Jill Mercer, and Lydia Lombardo. And Coach Celli will reveal the opportunity afforded to new leadership. 

"This is not the end." 

Seek Wisdom and Become a Storyteller

Simon Sinek shares stories about life skills.



What makes you great may not be what you think. 

Go after what you want...as long as you don't disenfranchise others. 
You might be the problem. Ignaz Semmelweis conquers puerperal fever. 
Be willing to help your teammate. Navy SEALs say, "two is one and one is none." 
Learn to speak last. 
Be grateful for the styrofoam cup. 

Fire Up

"Nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm." Trust the process and do the work. Find the buttons to push to drive yourself further, to become more. 

Find the fire. 

More on Your Craft

"The magic is in the work." The best teams have the most consistent players, playing the most consistent volleyball. You won't find short cuts where there are none. 

Here's a cross post from my basketball and leadership site. What is your tuna? 

Shokunin: What is Your Craft?

Of sports and sushi. 

Timeout for Melrose-Wakefield Football

Images courtesy of Steve Karampalas. Click images to enlarge. 

I've Got Your Back

Cross-posted. 

Ask Yourself

Tom Brady explains his success as "having the answers to the test." 

What questions belong on our daily self-examination test?

How do I improve today? 

What does my team need now? 

And from Michael Useem in The Leadership Moment, the after-action review:
   What went well?
   What went poorly?
   How can I improve what went poorly?
   What is the enduring lesson? 

Find solutions and become a leader. 

Why Mindfulness?

Famous psychologist William James provided us with answers to the importance of attention over a hundred years ago. 

Meta-attention is attention to attention to itself. I like to say, "the first price to pay for peak performance is TO PAY ATTENTION." 

Attention is a skill, the skill that informs success. 

Attention IS the Precursor to Peak Performance

Why mindfulness changes your life. 



We can become Velcro for good thoughts and Teflon for negative thoughts. 

Melrose - Westboro Snaps

Congratulations to the Melrose Lady Raiders and coaching staff for another exciting year of volleyball. Here are the images taken at today's match in Worcester against Westborough. 

Steve Karampalas

Click images to enlarge

Two of Melrose's best ever...J-Mac and K-Mac

High school sports inks indelible memories for players, coaches, fans, and community. Remember the journey not just the destination.