Train to be resilient.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
All-Time Statistical Leaders
Statistics aren't everything, but they provide context to decision-making and history.
Here are Melrose all-tme leaders
Monday, December 27, 2021
Success Comes in Many Forms
Most players in the volleyball program experience a lot of team success and winning. Since 2003, teams have won nine sectional championships and many top players have experienced that.
One of the fiercest, toughest, most skilled did not, but is one of the most successful, having been All-State and continuing to succeed in graduate school.
Ask ourselves whether we are doing the right things to succeed. Success is about more than winning.
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
"Never Read a Person by Their Book"
Coach Celli has the team read and study a book together. There's a principle called cognitive dissonance. That embodies being conflicted about a topic.
Urban Meyer expresses that. He accomplished a lot in coaching, but has proven to have major shortcomings.
But his book, "Above the Line" is exceptional. Here's a link to a pdf summary.
Examples:
E + R = O (Event + Response = Outcome)
10-80-10 (How players fall on a continuum)
"Escape velocity"
"Crossing the red line"
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Better Defense Separates Elite Teams. Need Inspiration?
Keeping the ball up can win a few more points.
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Monday, December 13, 2021
Know Your Competition...Sometimes It's You
- "Love your rivals." We will always have them.
- "Feed off them." If we don't, they'll eat our lunch.
- "Competing with myself, not being complacent."
- "My opponent will look small...compared with my expectations."
- Know your opponent...play their weakness.
- "Don't overhit to a weakness. Mix it up."
- "Hit the ball to where your opponent is not."
- "Know your strengths."
- "Playing chess was not just about winning and losing."
- "Make a difference...it's about coming up with new ideas, challenging your own excellence."
- "Making mistakes was like physical pain...I no longer had that appetite for new ideas."
- "There's always work to be done."
Sunday, December 12, 2021
More Banquet Snaps
Images courtesy of Jen Gentile. Click to enlarge.
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Leadership Is a Shared Responsibility
Coach Scott Celli has a thorough and transparent process to select "official" team leadership. But everyone has leadership responsibility.
Jen Sinkler shares one of my favorite articles on coaching, about legendary Cal Rugby coach Jack Clark.
Here's an excerpt:
"5. EXPECT EVERYONE TO LEAD.
Jack Clark: We say that the definition of leadership is the ability to make those around you better and more productive. It’s a skill to us. Leadership isn’t a rank — it’s not only for the coach, it’s not only for the captain, it’s not only for the seniors. It’s a skill. Some guys develop big toolboxes with a lot of leadership skills very early on in their careers. Other guys, even when they’ve been here a while, might not have really comprehensive leadership skills. We’re all trying to get there. In our minds, just like there’s a glossary around the technical side of the game, there’s a glossary around the cultural side of the game. This builds commonalities of values that we all believe.
On this team, the leadership model is open to everybody. For instance, even if you’re a freshman, you have the ability to make those around you better and more productive: Don’t be a distraction, be on time, know your stuff, play hard and well when you’re called on.
I think when we really get it right — and we don’t every year — but when we really get it right, we have a lot of people on this team contributing to the leadership of the team. That gets pretty powerful. That’s magical, almost, to see a bunch of people trying to make each other better and more productive."
All the leadership in the world, by itself, won't produce excellence. Leadership complements athleticism, skill, effort, and resilience. In his book, "Above the Line," Urban Meyer proposes the 10-80-10 model, 10% of the team is at the top, most are in the middle, and 10% is at the bottom. He requires the top 10% to bring a partner to work out... to drag some of the "middle class" to the top.
As an outsider, I see players who benefit from not only more experience but the formal strength and conditioning program available through the Athletic Department. Take advantage of the services to become your best version.
Friday, December 10, 2021
Growing as Coaches and Players
Here's a cross-post from my basketball blog. It applies whether we're players, coaches, or professionals in any field, especially the inspiring Gawande video.
Excellence exacts a price...investing time, money, and thought about how to improve.
Thursday, December 09, 2021
Melrose Volleyball 2021 End of Season Banquet
Incoming captains join Coach Celli with outgoing captains. Team captains for 2022 include future seniors Chloe Gentile and Gia Vlajkovic and rising junior Sadie Jaggers.
End of Season Gathering Tonight
Melrose celebrates another inspiring season tonight with their team banquet.
Coaches recap the season, hand out certificates and other awards, recognize special achievements, and announce the leadership for the coming season.
"Tradition never graduates."
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Quantitative and Qualitative Modeling
Legendary basketball coach Don Meyer described three phases of coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity. Obviously, these aren't always mutually exclusive.
Blind enthusiasm - "outhustle them, outwork them"
Sophisticated complexity - break the game down into an almost infinite amount of detail, teach it, and analyze what is working and isn't
Mature simplicity - Do what we do a lot well, better than our opponents.
In Game Changer, sport scientist Fergus Connolly favors breaking the game into macro moments - offense, defense, and the transitions between, and micro moments, the "details of execution."
As you face better competition, "absolute superiority" becomes less realistic. You can schedule it (so-called CUPCAKES) but that will hurt you in the postseason. So, smart teams focus on creating "relative superiority" and capitalizing on those moments.
That includes overall player development with advantages in serving or blocking pairs. In other sports, like basketball, we might get advantage through pressure defense, transition, or mismatches via creating switches.
For the individual, it often boils down to "what is your unique skill" that will get you on the court and keep you on the court? And some of that (e.g. serve percentage, aces, attack efficiency) is measurable.
Sunday, November 28, 2021
"The Magic Is in the Work"
Japanese libero training is famous.
Kobata is among the best in the world.
Saturday, November 27, 2021
State Finals: Where Are You on Your Journey?
It's a long way to the top. Melrose made four trips to the finals and didn't win it all until the third in 2012.
Winning is hard. That's what makes it valuable.
The new State Tournament format eliminates the "easy bracket" pathway to the Final Four. Teams that survive and advance to the Final Eight will be worthy competitors.
What are you doing today to be ready for your time? Focus on building skills.
Friday, November 26, 2021
Cause and Effect
"The magic is in the work."
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving! How Are You Improving Today?
Happy Thanksgiving and congratulations on a great season.
Are you working on your game for 2022? Work on the "core skills" and your athleticism.
Core Skills (Offense)
- Hitting/Attacking
- Setting
- Serving
- Blocking
- Passing
- Digging
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
What Drives Winning (and Losing)?
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Monday, November 22, 2021
Scheduling: A Key to Success
"Iron sharpens iron." Upgrading the schedule has long been a priority of Coach Scott Celli. Part of the solution emerged from the Middlesex League which continually improves.
Among the five Freedom Division opponents, Burlington and Wakefield guarantee four tough contests. In the Liberty Division, Winchester, Woburn, and Reading are always competitive and Arlington, Belmont, and Lexington are no pushovers. That equates to at least ten of sixteen ML competitive matches.
That leaves four non-league contests. Normally, teams agree on a home and home series which also allows fans who don't travel to see good clubs. And it allows Melrose to learn to win on the road. Rarely, an opposing community doesn't follow through on the return visit to Melrose.
Melrose has 'stable' relationships with Frontier, Newton North, and Central Catholic and had a solid contest with Peabody this season. The former two went to the state championship in their divisions.
Preseason scrimmages afford another avenue to hone your game. Melrose faces strong teams in the preseason and some of the top teams in the state at the Medway Play Date.
Players often ask, "how good are they?" Remember Coach Don Meyer's quote, "it matters how you play not whom you play."
Lagniappe (something extra).
Sunday, November 21, 2021
End of the Line, State Finals Hit Melrose Opponents Hard
Among other iconic performances, "Queen" is famous for "Another One Bites the Dust." Well, that wouldn't summarize what happened yesterday. Triple jeopardy as all three previous Melrose opponents hit the canvas Saturday.
Newton North couldn't dethrone Needham in Division 1 at the Tigers succumbed in five sets.
Melrose conqueror Westborough came into the finals having lost only three sets in twenty-two matches this season. Hopkinton handed them the same number of defeats yesterday, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1.
And Frontier, winner of double digit state titles, got upset 3-1 by upstart Paulo Freire.
Saturday, November 20, 2021
The Name of the Game
Sustainable competitive advantage is the name of the game. How do you get there? You see the same teams go deep in the playoffs, year after year.
Melrose has been in the Final Four nine of the past eighteen years with playoffs. Twice they lost in the sectional finals to a Central Catholic team which was later moved to Division 1.
What's the secret sauce?
- Investment. Alabama coach Nick Saban asks, "are you investing your time or are you spending it?" What is your commitment level? Do you want to make the team, to become a contributor, or become a force?
- Sacrifice. Parents and players sacrifice time and money to play on competitive offseason teams. It's not just playing on any offseason team, but the right ones. You think Newton North is in the Finals by accident or that SMASH in their backyard helps? There's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for almost all players. Club stars from volleyball hotbeds (California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio) get the lions share of scholarships. Offseason volleyball is expensive, as are personal training, athletic club membership (for weight training, etc.), and medical care for injuries (ankle, back, hand, etc.).
- Development. "Every day is player development day." There are a finite number of skills, but elite performance requires elite training. A top US team went to Japan and got annihilated by Japanese collegians on a team that trained eight hours a day, 363 days a year. The Japanese coach suggested that Minnesota try high school competition in Japan... and they went 4-9. We can argue Malcolm Gladwell's '10,000 hours' thesis, but deliberate practice matters.
- Coaching. I know little about coaching volleyball but it's easy to see the impact of coaching locally (Coach Scott Celli recently reached 500 career wins) and throughout the Middlesex League. Kayla Wyland is turning around Wakefield. John Fleming made Winchester a Middlesex League force.
- Scheduling. "Iron sharpens iron." Unless teams are willing to travel and schedule strong teams, they will not advance far in the postseason. Especially with the new playoff format, you won't "luck into a weak bracket" and get to the Final Four.
- Talent. You need talent and you need to "keep it home" with a 'legacy program' with top coaching and scheduling. So many sports lose athletes to prep, private, and charter schools who recruit them away with scholarships and promises.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Melrose Opponents Moving on to the Finals
Scheduling tough opponents is critical for success. Melrose opponents in the Massachusetts finals include:
Division 1 - Newton North
Division 2 - Westborough (via playoffs)
Division 5 - Frontier
Maxpreps.com Mass Rankings
# | School | Ovr. | Rating | Str. | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Westborough | 21-0 | 37.0 | 15.5 | |
2 | Hopkinton | 24-0 | 33.7 | 12.5 | |
3 | Franklin | 19-1 | 27.5 | 8.4 | +1 |
4 | Newton North (Newtonville) | 18-2 | 26.8 | 10.0 | +8 |
5 | Haverhill | 19-3 | 26.7 | 12.7 | -2 |
6 | Needham | 21-1 | 26.7 | 7.9 | +2 |
7 | Concord-Carlisle (Concord) | 21-2 | 26.6 | 10.8 | -1 |
8 | King Philip Regional (Wrentham) | 22-2 | 26.4 | 9.0 | -3 |
9 | Melrose | 21-3 | 25.4 | 10.1 | -2 |
10 | Ipswich | 20-1 | 25.4 | 6.6 | |
11 | Billerica Memorial (Billerica) | 20-3 | 24.9 | 10.5 | -2 |
"Will I" Do What It Takes?
Potential applications are legion.
- Will I invest more time studying?
- Will I exercise?
- Will I follow a healthier diet?
- Will I get enough sleep?
- Will I develop the skills I need to become a bigger contributor?
Interrogative self-talk is a possible solution.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Opportunities on the Edges
Melrose made another deep playoff run with strong play from its four seniors who will leave big shoes to fill.
Outside hitters Elena Soukos and Abby Hudson brought a lot of thump to the lineup, libero Autumn Whelan was an exceptional defender, and Ava Burns produced at both right side and serving.
Melrose will return experience with Gia Vlajkovic who might engender thoughts of a "two setter" system because of her hitting prowess, strong middles in Chloe Gentile and Sadie Jaggers, and solid defenders in Ava McSorley and Emma Desmond.
Big opportunities are out there for players to step up and fill the edges and for someone to earn the libero slot.
Coach Celli reminds players each postseason gathering that all spots are open and the ascension of Burns in particular proved that correct. As Shakespeare wrote, "oh reason not the need" another alternative is to return Gia to the outside for her dynamic hitting.
Expect no tears from Middlesex League opponents.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
State Semifinals: Westborough 3 Melrose 0
Stay Ready
Just One Thing: Keep Running
Monday, November 15, 2021
There Is Always Somebody
"There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored."
— Coach DeMarco, EdD (@Coach_DeMarco) November 15, 2021
-Bill Cartwright#MondayMotivation #GetBetterEveryDay
TICKETS for TOMORROW'S SEMIFINAL ONLY AVAILABLE at GOFAN.COM
Not Their First Rodeo - Focus on Seniors
It's not the first rodeo for Melrose Volleyball. Melrose travels to Watertown Tuesday at 7 P.M. for their ninth trip to the Final Four since 2003. Four times they advanced to the State Championship - 2005, 2011, 2012, and 2017.
Here is the summary:
15 consecutive league titles9 Final Four appearances (including 2021)
4 state finals berths
1 state championship