Playing Present - "Do the Math"

"Great cornerbacks have short memories." What's worse than making a physical or mental error? It's allowing one bad play to bleed into a series of bad plays. 

Coaches use multiple terms for staying engaged, affirmations to face adversity.  

• "Play present." 
• "Be here now." 
• "Next play."
• "Move on." 

It's never, "don't worry about it." 

In baseball, the .300 hitter is an all-star. In volleyball, coaches track "attack efficiency" or "hitting efficiency." 

Efficiency = (KILLS - errors)/attacks 

The exceptions to an attack attempt are: 

-(1) An attempt is not charged on a ball played over the net on serve reception that is kept in play by the opposing team. This is called an overpass. 

-(2) An attempt is not charged on a free ball played over the net when, in the opinion of the statistician, the free ball is passed only to keep the ball in play. 

-(3) An attempt is not charged to a player if, in the opinion of the statistician, the set is bad and the player plays the ball over the net only to keep the ball in play. 

-(4) An attempt is not charged to a player if, in the opinion of the statistician, the player passes the ball over the net only to keep it in play

Restated, "get me over" returns do not add to the denominator. Elite teams win points, not relying on opponent errors. 

Here are the NCAA leaders...note that none are under six feet tall...approaching fifty percent is superlative. 

Melrose volleyball notes: With a few practices left, Melrose will work on tightening up the defense and finalizing the initial rotation. One key to the "legacy program" status is the ability to bring along young players to contribute over multiple seasons. Watching their development will be just one of many reasons to attend the opener Wednesday. 

The Boston Globe lists 10 "Players to Watch." Melrose has a pair of seniors who deserve honorable mention including Chloe Gentile and Gia Vlajkovic.