Become The Next New Thing with Better Fundamentals

Become the next new thing. With six seniors graduating, opportunity abounds. The first two 'concentrations' are skill and strategy. Blocking the opponent's top hitters never goes out of style. 

Sometimes the challenge is overwhelming. In 2005, Medfield's Molly Barrett racked up 35 kills in a 3-2 final as Medfield beat Melrose. Fairhaven's Kara Charette proved equally devastating ousting Melrose in the state semifinals. A new challenge always arises. 

Let's consult artificial intelligence for its recommendations on double blocking:

1. Positioning: The double blocker should be positioned with one foot in front of the other, arms extended, and ready to react to the attacker's hit.
2. Timing: Timing is critical for double blocking, so the blockers should work together to time their jump and arm swing.
3. Communication: The blockers should communicate with each other to determine who will take the first contact.
4. Hands up: Both blockers should have their hands up and fingers spread, ready to make contact with the ball.
5. Anticipate the Set: Observe the setter's movements and anticipate the location of the attacker's hit.
6. Get low: To increase your blocking surface, get low and maintain a wide base.
7. Block the line: When double blocking the outside hitter, it's important to block the line shots, as these are usually the strongest hits.
8. Cover the seams: Make sure to cover the seams between the blockers with one blocker’s hands, to prevent the ball from going through.

Study technique, practice and refine yours. I am not a volleyball expert.

1. "Up the front mechanics"

2. Be relaxed

3. "Be in front of the hitter."

4. Know the footwork.

5. Practice the footwork (you don't need a gym to practice footwork).

Click through to watch on YouTube

"Proof is in the pudding." In the mid 2000's, Melrose traveled to Burlington which had three boys at least 6'3". Boys were not usually allowed to play front row, but Coach Scott Celli waived that rule. And Paula Sen came through with consecutive stuff blocks and Melrose coasted to victory. 

The Next Great Outside Hitter

Melrose benefited from numerous power hitters through the years from recent to past - Gia Vlajkovic, Elena Soukos, Emma Randolph, Sarah McGowan, Hannah Brickley, Laura Irwin, Karen Sen. Who will become their successor? 

Hitting requires coordination, timing, and the ability to engage multiple parts (legs-run up, arm swing, and core) to generate force and increased velocity.  

Practice integrating all of the above to generate more force. 

Why does it matter? Think about another equation, the simple velocity equation. 

Velocity is distance divided by time. Rearranging, reaction time equals distance divided by velocity. Hit harder and shorten the defender's reaction time. 

As a reference, 60 miles/hour = 88 feet per second, 40 miles/hr ~ 59 feet/second. More velocity over a fixed distance equals shortened reaction time.  

Here's a drill to work on different outside hitting swings.

Remember to synthesize the 'core 4' of skill, strategy, physicality, and psychology. 

A look back at Elena... first in normal speed. 

Now, I encourage you to watch at 0.25 speed, starting at about 21:14 of the video looking at the pre-positioning, run up, vertical jump with the arms initially back, and how she rotates her core to generate force. 

Adopt Rules to Live By

Find rules that work for you. Start with a list of anything you can think of and narrow it down. Focus on sticking to your rules. As examples, these could form part of a list from which to choose:

1. "Share something great." If you find a recipe, author, quote that inspires, put it on your list.

2. Write it down. Written material (handwritten) sticks better. Consider keeping a "commonplace book" of notes. 

3. Build a habit set to follow. "Win the morning; win the day." The hard part of using the treadmill isn't doing the work, it's getting on the treadmill. 

4. Do the unrequired work. Work separates excellent from good. 

5. "Do one thing for your art and one thing for your business daily." - David Mamet, author, playwright, and director

6. Do five more (read five pages, spend five more minutes studying, do five more reps). This piece is a 'do five more' example. 

7. Live a life of gratitude not grievance. Remember the jar of awesome. 

8. Say thank you. "Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation." - Robert Townsend in Up the Organization

9. Simplify. "Fall in love with easy." 

10.Champion efficiency. ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME    Efficiency helps increase performance and earns time.

11.Find a mentor. Everyone benefits from coaching.  

12.Get eight hours of sleep a night. 

13."Learn every day." 

14.Get a workout partner. Drag each other to a higher level. 

Lagniappe. Build athleticism including quickness. 

Try the Russian passing drill. 

Framework for Improvement at Home

Traffic in specifics. "Get to don't have to." How can I improve at home? Here's the framework:

Skill, strategy, physicality, psychology

Skill

• Footwork for attack

• Arm swing 

• Self passing drills, passing with a teammate

Strategy

• Film study (coverage, decision-making, great players)

Physicality

• Vertical jump training (jump rope, jump box, plyometrics)
• Upper body strength training
• Conditioning (jump rope, treadmill) 

Psychology

• Mindfulness (meditation) 
• 10-minute toughness abbreviated (visualization, e.g. your highlight reel

Lagniappe (something extra)...recommendations from AI for arm swing

Here are a few exercises that can help improve your arm swing for volleyball at home:

1. Shoulder rolls: Roll your shoulders forward and backward, then in a circular motion to help loosen up the muscles in your shoulders and upper back.

2. Push-ups: This exercise will help strengthen the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and triceps, which are important for a powerful arm swing.

3. Scapular retraction: Stand against a wall and press your shoulder blades together, then release. Repeat this exercise to help improve your scapular control and stability.

4. Medicine ball slams: Hold a medicine ball with both hands, raise it above your head, and then slam it down on the ground as hard as you can. This exercise will help increase power in your arm swing.

5. Shadow swinging: Stand in front of a mirror and mimic the arm swing motion, focusing on the proper form and technique.

It's also important to note that arm swing is also heavily impacted by your core and leg strength, so make sure to work on those areas as well for overall improvement.

Building Confidence as an Athlete

"Confidence comes from proven success." - Bill Parcells

Nobody can award themselves confidence. Yet, everyone would agree that confidence shapes successful athletes.

What strategies accompany confidence development? 

1. Positivity. Coach authentically and let players know, "I believe in you." Support from quality coaches changes everything. 

Positivity slideshow 1 from mcada99

2. Employ sports psychology. Some would argue the Carlstedt protocol is the gold standard, but techniques like self-tech and visualization can help. Jason Selk's book "10-Minute Toughness" excels. Part of his strategies employs breathing exercises, identity statement (who I am), highlight reel (visualization), and performance statement (how I play). 

3. Be conditioned as an elite athlete. What does that look like? The Cooper 12-minute running test correlates with the gold standard, the VO2Max, how much oxygen working muscle use. Self-comparisons have value. The original studies were done in Air Force personnel, who should be better conditioned than an average person. Normal values below.

4. Mindfulness. Many professional and Olympic athletes employ mindfulness (meditation) as part of their training to enhance focus, reduce stress hormones, improve sleep, and decrease anxiety and depression. 

5. Skill development. ACHIEVEMENT = Performance X Time 

Athletes achieve more with consistency over a longer period. There is no substitute for skill and even mental practice will improve results. 

6. Avoid self-destructive behaviors. Alcohol and substance abuse, poor nutrition, and inadequate sleep all degrade performance. 

7. Superior coaching. Find a mentor. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Get advice on your strengths and weaknesses and ways to build strengths and limit weakness. Coaching builds confidence. 

After writing this brief piece, I consulted ChatGPT:

An athlete can build confidence by setting and achieving small goals, learning from mistakes, visualizing success, surrounding themselves with a supportive team or coach, and maintaining a positive attitude. Additionally, getting enough rest and proper nutrition can also help to improve an athlete's overall mental and physical well-being, which can contribute to increased confidence.

Lagniappe (something extra). Attacking tips. Who becomes the next Melrose elite outside hitter? What are you doing today to earn that right?  

Verticality

Work smarter not harder. Sport rewards development in four areas:

• Skill (Technique)
• Strategy (Tactics)
• Physicality (Athleticism)
• Psychology (Resilience)

Let's focus on Physicality today. Two recent Melrose elite volleyball players with exceptional athleticism and vertical jump were Elena Soukos and Gia Vlajkovic. 

Here's a query to Artificial Intelligence about increasing your jumping ability. 

Consider taking advantage of the resources available at the high school including strength and conditioning. 

There are several ways to increase your vertical jump for volleyball, including:

1. Strength training: Building leg strength through exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and calf raises can help increase your jumping power.

2. Plyometrics: Plyometric exercises, such as jump squats and box jumps, can help train your muscles to produce maximum force in a short amount of time, which is important for jumping.

3. Stretching: Stretching your legs and hips can help improve your flexibility, which can in turn help increase your jump height.

4. Proper form: Make sure you are jumping correctly and using proper form when jumping. This will help ensure that you are getting the most out of each jump and not wasting energy.

5. Jump specific drills: Incorporating jump specific drills to your workout routine, such as jump rope, jump lunges, and hurdle jumps.

6. Speed and Agility: Improving your speed and agility can help you jump higher as it requires your legs to move quickly and efficiently.

It is important to note that increasing your vertical jump is a gradual process and it takes time and consistency to see improvement. It is also important to have proper guidance from a coach or trainer and avoid overtraining. 

Lagniappe. Win with aggression. 

Learning from Lincoln

AI suggested these quotes from Abraham Lincoln. Many work for volleyball. 

1. "Whatever you are, be a good one."
2. "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
3. "The best way to predict your future is to create it."
4. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
5. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
6. "The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them."
7. "I walk slowly, but I never walk backward."
8. "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

1. There is no substitute for skill and experience.

2. A culture of collaboration, making each other better, adds value through strength.

3. "Control what you can control."

4. The one person you can never fool about your ability is yourself.

5. "Tradition never graduates."

6. The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

7. Grow your game.

8. A playoff quote, "survive and advance."

Lagniappe: toward better passing - hands and arms, footwork, platform angles.

Becoming a Better Coach

“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
1 He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2 He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3 He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
4 He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5 He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Coaching crosses domains. Your parent is a coach. Your English teacher is a coach. Your boss is a coach. To become better, learn to coach ourselves. 

Melrose volleyball is fortunate literally to have a Hall of Fame Coach. Yet, even Hall of Famers work to improve. Former Celtic Paul Pierce would return to LA each summer and find a part of his game to improve. 

Coach John Wooden gave each player a new basketball at the end of the season. If it came back "lightly worn" at the beginning of next season, that was a bad sign. 

Everyone benefits from coaching. Surgeon Atul Gawande hired a coach to oversee his surgery. He expected the senior surgeon wouldn't find much, but he saw numerous details to improve. 

What 'universals' make better coaches? 

1. Attitude. How do we get more from our players? Do we lift them up or beat them down? Positive coaching yields more positive results. 

2. Player (staff) development. "Every day is player development day." Coach Don Meyer had a saying, "Would you rather have two better plays or two better players?" Some coaches are 'gatherers'; others are developers. Melrose's only recruiting pipeline is within the school system and Coach Celli through word of mouth and clinics finds ways to keep the talent coming. 

3. Cultivate allies. Mr. Rogers said, "Look for the helpers." Enthusiasm attracts supporters. So does winning. "Victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan."

4. Become a storyteller. Learn to inspire, to attract and retain talent, and keep people engaged. Beware hubris. 

Daedalus and Icarus

"The story of Icarus is one of the most famous tales from Greek myth. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the craftsman who built the Labyrinth from the Minotaur story recounted above. Ever the inventor, Daedalus fashioned some wings out of feathers and wax, for him and his son to use to fly their way off the island of Crete.

However, Icarus got carried away and flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax in his wings. He fell to his death, drowning in the Aegean. Now, Icarus’ name is a byword for one of the Greeks’ most favorite themes: hubris, or overreaching oneself."

5. Use available technology (but don't become overdependent on it). Books, blogs, online and in-person clinics, YouTube videos, Artificial intellegence and other resources help us improve. But it all starts with our engagement, commitment, and editing of the acquired knowledge. 

6. Sometimes less is more. 

7. Look in the mirror. 

As a coach, after each 'evolution' ask ourselves:

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can we do differently next time?
• What is the overarching lesson? 

8. Use the C's. 

Cherish your experience and teammates. Everyone cannot be a great player. Everyone can choose to be a great teammate. 

9. Get players to know, "Control what you can control." 

You worked in the offseason to improve and have a chance to contribute on the court. And you weren't picked to be in the starting lineup. Do you sulk, complain about the coaching, transfer to another school? Or do you work even harder? Assistant Coach Roy Williams asked Michael Jordan what he was willing to do at UNC. Jordan said that he would work as hard as anyone ever had at Carolina. Williams said, "you have to work harder than that."

10. Use emotion. "Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm."

Lagniappe. Got 15 minutes to invest in your training? 

Lagniappe 2. After writing the piece, I add the AI (ChatGPT) input:

Coming Attactions

As a parent, I told my kids "it's your homework, I've done mine." In other words, results flow from process. Keep investing in your process. 

Here's a short-term look ahead at the "five day forecast" with brief annotations. 

Tomorrow - Become your own coach. 

Thursday - Lincoln had thoughts on volleyball? 

Friday - Improving your vertical jump

Saturday - Get higher performance assembling artificial intelligence with human creativity and intuition.

Sunday - Learn from Kipling's "Six Honest Serving Men." 

 

Coaches Want to Coach Whom They Want to Coach

Cross-posted from my basketball site. Almost half of these girls also played for Melrose volleyball.

It is an injustice of luck that Victoria that the "V-Rex" never got to play on a sectional championship team. 

Lagniappe. Choose the skill to improve. Break it down. Choose focus points to work on in practice. 

New Tools Are on the Horizon...Are You Already Using Them Responsibly?

Artificial Intelligence is no longer over the horizon but sailing into everyday use.

Most available in beta form is ChatGPT which engages testers in dialogue. For example, I asked how to learn to jump serve and here's the reply:

To learn how to jump serve in volleyball, you should first become familiar with the basic mechanics of serving, including proper footwork and arm motion. Then, you can practice jumping while serving to add power and accuracy to your serve.

1. Start by practicing your basic serve and make sure you have the proper form.
2. Next, incorporate a small jump into your serve by jumping off one foot and using the momentum to help generate power in your serve.
3. As you become more comfortable with the jumping motion, increase the height of your jump.
4. Practice your jump serve regularly to build muscle memory and consistency.
5. Get feedback from your coach or a more experienced player to ensure you are using proper technique.

Remember that jumping serve takes some time to master and it's important to not get discouraged if you don't get it right away. Keep practicing and you will get better. 

Obviously, AI can be a learning tool or something more nefarious. Study it for its content, vocabulary, and grammar. 

I followed this up with the query, "how would I write a poem in the style of Billy Collins?" 

Billy Collins is known for his accessible and relatable poetry that often features everyday objects and scenes. To write a poem in the style of Billy Collins, you might consider the following tips:

1. Start with a relatable subject: Collins often writes about things that are familiar to his readers, such as a childhood memory, a favorite pet, or a scene from nature.

2. Use simple language: Collins is known for his clear and straightforward language, which makes his poetry accessible to a wide range of readers.

3. Incorporate humor: Collins is known for his wit and humor, and his poetry often has a lighthearted and playful tone.

4. Use imagery: Collins's poetry is rich in imagery, and he often uses sensory details to bring his subjects to life.

5. Play with form: Collins often uses traditional forms like the sonnet and haiku in unexpected ways, or creates his own unique forms.

Here's an example of a poem in the style of Billy Collins:

The cat in the corner Stares out the window all day, Watching the world go by, With a look of disdain.

But when the sun goes down And the room is dark and still, She jumps up on my lap, And starts to purr and fill.

The room with her contentment, A soft and soothing sound, Reminding me that life, Can be simple, yet profound.

Remember, this is just a template, and you should always let your own voice and creativity shine through your poetry.

My point is that new tools arise, resources to use to improve our study, our process, and our work product - academics and athletics. Use them wisely.

Lagniappe. I often close a column or blog piece with something extra, lagniappe. Here's what ChatGPT says:

The term "lagniappe" (pronounced "lan-yap") is a Louisiana French word that refers to a small gift or bonus given to a customer in addition to the purchase they have made. It is often used to describe an extra or unexpected item or service given as a gesture of goodwill or generosity.

In the context of retail, it could refer to a complimentary item or service given with a purchase, such as a free item with a purchase of $50 or more. In the food service industry, it's often used in reference to something complimentary given with a meal, like a free dessert or a small appetizer.

The term "lagniappe" is commonly used in the Southern United States, particularly in Louisiana, and it's a way to show appreciation and to create a sense of community and good will.

It can also refer to something that is added to a product or service to make it more desirable, like a bonus feature, or a feature that wasn't expected.

I'm currently reading Making Decisions, by Ed Smith, an English scholar and cricketer. Smith held the 'selector' position for English cricket from 2018-2021 and shares his thoughts on better decision-making by augmenting 'data' (including artificial intelligence) with human creativity. He references Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov whose system "Advanced chess" added human creativity to the flawless computing power of machines.