Thursday, May 18, 2023

Repeat Performance

Winning a title is hard. Repeating is harder. Melrose has won ten sectional championships since its first in 2003.

First dynasty - 2003, 2004, 2005   They say 'tradition never graduates' but tradition didn't exist coming into 2003. Senior leadership and an influx of young talent loaded the springboard of success.

Second dynasty - 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012   A fourpeat takes remarkable resilience. The lead actors from the first title are long departed for the last. A loss in the state championship in 2011 set the stage for the 'wagon' that won in 2012.

Third dynasty - 2021, 2022. It's hard to graduate your best player and repeat with a new libero, a rebuilt defense, and new setter. But Melrose accomplished that during the second season of the new statewide playoff format.

Is there a secret? 

"Maintaining success is difficult: “…champions lose focus because of the distractions that success brings. The championship becomes the focus—not what it takes to be a champion… The best advice is to go back and prepare as if the success never happened.”" - Nick Saban in How Good Do You Want to Be?

What promotes or compromises continued success?

  • Player development/lack of preparation
  • Focus/distraction
  • Strong culture/dissent and selfishness
  • Good fortune/bad luck (injury, illness)
  • Leadership/diffusion
  • Determination/apathy
  • Tenacity (grit)/softness
  • Resilience/quitting 
What specifics forge success?
  • Play each point in the moment ("be here now").
  • Have a short memory. "Be a goldfish." Don't let a lost point bleed into the next point.
  • Balance aggression with judgment.
  • Communicate consistently, "call the ball." 
  • Prize team spirit.  
"Prepare as if the success never happened."

Lagniappe. Timing the attack. 


Lagniappe 2. Coordinating footwork and arm swing

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