Earn the Right to Succeed

Imagine your assignment is giving 'success' instructions to your classmates or teammates. Where would you start?

You might start with success stories that began with failure. Here's an illustrative post from my basketball blog. 

Here are additional ideas:

1) Surround yourself with great people (teammates/coworkers). If you had a school project, would you team up with a worker or a slacker? 

2) Find a mentor. Get a coach. Mr. Rogers said, "look for the helpers." Melrose is lucky to have a great 'coaching team' in Coach Celli and Coach Schmitt. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." 

3) Be positive. A negative attitude never leads to a positive life. There's an old joke about a child who goes into the yard on Christmas looking for a present. There's a big pile of horse manure. The child excitedly grabs a shovel and says, "I know there's a pony in there somewhere." Look for the positive. 

4) Do the work. Yes, I am a broken record on unrequired work, "champions do extra," and "do five more." Why is that? As a coach, I know that the players that worked the hardest, like Samantha Dewey and Cecilia Kay, shined the brightest. 

5) Persevere. You lose a point, a set, a match. Fight on in the face of adversity. You know the quote about having the 'will to win'. Have the will to do the preparation and the work needed to win. 

Lagniappe. You're T minus fourteen days on the Countdown. 

Lagniappe 2. Power and placement, big and loose hand. 

Lagniappe 3. Hit better, hit a dynamic ball. Track the ball, prep and snap, contact the ball high. Be aware that Japanese volleyball has less power than US volleyball. Always get input from your coaches. Their word is law.