Puzzles

The season is just around the corner. 

Coaches and players assemble a complex assortment of puzzle pieces. 

Dawn Staley, South Carolina and USWNT basketball coach, has an affinity for solving puzzles. Puzzles represent a metaphor for life. "Building from the ground up. It’s, uh, frustrating and gratifying, ‘cause puzzles can really overwhelm you. But the moment you put one piece into another, it makes you keep coming back to complete the puzzle."

Everyone wants to be a contributor on the court. Find a "varsity skill" that gets and keeps you on the court. Rachel Johnson's career arc informs that process. As a young player, she blocked at a high level. In one sectional final, she made a key pass to set up the match winning point for Athena Ziavras. And in the State Title run, she averaged about nine kills/match over the final three contests to become that key third hitter. 

Your skill could be setting, "keeping the ball up" in the back row, or efficient attacking. 

Become a piece of the puzzle...and always be a great teammate.  

Lagniappe. Build athletic explosiveness.