Winning Points

"Because of the self-confidence with which he had spoken, no one could tell whether what he said was very clever or very stupid." - Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Strong teams win points.

Good teams can beat lesser teams by scoring off their errors. Poor teams are victims of both their mistakes and opponents' ability.

Become more.

• Total focus. Win this point.
• VDE - vision, decision, execution... read the play, make good decisions, execute.
• Skill - attackers need multiple solutions
• Improvement at 'keeping the ball up'
• Efficiency at 'putting the ball down'

Do more. 

• "Champions do extra." - James Kerr, Legacy
• "Repetitions make reputations."
• "Do five more." - Dan Pink
• Do the unrequired work. 
• Workout with a teammate...drag them into the top 10 percent.

Eliminate avoidable mistakes. 

• Communicate. No campfires. Call the ball in the seams. 
• No rotation errors.
• Stay out of the net. 
• "Hitting selection." Follow coaching about rate of setting outside, middle, back row, opposite. 

Learn analogies. 

Growth means leaving your comfort zone. It is said that the price of an Olympic Gold figure skating medal is experiencing 20,000 falls. A young girl told a competitive mogul skier, "I love how you ski. You never fall." The skier heard something more. She wasn't taking enough risk, not letting her ability out. By having the will to fail, she became a champion. 

Swagger up. 

Believe. Every game on the schedule is a winnable game. Melrose has won many games against top clubs both at home and on the road. You can only be as good as your belief in yourself. 

Metaphorically, bring a tank. 

Lagniappe. Ball placement.