Embrace the journey. Celebrate small successes and know there will be setbacks.
"It's not what you get in the end. It's what you become through the journey. You don't change that based on your result. Do you go after the trophy or are you trying to go after growth? Our thing has always been - go after growth and embrace the journey." pic.twitter.com/xiqthHPQiV
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) May 17, 2024
Lagniappe. There is no 'secret sauce'. Do the right things consistently. "Figure it out."
#Basketball#Coaching you want to succeed as a player? - make everyone around you better (impact winning) - identify your core skills (your 'superpowers') - leverage them - limit mistakes - choose to be a great teammate - be fully engaged and coachable - never be a distraction
Young people seek independence to do what they want, when they want, how they want. Parents know this. Everyone has oversight, even adults.
What timeless lessons can you learn early and repeat often along your MVB journey?
1. Be prepared. At home, school, and on the court know your role and responsibilities. You cannot do your job without knowing it.
2. Be polite. Know the five answers of a freshman at the Naval Academy.
“Yes, Sir."
"No, Sir."
"Aye, Aye, Sir."
"Right away, Sir."
"I don’t know but I’ll find out, Sir.”
3. Say “thank you.” A lot. Everyone wants appreciation. Nobody deserves that more than your parents.
4. Appreciate your youth, fitness, athleticism, and high functioning brain power. Do everything to cultivate high performance from your magnificent machine. Do nothing to self-sabotage.
5. Build great habits, winning habits in school and extracurricular activities. Be focused, coachable, and diligent. Action transforms goals into results.
Don't wait for the season to compete. ✅ COMPETE every day ✅ COMPETE on every drill ✅ COMPETE on every lift ✅ COMPETE on every sprint ✅ COMPETE with your teammates ✅ COMPETE against the standard ✅ COMPETE against the clock ✅ COMPETE against the best#CultureWins
Goals alone don't produce results. Habits link goals to outcomes.
Identity is key. Atomic Habits author James Clear explains how "habits are votes for the kind of person we want to become." Want to be a great student? Improve study habits. To be an elite athlete, build skill, strength, and conditioning.
Write your plan.
Skills such as platform skills, digging, setting, approach footwork
Jump training. Get baseline measures (e.g. chalked fingertip) followed by your training and followup. Choose exercises you will do (lunges, squats, pogos, bounds, jump boxes). Followup testing.
Conditioning.
'Consolidate' habits.
Be a tracker.
"Don't miss twice."
Find a workout partner to help motivation and skill.
"What's your purpose for your practice? I practiced to be the best ever. So, every time I walked on that field I had a purpose for my practice."@DeionSanders bringing the 💯 TRUTH 🙌 pic.twitter.com/x7aeU4ZuDI
Self-made billionaire Spanx CEO Sara Blakely says people tell her, "you're so fearless." She answers, "No, I'm not." She's afraid of heights, flying, public speaking. But she overcomes her fears, even holding a "Comedy Night" for her employees where everyone performs standup.
Share examples. The Patriots faced the 'Greatest Show on Turf' in 2002, with an unheralded quarterback (Tom Brady) against Kurt Warner and the NFL's highest octane offense. Virtually no one gave the 14-point underdog a chance...except the Patriots.
Harvard's women met Stanford at Palo Alto in the 1998 NCAAs as a 16 versus 1 mismatch. That didn't prevent the Crimson from winning. A future ER doctor made the winning basket.
As an underdog, believe and compete.
Unheralded doesn't mean untalented. Trust YOUR ability and system. "It's just a game."
There no shame in defeat but never fail to show up.
Lagniappe. Consistency is more than the hobgoblin of foolish minds.
Deion Sanders said, "You don't have to be great or successful to be consistent. But, you do need to be consistent to be great or successful."
Consistency is rare. • It means discipline. • It means showing up. • It means doing the work.
Success often parallels attitudes, beliefs, and values that drive action. "Nothing works unless you do." Action beats intentions.
Organizational psychologists Chip and Dan Heath wrote several books about change, Made to Stick and Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard.
The Heath Brothers argue that reaching your destination involves metaphorical elements:
R - The Rider, an excellent thinker, sometimes short on action.
E - The Elephant, emotional inputs that encourage or deter us.
P - The Path - the journey to navigate to success.
What concrete tips help the Rider (Rationality)?
Look to the MVB past...including many impactful freshmen. Chloe Gentile had 113 kills as a freshman, Emily Hudson 42, Victoria Crovo 161. Other notable freshmen whose performance impacted wins include Hannah Brickley and Paula Sen.
Get involved including camps, youth volleyball, and building athleticism.
How can we motivate the Elephant (Emotion)?
See-Feel-Change. See how little girls like young Hannah Brickley or the Crovo sisters watched games, felt the excitement, and became MVB.
Emphasize identity. Winning is hard. Few programs experience the success of MVB with a State Championship, ten Sectional Titles, and many Middlesex League Championships. Be part of special.
How can we shape the Path?
Make MVB part of your daily routine...your workouts, your video study (MHS-TV on YouTube), even reading the blog, the real-time history of MVB.
"Rally the herd." Peer support adds strong motivation for individuals and the group. Work out as a duo with a teammate or a bigger group to practice platform and other skills.
Lagniappe. Report. Study relationships such as hand to ball, arm position and swing.
"Make friends with the dead." Something like 6 percent of all people ever born are alive today. Learn from different cultures and generations. Find people to emulate in virtue and example.
There's a saying from ancient Rome, "everyone needs a Cato" about Cato the Elder and his great grandson Cato the Younger. In a time of self-indulgence, both were known for their virtue, eloquence, and influence.
Cato understood women. "Suffer women once to arrive at an equality with you, and they will from that moment become your superiors." He respected their abilities.
Antoninus was the predecessor as Emperor to Marcus Aurelius. He is best known for presiding over the empire with peace for 23 years from 138-161. Decades of peace in that era was inconceivable. Conflicts rage today in more than half a dozen countries.
Few women achieved status or power outside of marriage in the ancient world and they lacked rights. The few who did, notably Claudia Metrodora must have had remarkable force of personality. "One inscription in particular describes her as 'being desirous of glory for the city ... a lover of her homeland and priestess of life of the divine empress Aphrodite Livia, by reason of her excellence and admirable behaviour.'"
We don't have to return two millennia. Learn lessons in leadership from Doris Kearns Goodwin in Leadership in Turbulent Times.
Don't confine yourself to the narrow world of the living.
Lagniappe. Know your defense's seam responsibilities. Consult with your coaches for their preferences.
Lagniappe 2. Shoulder exercises with resistance bands.
You can award yourself character qualities - commitment, honesty, integrity, work ethic.
You cannot award yourself "external honors" such as Player of the Year, Hall of Fame status, etc.
Having been an athlete, parent, and coach helps one see through "dragonfly eyes." Everyone sees through a blend of self-interest, emotion, and objectivity. Hope, pride, optimism, and disappointment cloud our vision.
Exceptional coaches have 'receipts' - the fruits of their and their players' talents. You've got them.
Every successful coach points out having talented players as the most important reason.
1. Model excellence. You represent the team on and off the court. That involves both "dos" and "don'ts."
2. Energize physically and verbally. Accepting captaincy means you are chosen to lead and must choose to lead.
3. Team first. Serve the team. Do whatever is in the best interest of the team.
4. Never embarrass the program. Be 'professional' with the officials, on social media, and in the community.
5. Lead with joy. Bring joy to practice, to games, to the locker room. "Mudita." Take joy in the success of the team and players performing well, regardless of your personal results.
Lagniappe. Never short-change preparation from now through the final day of the season.
Peyton Manning said, "I've never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me piece of mind."
Success comes from preparation. • It comes from doing the work. • It comes from living the details.
Anything is possible. These need updating with sectional titles in 2021 and 2022 and league title in 2023. I thought the team won the Freedom Division in 2014 and 2015, too.
Exceptional play radiates physical and mental toughness. The 2012 team team felt the sting of defeat in the 2011 State Final. They made sure they would not repeat it.
What goes into mental toughness?
Focus. "Play present." Don't allow an error or opponent success on the previous point to bleed into the next.
Conditioning. "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." Conditioning isn't optional or an afterthought. Jumping rope, total body training, and Tabata Training all contribute to mental toughness.
Proven success. MVB knows "the wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain."
Balance. Confidence balances arrogance and doubt.
Self-belief. Every contest is a winnable match. Want the ball. "Winners want the ball."
Relentlessness. When you have the receipts (work), you have the right to win.
Cellphones have pluses including use of video, cameras for screenshots, and obviously communication.
There are negatives. Phones are distractions.
High performance needs planning, preparation, and focus. The opposite of focus is distraction. Some advise banning cellphone use on game day to improve vision. There's no way to enforce it.
Decide on your priority. If it's texting or calling friends over full engagement at practice, you're following a lit fuse.
Running basketball tryouts, I heard players keep calling a girl "Special." During a break, I asked, "How did she get the nickname 'Special'?" Someone answered, "It's Beshel."
Everyone wants a chance at special. Few teams have the purpose to be special. They may lack talent, experience, leadership, culture, or haven't learned how to win. Winning is an art.
You know "special" when you see it. Four years ago I told a player, "you're the best I've ever coached and you'll benefit from new coaching." She earned a McDonald's All-America nomination, one of six in Massachusetts. Your team has a chance to be special.
"Win this point."
"Never be satisfied."
"Play harder than your opponent."
"Play for each other."
"Communicate. Talk energizes. Talk intimidates."
"Be coachable."
"Excel in your role."
"Study the game to SEE THE GAME."
Lagniappe. Coach Jay Wright is one of the best around in leadership and player development.
Jay Wright said, "We have a saying that everyone’s role is different, but everyone’s status is the same. It’s a reminder that no matter how bright the spotlight gets, we are all part of something much larger than ourselves."
PLAYERS: When your coach doesn't play you, they aren't disrespecting you or hating on you. They are respecting your teammates and loving the team. Good coaches play the players that make up the best team and that are the most trusted team members. Become that kind of teammate.
Remember that your opponent wants to win, too. You make your coaches proud as a "worthy competitor." The competitor doesn't back down, regardless of the opponent. "Posers" back down.
"It's always been - you have to learn how to compete. Then, you have to learn how to always compete. Then, you have to learn to compete at the high levels. When you do that, you are always going to give yourself a chance to win." pic.twitter.com/p0SpbBtexb
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) May 7, 2024
Body language equals non-verbal communication. Body language reveals our energy and confidence. Body language energizes and deflates.
Negative body language is not an option.
A former MVBer explained how she walked into the gym tall, head up in a power position. "I want everyone in the gym to know the best player in the gym just walked in." You can only be as good as your self-belief.
The majority of our communication is non-verbal. Convey a strong, positive message by standing tall.
When you walk onto the floor, posture signals your attitude and confidence. That goes for entering a classroom or a job interview. Show that you're a serious person.
Everything goes into our 'brand' including verbal, non-verbal, and written communication. That covers moral, ethical, and legal territory.
From Urban Meyer's Above the Line, "There is a red line at the end of our practice field. Every day before practice, I stand at that red line and watch guys take the field. The rule is that once they cross that red line, they are not only running - they are prepared to give all they've got. If I don't like somebody's demeanor - it could be body language, a look on a guy's face, anything - I turn him around and point to the locker room. You better be ready to go; otherwise don't come on the practice field."
From The Art of Coaching Volleyball about tryouts, "Don’t give off a negative vibe. Look like you’re having fun playing the game. Smile, be upbeat, support your teammates, enjoy yourself. Coaches like players who bring positive energy to the court."
Lagniappe. "You own your paycheck." If you want to 'get paid', then earn it.
Work on your game. Work on your body. Work on resilience. Work with a teammate.
You might be tired of hearing it. Dream big. Work bigger.
Get Better Every Day. Sometimes that means you have to hear a message you don’t want to hear. As bad as you may want to avoid it - it may very well be the advice or motivation you need to take yourself to new heights. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable when the goal is📈 pic.twitter.com/4LYaBCqZwS
— Coach Ray Ostrowski (@CoachRayO3313) May 3, 2024
Talent doesn’t make you a winning basketball player…
Coaches want talented players. It’s simple. But those talented players need to fit in to a team. And your Core Values of Competitiveness, Resilience, Attitude, Coachability, etc. are going to either raise your value or… pic.twitter.com/AmuDUmg0EM
Talent is necessary but not sufficient to succeed consistently and to become an elite player or team. Brad Stevens demands what he calls, "competitive character."
Competitive character includes being a good teammate, playing "harder for longer," and resilience. Hard work is a skill. Toughness is a skill. Understanding winning actions is a skill.
Teach players who are less skilled than yourself. Compete against tough, talented players at your level. Learn by competing against better players.
Playing "better teams" doesn't mean rolling over or "showing your neck" in submission. Long-time Melrose fans know MVB has beaten "better teams" as the underdog. What helped the "Rocky" movies succeed was the 'never say die' spirit of Rocky Balboa.
Lagniappe. Decisions define destiny.
Lagniappe 2. Sport rewards athletic explosiveness. Every great MVB player has been an exceptional athlete.
Baby steps. Nobody magically learns to walk. Roll over. Sit up. Pull yourself up and cruise along furniture. Stand up; sit down. Again. Take your first steps. The process repeats and repeats.
Failure is a weigh station on the highway to success.
The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow- witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him. - Tolstoy
*Adapted from my basketball blog
Winning needs focused investment in areas that work. Neither 100 percent investment in offense nor defense is best. Full belief in your failing process is nonsense.
Leadership. Can the coach sell the program, get buy-in, and add value? In Community Health (1977) we learned about barriers, efficacy, severity, and susceptibility.
Barriers - what hinders us?
Efficacy - what's the 'applicable' track record?
Severity - how bad is the situation?
Susceptibility - does it apply to the community? If "hockey" or something else is king, is there room for basketball?
Philosophy. Can we sell our philosophy to smart people "firmly persuaded that they know already?"
Do well what you do a lot.
Do more of what works (e.g. hard to defend actions) and less of what doesn't.
Know Knight's Power of Negative Thinking. Don't take bad shots, don't turn the ball over, don't foul needlessly. Don't give games away.
Player development. What's your player development track record?
Show your receipts - D1 players, McDonald's All-America nominee, All-Scholastic/All-State selections, Local Athletic Hall of Famers, valedictorians and more.
Strategy "We can't run what we can't run." Without core skills, the choice of 'offensive system' doesn't matter.
Physicality (strength and conditioning) Without training, we cannot play "harder for longer" needed to outperform opponents. Measurable performance like 12-minute runs, broad jump, and bench press repetitions give easy to obtain, reproducible results.
Psychology Have a simple program that you can implement such as mindfulness and visualization.
Commitment is king. Players choose whether to invest in themselves and winning or not. "It takes what it takes." In addition to all of the above, players need to play, a lot.
"Mentoring is the only shortcut to success." Find a mentor.
"Winners are trackers." - Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect Measure what you do and seek improvement and betterment of your personal best.
Are you willing to do what the beast does? "Champions do extra." It's a big ask.
Lagniappe. What the beasts do.
Lagniappe 2. One minute of magic...on winning points