Over 20 national championships with zero scholarship players, Jack Clark wins through unconditional belief.
This 2015 profile shares some of his secrets.
Excerpt:
BE THOROUGHLY ACCOUNTABLE. After games he and his team make a granular review of what went well and what didn't. "Spend so much more time on your strengths." That's a key component of Cal's 'performance culture.' Clark also emphasizes transparency. That makes sense when analyzing the type of gifted students present at Cal.
Bobby Knight said, "The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare."
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) May 31, 2024
Preparation builds a strong foundation for improvement and success.
• It improves your confidence.
• It makes you resilient.
• It makes you resourceful. pic.twitter.com/GhplDGIWZR
"It takes what it takes." Wanting to win isn't enough. Preparation, developing winning habits changes outcomes.
When you think of commitment, what comes to mind? Commitment means delaying some of what you want to do today, so that your success allows you to do more of what you want tomorrow.
What are your biggest obligations in MVB? Hint, it's not score more points or put up more digs, assists, or blocks.
1. Be the best teammate you can. Be the queen of encouragement and support. Star in your role while working to expand your role. You don't have to be a great player to be a great teammate. That's part of the Fourth Agreement, "Always do your best."
2. Be professional and lead. Everyone can lead. Professionalism means 'showing up' every day, even when you're not 100%. Leadership means setting an example, modeling excellence, every day. Leaders make leaders.
3. Make everyone around you better to impact the game. Daydreaming during practice isn't making you or the team better. Allowing teammates to slack off and to stop communicating and giving less than their best lets the team down. Building your skill at setting, digging, or closing the block makes the team better. "Great offense is multiple actions" and "great defense is multiple efforts."
Keep your 'gratitude journal'. What am I grateful for today?
Have a rethinking scorecard. What did I think before that has changed?
Be a tracker. What did I work on today? What will I work on tomorrow?
Lagniappe. Staying 'up'.
Hear it all the time...the work ethic of young workers isn't enough. That's what people tell me.
What are the 4 Attributes of Commitment?
— Greg Berge (@gb1121) May 30, 2024
1. Showing Up
2. Best Effort
3. Self-Improvement
4. Team First
The most committed players always show up, give their best effort, focus on self-improvement, and are team-first athletes.
How committed are you?
Restate by inverting, "Invert, always invert."
1. Don't show up by SOFTNESS (lack of toughness)
2. Don't give your best by SLOTH (laziness)
3. Don't improve by being STAGNANT
4. Don't put team first by SELFISHNESS
Don't ever have to hear the words SOFT, SLOTH, SELFISH, or STAGNANT.
Lagniappe. Perfectly positioned platform pass...
"Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable." - John Wooden
You get "your name here" tomorrow by what you do today. "Repetitions make reputations." Your offseason defines whom you become as a team and as an individual.
Seek excellence not validation. At the peak of the John Wooden Pyramid of Success stands "competitive greatness." His UCLA Bruins won ten national basketball championships including nine in a ten year span. It's also worth noting that they won their first in his sixteenth season at UCLA.
Recall the power of incremental gains. One percent improvement daily creates a 37-fold improvement over a year!
Lagniappe. What is relatable to teenage girls? What matters to you? In the end, that's what matters, what drives you?
"It takes what it takes." Have you left your comfort zone? Train to be unstoppable.
Lagniappe. Footwork is key.
Lessons from Gridiron Genius.
1. "Champions behave like champions before they’re champions." —BILL WALSH
2. "You start first with a structural format and underlying philosophy, then find people who can implement it.”
3. "Exhibit a ferocious and intelligently applied work ethic directed at continual improvement."
4. "Be willing to go the extra distance for the organization."
5. Peter Drucker: “Culture can eat strategy for lunch.”
6. "Coaches are first and foremost great leaders."
7. "If someone needed to be critical of a player’s talent, he was to keep it professional. Stay clean and to the point, and don’t denigrate."
8. "Never begin with the end in mind."
9. "The best teams force players to prove their value."
10. Find your guys. "Moss displayed another Belichick staple: mental toughness, which the Patriots define as “doing what is best for the team when it might not be best for you.”
Be professional. Show up daily. Be prepared in every possible way. The most 'professional' player I ever coached was Cecilia Kay. She came ready to practice, ready to play, ready to work every day starting in middle school.
What did that do for her? Valedictorian at Bishop Fenwick. Herald All-Scholastic four times. Globe All-Scholastic three times. Herald and Globe super-team. McDonald's All-American nominee. Division 1 scholarship.
(From Chat GPT)
The Melrose Girls Volleyball blog provides detailed coverage and insights into the Melrose High School volleyball team. It features comprehensive game summaries, player highlights, and team performance analyses. The blog is updated frequently with posts on matches, strategies, player development, and even life lessons related to sportsmanship and leadership.
Key content includes:
Game Recaps: Detailed accounts of recent games, highlighting key players, critical plays, and overall team performance. For example, a post on the game against Burlington details how Melrose won with standout performances from senior captains and emerging underclassmen (Melrose Lady Raiders Volleyball).
Player Spotlights: Posts often highlight individual achievements and growth, emphasizing contributions from both senior leaders and younger team members, as seen in the detailed game summaries (Melrose Lady Raiders Volleyball).
Coaching and Development Tips: The blog offers insights into volleyball techniques and team strategies, along with motivational advice for athletes. Posts often include tips on improving performance and developing a winning mindset (Melrose Lady Raiders Volleyball) (Melrose Lady Raiders Volleyball).
Community and Events: The blog also covers events like "Middlesex League Volleyball Night," providing updates on the local volleyball scene and fostering a sense of community among players and fans (Melrose Lady Raiders Volleyball).
Overall, the blog serves as a rich resource for fans, players, and coaches interested in Melrose volleyball, blending game analysis with broader educational and inspirational content. For more details, you can visit the blog at Melrose Girls Volleyball.
Lagniappe. "Snap at the peak."
All opinions in the blog are solely my own.
What does MVB mean for you? Reflect on lessons from James Kerr in Legacy.
“Leave the jersey in a better place.” MVB is about more than quality volleyball, although a double digit string of league titles, ten sectional titles, and a State Championship matter.
MVB spawned elite student-athletes and many graduates with advanced degrees and postgraduate achievements. MVB is also closing in on twenty players earning All-State recognition.
Additionally, MVB has earned the coveted Sportsmanship award from the MIAA.
Coach Scott Celli earned HoF status and his coaching tree bore fruit as Kayla Wyland led her club to the D3 Final Four last season.
“Be a good ancestor.” Set an example for future MVB players through your conduct at home, in school, on the court, and in the community. Always represent yourself and MVB in a professional way. Never be a distraction.
Like a stone thrown into a pond, you create ripple effects. Remind yourself of the Greek proverb, “Old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.”
Think not of the privileges conferred by MVB but the obligations.
"Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be." -
Exceptional teams do "the hard things at the hard time."
From Boston Sports Journal’s John Karalis, “One of Mazzulla’s pet phrases is about humility and being willing to do uncomfortable things when it matters most. He hates expectations because those are the enemy of the humility he’s looking for. On a team like his with a lot of star power and players capable of a lot of things, he wants them to only focus on what’s necessary.”
You ask, "how does any of this relate to MVB?" Answer the question with more questions?
"Do you have the mental toughness to compete on the road in the tough venues?"
"Are you in premier physical condition to endure and thrive in five set matches? Are you doing the lifting, running, and plyometrics, the unrequired work of champions?"
"Are you playing to win or are you playing not to lose?"
"Do you believe in yourself and in your teammates?"
Shared vision and shared sacrifice create shared results. The hard things include "putting the ball down," or "keeping the ball up" by closing the double block, the tough dig, or executing the serve or serve receive in the moment.
Be physically and mentally ready to do the hard things at the hard time.
Lagniappe. Blocking is critical for every exceptional team.
Play better and more consistently. How?
Summary:
Coaches at AAU tournaments are like falcons flying over a field: THEY SEE AND HEAR EVERYTHING.
— Jared Zeidman (@JaredTheCoach) May 17, 2024
The more you’re doing as an individual to try and keep your team locked in and energized, the more likely a college coach is to notice.
3/4
Coaches explain what they see. Geno Auriemma says that if assistants need to ask who they're scouting, they're in the wrong place.
Dean Smith said he looked for winning players. Big scorers on a .500 team aren't impacting winning enough.
Pete Carril said that some players are LIGHTBULBS who illuminate the whole court.
“You have to prepare yourself that if you’re lucky and fate taps you on the shoulder and says it’s your turn, you better be ready. If you’re not, there’s no guarantee it will tap you again. You lost the moment. If fate taps you and you’re not ready it’s your fault,” Geno Auriemma… pic.twitter.com/lmS13xbOXu
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) May 18, 2024
In 1985, the UCONN AD told the women, "we'll get you the best woman coach we can find." They asked why the AD wouldn't get them the best coach available. UCONN hired Geno Auriemma and eleven national titles ensued.
Preparation is physical (skill, conditioning, sleep, nutrition), mental (study, game planning, resilience under pressure), and freedom from self-defeating behaviors including chemical health.
Always being prepared lessens the possibility of regret.
Over twenty years ago, Melrose had no volleyball tradition or titles, but leadership and players committed to succeed. While "tradition never graduates," exceptional players do and MVB has to work even harder to stay successful.
Lagniappe. Exercises that work for volleyball, too.
Collegiate basketball 🏀 off-season lower body strength training day:
— Jeremy Toohey (@Toohey_sp) May 19, 2024
▪️Front foot elevated ISO calf raise
▪️Pogo jumps
▪️ISO glute bridge
▪️Full ROM calf raise
▪️Front squat
▪️Bird dog row
▪️Barbell RDL
▪️SL squat to a box
▪️Offset heavy carry pic.twitter.com/XDmMPvgnQx
Lagniappe 2. What obstacles can block the path of success?
Be part of something special. MVB.
Maybe you haven't committed to physical training. It's not too late to get on board with almost three months until tryouts.
"Sport rewards athletic explosion." Every exceptional MVB player worked to become a terrific athlete.
Beginner exercises. Do them for ten minutes with a teammate on a Zoom or Facetime call. Do more and become more.
Post by @kpstrengthView on Threads
(Note: from time to time, I'll resurrect a noteworthy, still relevant post. Here's one from over a year ago. Many new readers have joined.)
Winning a title is hard. Repeating is harder. Melrose has won ten sectional championships since its first in 2003. "The wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain."
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 four-peat 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?
"Prepare as if the success never happened."
Lagniappe. Elastic serving tip?
A recent post from a former NCAA men’s basketball player of the year, Butch Lee (1978)
All opinions expressed in the blog are my own.
Part of MVB success is positive culture - the 'macro' and 'micro' environment surrounding the team.
Coach Matt Hackenberg shares his ideas on organizational culture.
10 characteristics to evaluate your culture
— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) March 31, 2024
1. Player interaction in the locker room, after & before practices/games
2. Player interaction away from 🏀 (includes off season)
3. Player effort & enthusiasm at practice
4. Engagement of players on the bench during the game
Every winning team doesn't have the same culture, but winning teams with unfavorable culture don't enjoy the experience as much as they could.
Coach Matt Painter explains where he's at.
Matt Painter GOLD 🥇
— Greg Berge (@gb1121) March 30, 2024
Be a Truth Teller.
“You just want to keep moving that bar.”
The essence of coaching and building a program.
Setting a standard and building a consistent culture takes time and patience.
Most things worthwhile happen this way.
pic.twitter.com/ZnoEOr65Mw
Everyone wants to win. Not everyone understands the requirements and commitment to raise their floor (minimum standard) or approach their ceiling (what is possible).
MVB enjoys success because many of the players had the necessary size, athleticism, and competitiveness. The players and families sacrificed time and treasure to develop the skill and experience needed to seal the deal.
Lagniappe. Better setting ideas...
Post by @rysheadView on Threads
Your MVB experience flies. Get the most from it by giving the most to it. Coach Greg Berge suggests how.
You only get one chance to play High School Sports.
— Greg Berge (@gb1121) May 21, 2024
Make the moments matter.
Make memories and play with "No Regrets."
Here are 7 Ways to Do It.
[THREAD] 🧵
Few high school athletes get to have an experience like MVB. You shape your experience with your preparation, your goals, and your habits. Great habits drive results.
Concepts cross disciplines.
"Great offense is multiple actions." Dig, set, spike. Inverting, one bad pass often leads to another.
"Great defense is multiple actions." The front and back row are complementary. Tough blockers help relieve pressure on the back row.
"Champions do extra." Winning is hard; that's why it's valuable.
"Do five more." - Dan Pink That might mean five more sprints, five more repetitions, five more minutes of video study.
"Always do your best." - The Fourth Agreement Our best doesn't guarantee success. If we give our best every day, with every hard practice and difficult conversation, it leaves little opportunity for regret.
Lagniappe. Be better.
PLAYERS: If you want to have a better team, then become a better teammate. Become a better player. The best way to improve the team is to improve yourself. Great teams have great teammates.
— Jamy Bechler (@CoachBechler) May 13, 2024
Lagniappe 2. Leadership is hard.
Kobe Bryant said, “If you’re going to be a leader, you’re not going to please everybody. You gotta hold people accountable even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.”
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) May 12, 2024
The reality: Leadership is hard.
It means doing more.
7 Realities That All Leaders Face:
1. Expect… pic.twitter.com/VA1bUgwGyl
Lagniappe 3.
Most of coaching pre- and post-game observations end up on the scrapheap...often deservedly so.
Sometimes players listen.
"Success isn't all about talent. It's about being dependable, consistent coachable, and knowing what you need to do to improve." (Bill Belichick) pic.twitter.com/VkbN6Ch5UP
— Coach the Coaches (@WinningCoaches) May 19, 2024
Nobody wins without talent. MVB has talent. Win with consistency, aggressiveness, resiliency (mental toughness), and ongoing improvement.
Lagniappe. The "hip turn" is critical in many sports. Cornerbacks "open up" to sprint, basketball players turn and run to defend, base stealers 'crossover' to start.
All opinions in the blog are solely my own. Blame nobody else.
"Coaches get more than we give." - Brad Stevens
Coaches are teachers. Education changes behavior. Every student won't have the same aptitude, interest, and commitment...just like teaching math or medicine.
The game is for the players. Remember that we help build programs not statues. There is always something to be learned and taught.
Manage our expectations, not the players'. Young players don't have the skill, experience, or maturity to be consistent. They make eye-opening plays and eye-rolling mistakes.
"Never be a child's last coach." When in our life has continual negativity and criticism strengthened us and made us more resilient? If a child quits a sport because of us, that's a strong statement.
There's a saying in Washington, "if you want a friend, get a dog." Everyone won't like us, players or parents. I coached a player who couldn't have been more of an "oppositional personality." Her mother wrote me years later to say that her daughter "figured it out," that coaching wasn't criticism. The girl became an All-League player at a charter school.
Get resources. Read the late Carl Pierson's The Politics of Coaching. Coach Pierson discusses many perturbations of human nature that impact coaches.
"Read, read, read, read, read." - Werner Herzog Read about basketball, coaching, fiction, and non-fiction. Be open to new ideas and concepts from other disciplines. I spent my junior year in high school as a 'stay ready' player doing metaphorical chicken chasing to prepare for a role as a defensive stopper.
We make mistakes. Often I was more concerned about setting lineups balanced for ball-handling, rebounding, scoring and playing time than winning. We would have won a lot more with more inequality.
Know the unholy trinity of minutes, role, and recognition. Nobody advocates for what is good for their child more than parents. I call it "The Prime Directive" that parents place their child above the welfare of the team. "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."
"Every day is development day." Coaches never regret having more skilled players with higher basketball IQ. Development applies for coaches, too. Learn from coaching groups, videos, watching basketball, and mentoring if possible.
Set boundaries. Never talk with parents about another parent's child. If they want to praise another player, then okay. But it's often fishing for praise for theirs. Have a cooling off period after games. Don't engage about playing time until everyone's had time to sleep on it.
Seek work-life balance. It's close to impossible, so manage those expectations.
Have a clear policy on transparency. I coached girls, so I invited parents to pre- and post-game brief discussions and practice. There was never going to be an accusation of inappropriate behavior. Volunteerism isn't worth crucifixion.
Network. Let players know that we are there for long-term personal and career growth for players. No college coaches are going to take my word over video evidence and personal observation. But coaches help steer players toward "good fits" and career success. Write recommendations. It's alright to bask in their reflected light.
"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't." My last group wasn't the best at containing the ball. Still, I believed in the value of teaching individual assignment (Man) defense over zone. I believed that was better for their development. So we won a few less games. That doesn't invalidate zones and hybrid defenses. In the playoffs in my final year, we switched to a triangle-and-two with the goal of taking away open threes and living with the paint-protectors protecting the basket. We beat a team that we had lost to seven times over three years.
Winning is hard.
"You have to scratch and claw and it never f–-ing ends. And it doesn’t get better, it just gets harder. So don’t complain to me that I’m making your life hard. You don’t even know what that means." - Deborah Vance in Hacks, Episode 2
Lagniappe. Golf.
Women's sports aren't second class unless you allow them to be. The passion is real. The intensity is real. The training is real.
Rebecca Lobo is no joke - a National Champion, Naismith Hall of Famer, national commentator. She's also a former National Women's Player of the Year and has an Olympic Gold medal.
Been coaching my son’s basketball teams for the past six years. Something new happened today. It wasn’t awesome. pic.twitter.com/buL6rJNKT9
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) May 17, 2024
Embrace the journey. Celebrate small successes and know there will be setbacks.
"It's not what you get in the end.
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) May 17, 2024
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
Lagniappe. There is no 'secret sauce'. Do the right things consistently. "Figure it out."
#Basketball #Coaching you want to succeed as a player?
— Ron Sen, MD (@rsen01) May 17, 2024
- 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
“Youth is wasted on the young.” Disprove that.
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.
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.
Timeless lessons yield timeless results.
Lagniappe. Not totally accurate but close.
What's your 'compete level'?
Don't wait for the season to compete.
— Jeff Janssen (@janssenleader) May 16, 2024
✅ 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
Raise your compete level. Bring your best self to every room.
Celtics' President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens seeks "competitive character." Find players with extreme ownership about character.
Lagniappe. Timeless.
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.
'Consolidate' habits.
Need workout planning structure? Here's one to consider:
Post by @the.volleyball.strength.coachView on Threads
PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE
— Jamy Bechler (@CoachBechler) April 10, 2024
"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
Practice makes champions or it fills up time, "breaks up the day." What bothers coaches? What would you put on your list?