Success

Winners WIN at ALL Levels.

You don’t just win in your sport.

- You win in school.
- You win every day.
- You win in your personal life.

Put in the work. Create great habits. Continue with relentless consistency.

Win TODAY, Every Day.

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) June 30, 2024

Invest our time or spend it. Do the work or talk about it. Choose to be your best every day and amazing results happen. 

Lagniappe. There's no unimportant core skill. Serve receive has to be solid for a team to thrive. 

The Role of Character

Character is who you are when no one is watching. Legendary Italian basketball coach Etorre Messina speaks often about character. He has said, "character is job one." Here is a brief summary from ChatGPT.  

1. On the qualities of a team: Messina believes that character is fundamental to the success of a team. He values players who are not only talented but also possess strong moral fiber and discipline.

2. On building a winning team: According to Messina, building a successful team involves selecting players who are not only skilled but also possess the right character traits. He emphasizes that character influences how players handle pressure, adversity, and success.

3. On leadership: Messina has highlighted the role of character in leadership. He believes that leaders must exhibit integrity, resilience, and a strong work ethic to inspire and guide their teammates effectively.

4. On team culture: Messina stresses the importance of fostering a positive team culture based on respect, trust, and mutual support. He believes that a team with high character is more likely to achieve its goals and overcome challenges together.

Asked about success in business, Warren Buffett said that it requires intelligence, energy, and integrity. He noted that the first two without the latter are dangerous. 

Character is revealed in both words and actions. The great author Maya Angelou explained, "when someone shows you who they are, believe them."

Character shows up in everything we do at home, school or work, and sports. Caring about teammates, about winning, and doing the right things to succeed consistently show sports character. 

Part of the MVB success relates to the high character of the coaches and players committed to sacrifice and success. 

Lagniappe. Coach Jack Clark (rugby) has won 24 National titles without scholarships at Cal. He discusses the requirement for "conditional love" in high performing organizations.

 

Tuesday Night Countdown

 

Every Second Counts

Ask Yourself What You Can Do

In the 1961 Inauguration address, President John F. Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This was one of the most famous example of rhetorical chiasmus, juxtaposing phrases. 

Tom Crean makes a few changes. 

Assistant Coaches/ Staff/ GA’s
Three questions to answer each day.
1. What does my Head Coach need from me to be more successful today ?
2. What does each player in our Program need to get better today?
3. What can I learn today that makes me better for tomorrow?

— Tom Crean (@TomCrean) July 1, 2024

Strengthen the partnership among your coaches and teammates by asking how to be better together. 

 

Willpower

I have always believed that if you have a critical mass of players who need to win as much as the coach, success follows.

Coach Sonny Lane preached hard work and sacrifice. He never promised anybody minutes, role, or recognition. With maximum commitment, the process produces the best possible results. That doesn't guarantee a league title, sectional or state championship. 

But nobody regrets giving their best, leaving their best on the court. 

Put the ball down; keep the ball up. It's a simple game, easy to play and hard to master. 

Motivate Yourself and Your Team

Mamba Mentality forever pic.twitter.com/1ttlW8Ie7a

— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) June 29, 2024

Kobe Bryant helped win the Lakers five NBA titles during a twenty-year career. That doesn't tell the whole story.  

Bryant was a tireless worker, practicing for several hours multiple times daily during the offseason.

Supposedly, he took 1,000 shots a day for a hundred days and worked to enhance his athleticism and maintain his body. 

He was partially profiled in the book Relentless. Tim S. Grover trained Bryant from 2007 to 2012. 

Nobody expects high school athletes to make the sacrifices of the most elite pros. But learning to commit to excellence, focus, and do the work. Establish habits that will serve you your whole life. 

Quote: “Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear.”

Lagniappe. When you give your best every day, there's nothing more to be done or said. 

 

Attention to Detail - 2012

Yesterday's piece included the 2012 dismantling of AC by the future state champions. What made them so dominant? 

1) Talent. Talent wins. They had two players from the Boston Herald "Team of the Decade," Brooke Bell and Sara McGowan. They were the visible part of the iceberg. Jen Cain performed at an All-State level all season, the "Swiss Army Knife" who excelled all-around. Then they had the elite blocking pair of Rachel Johnson and Kayla Wyland, "the Great Wall." And there's more. Two back row players Jill MacInnes and Allie Nolan were future All-State players. J-Mac is arguably the greatest MVB libero. And then, Amanda Commito, another ML All-Star defender and sneaky southpaw server. Plus Cassidy Barbaro who served topspin rockets in the 'designated server' role.

2) Experience. The team was loaded with seniors who had fought the VB wars, including losing in the State Finals in 2011. "Experience is the best teacher, but sometimes the tuition is high." 

3) Consistency. The team won 80 sets and lost 4, three to D1 State runnerup Newton North. MVB lost one set in the postseason. They almost always delivered their "A" game. 

4) Versatility. Examine the six core volleyball skills.

• Serving
• Passing
• Attacking 
• Blocking 
• Setting 
• Digging 

They had a multitude of strong servers with different styles varying from float to topspin, "rotten grapefruit" short balls, jump serves, and multiple lefthanders (Bell, Commito). 

The passing was outstanding, especially from MacInnes, Cain, and Commito. 

They had the "big three" attackers with McGowan, Cain, and Johnson who especially stepped up in the final three games of the championship run. Analisa DeBari, one of the greatest women athletes in Melrose history also chipped in outside attacks. 

The Johnson-Wyland block pair had exceptional size and timing. When they weren't scoring, they were intimidating the top opposition outside hitters, forced to hit high and long. Also, McGowan's blocking was above average and underrated in the middle.  

Brooke Bell ranks at the top of MVB setters statistically, winning, and recognition with All-State (twice) status and Player of the Year. She had tough soft serves and attacked with setter dumps and pushes to the deep corner, as well as providing excellent defense. 

The ability to "keep the ball up" was exceptional with J-Mac, Cain, Commito, and others.

5) Coaching doesn't get enough credit with elite talent. The ability to keep the team focused and happy is underappreciated. Coach Celli's clubs had earned Sectional championship matches virtually every year. The "four-peat from 2009-2012 could have been more if not interrupted by the brilliance of Central Catholic and setter Caroline Eddy the previous two years. 

If you haven't studied MVB 2012 and you want to learn about excellence, then invest the time. 

Lagniappe. Rafael Devers grew up in the Dominican hitting bottle caps with broomsticks. That trained his focus for MLB. Here's an analogy. 

Feedback Versus Advice

Coaches are students and teachers. Return to Michael Useem's The Leadership Moment and four questions:

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can we do better next time? 
• What are the enduring lessons? 

Brook Kohlheim (@CoachKohlheim) shares a weekly newsletter which crosses domains in sport and leadership. This week she included this piece from a favorite author, Professor Adam Grant. 

Grant shares that advice changes process more than feedback. At Boston City Hospital in 1980, intern Anne Knowlton advised, "you need to speak up more on rounds. That's the only way to show knowledge." That advice changed the arc of my medical career. 

Excerpt: "Instead of seeking feedback, you’re better off asking for advice. Feedback tends to focus on how well you did last time. Advice shifts attention to how you can do better next time. In experiments, that simple shift is enough to elicit more specific suggestions and more constructive input." 

Advice for 2024:

"Be the alphas." Don't roll over and expose your necks. Be professional, be meticulous. Take care of business. 

"Constantly grow your fundamentals." Your platform, footwork, and arm swing always matter. Don't go back to basics. Never leave them. 

"Know where points arise - serve, block, attack." Make serve and serve receive strengths. Watching the 2012 team, you'll see the devastating serves of multiple players. They weren't always hard serves either, as a player like Amanda Commito had a long pre-shot routine then a quick pitch standing float. Or watch the topspin slider of libero Alyssa DiRaffaele that was often unreturnable. Excellent teams win by scoring not by relying on opponent errors. 

Be Difficult to Play Against

Simplify.

Be mentally and physically prepared with full focus.

Live TEAM. "The strength of the wolf is the pack."

Be good at what you do a lot. "Utilize strengths, attack weaknesses." - Sun Tzu

Be confident not arrogant. Bring your best version daily.

"It's how we play not whom we play." - Don Meyer

“Be simple in your approach and a master of the fundamentals and you will be difficult to play against.” pic.twitter.com/zWy3mMTJix

— JIM BOONE 🏀 (@CoachJimBoone) June 30, 2024

Are You Prepared...to Believe

"Belief" from my basketball blog...