The Law of the Jungle

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

- Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,   

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

When a lioness is born, does she know that she is a lioness?

Teams write their own stories. The best teams play with purpose, with focus, with skill, relentlessly. They pressure their opponents and withstand an opponent's pressure. 

That's a big ask. 

Defeating the best teams means playing your best volleyball. Over the past twenty-three seasons, MVB succeeded by playing its best volleyball, not perfect volleyball, against the best teams. 

Kara Lawson said, “Chase Greatness!”

Do you devote the time needed to be great?

You cannot cheat the process.

Too many skip the steps needed to be great.

Or they try to speed it up; they want the quick fix.

No Shortcuts.

NO DEPOSIT - NO RETURN!
pic.twitter.com/MHgaCULIeh

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) October 5, 2024

If a team plays its best against an excellent team and it's not 'good enough', where does it go from there? But if a team plays less than its best and falls short, say, "next time, we play more focused, more determined, more consistently. And we have a chance." 

MVB stands at 10-2. It didn't play its best volleyball in either of the two losses, acknowledging that both winners played well. MVB is not a finished product; there is room to grow in every area. 

The lion cub does not know it is a lioness. But lionesses must be lionesses. That is the law of the jungle.