Add Value to Expand Your Role

Great players don't desire the star role.
Great players focus on starring in the role that their team needs.
Most players want to be the best, but many fail to figure out how to be the best at what the team needs to win. pic.twitter.com/vnOUq6fXXU

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) April 3, 2025

"There is always a pecking order." - Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat coach

"Star in your role." Whether you are the 'star player' or a role player, know your job and add value to the team. 

• Make your teammates better to impact winning. That is the ultimate mark of exceptional players.
• Put the team first.
• Be a great teammate, positive and encouraging. 
• "Always do your best." 
• Have a great attitude and be coachable. 

 Lagniappe. Follow these guidelines. 

~ via @CoachBobStarkey pic.twitter.com/N9V27uAQlL

— Coach the Coaches (@WinningCoaches) April 2, 2025

Are You Ready for More JEOPARDY? Offseason and More

Jeopardy has been a longstanding quiz show favorite, first premiering on March 30, 1964. The current syndicated version has aired since September 1984.

As you know, your answers should be in the form of a question.

Let's play JEOPARDY (from JeopardyLabs.com) 

Make Your Own Jeopardy Game with JeopardyLabs!

Why Not Get on the Bandwagon?

Baseball season is here. Volleyball season is coming. 

Reasons to play/watch MVB

• Positive culture, superior player experience
• Fun
• Sustainable competitive advantage - exceptional coaching
• Winning - 1 state title, 10 sectional titles, TNTC league titles
• (TNTC = too numerous to count)
• Player development track record (19 All-State players)
• Watch elite young women athletes 
• Every play results in scoring

Image from MVB Instagram

Lagniappe. Playing the low ball. The hips are below the ball on contact.  

Post #4500 - Things Worth Having

Getting a great education - hard.

Graduating with honors - hard.

Navigating successful relationships - hard.

Raising a family - hard.

Achieving your athletic goals - hard. 

"Most things in life-that are worth having-are hard.
You have to work for it.
The other side of hard is usually something really good, but most people can't push through it."

Many want to be great, but few want to do what greatness requires.
That’s the difference. pic.twitter.com/4QsItT2CHh

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) April 2, 2025

Do hard well. 

The Most Important Time in Your Life

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. Not an official publication of any organization. "Excellence is our only agenda." 

Seize the power of today. Invest in yourself. In math, English, or history class ask "what did I learn today?" and "how can I apply this going forward?" 

Read great books. Director Werner Herzog shares a simple message. "Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." The opening line of Anna Karenina summarizes the following 1205 pages. "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Understand that topic sentence. You can skip the rest.  

People ask, "what books do you highly recommend?" Jon Gordon's Positive Dog resonated about the power of positivity. "The Boys in the Boat" weaves a narrative about the Great Depression, the rise of fascism is 1930's Germany, and the true story of a boy who grows up to row for the 1936 US Olympic team. 

Then, "What are you reading now?" I always read multiple books, currently "The Innocent" by David Baldacci, "Originals" by Adam Grant, and "The Program" by Eric Kapitulik.   

Learn every day. "Learn five things every day and soon you know a lot." Of course at your age you learn far more. Once volleyball was summarized as "dig, set, spike." That evolved to "pass, set, hit." Score with service, attacking, and block-kills. Read the play to CARE - concentrate - anticipate - react - execute. The only way that matters is how your current coach wants it done. 

Make friends with the dead. Only about seven percent of the people ever born are alive today. Ignoring the wisdom of past lives misses out on a lot. Look up Eleanor Roosevelt, Frances Perkins, and Herstory. 

Sport is a microcosm of life. Your primary team is family. You have other teams - school, community, volleyball, workplace. Years ago I complimented Kayla Wyland to her parents. Her mom said, "she's every bit as nice at home." How you do anything is how you do everything. 

Choose to invest your time instead of spending it. 

Summary: 

• Read great books. 
• Learn every day.
  
• Make friends with the dead. 

Lagniappe. Become an original. 

Making Decisions

Your effort today tells your coaches everything they need to know about how prepared you are to help the team tomorrow.
Great teams aren’t made of players who get what they want — they’re made of players who give what’s needed. pic.twitter.com/w9fKoHrbgP

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) March 31, 2025

With a little more than four and a half months until tryouts, how can players get the odds on their side? 

1) Commitment. Commit to Anson Dorrance's continual ascension. Should volleyball be important to you? That's entirely your call. 

2) Collaboration. "Look for the helpers." - Mr. Rogers  It's hard to do the work unless you know what work is needed. Find an MVB resource or another player to attach yourself to like a remora on a shark. Watch and learn from the shark. 

3) Command. Work to master the fundamentals. Make consistency your brand. Refine the relevant core skills - serve/receive, attack/block, set, and pass. Break them down into the pieces such as footwork, armswing, et cetera. Then play as much as you can. 

Lagniappe. There is no secret.

 

Be a Curator of Wisdom

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. Not an official publication of any organization. Blame no one else. 

Acquire and share accumulated wisdom over your lifetime. Webster's definition of curator includes: "a person at a museum, zoo, etc. who is in charge of a specific collection or subject area."

Here's an excellent collection of concepts from Dave Kline: 

21 leadership lessons I revisit weekly (you should too) pic.twitter.com/GMAZUUKdJp

— Dave Kline (@dklineii) March 30, 2025

Several particularly resonated:

1) Set high standards. Believe your team will meet them.

2) Reasonable people will draw different conclusions without a shared picture of excellence. (Making a team is not enough...chasing excellence is a shared vision)

3) Small feedback given regularly is coaching. (Coaching is not criticism. Coaches mentor players and teams to translate process into excellence.)

4) Subtracting is 10x harder than adding. Which is what makes it 10x more valuable. (Do more of what works and less of what doesn't).

5) Your culture is the sum of everything you celebrate minus everything you tolerate. (What we tolerate sets the floor of achievement.) 

6) Trust people with the truth. (Coaching advances players and teams toward the truth.) 

7) Your team will mimic your actions before they follow your words. ("Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear a word you say.")

8) It's not real unless it's written down. (Be clear and concise. Share.)

Benjamin Franklin informed these in seven words. "Well done is better than well said." 

When you find someone who shares productive content, check in. There may be more than one nugget in that stream. 

Lagniappe. Loaded jumps will increase your block touch. 

Lagniappe 2. Martin suggests ways to make warmups fun, competitive, and productive. 

  

 

Coaches See Everything

Geno is talking about recruiting MUDITA.

Finding players who…

- Play with joy
- Love the game
- Are WE-first not me-first
- Celebrate their teammates

Are getting harder to find.

ATHLETES: Body Language screams.

Coaches are looking 👀.pic.twitter.com/LmBoacCiFT

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) April 1, 2025

As I've discussed, "mudita" means being happy for others' success. "Your joy is my joy."

Nobody enjoys being around negative, self-absorbed, sulking people. Your energy and enthusiasm impacts your teammates. Energize yourself and your teammates.

It's common for players who had success at a young age to expect immediate success in high school sports. It's also variable. Dominating against thirteen and fourteen year-olds doesn't always translate to dominating seventeen, eighteen, even nineteen year-olds who are bigger, stronger, faster, more experienced. 

Years ago a Middlesex League basketball team (not Melrose) was favored to go deep in the playoffs. The day before the tournament, a girl "stole" the boyfriend of a teammate. The team fractured immediately and lost their opener. One and done. 

Stay humble; stay hungry. Be team-oriented and be a great teammate. Your coaches see everything. 

Becoming Your Own Coach

Mike Leach said, "Everybody can work harder than they think they can."

"Everybody's a little better than they think they are."

Growth starts when you push past what you thought was your limit.

Great coaches see your greatness before you even realize it's there. pic.twitter.com/mmqD1LkRAr

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) March 12, 2025

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden didn't win his first championship until his 16th season. Excellence takes time. And work. You don't read the same books as a first grader or write like one.

Years ago on a steamy Sunday night at Horace Mann School, I taught Cecilia Kay reverse layups. It wasn't pretty. The next Sunday she had figured it out. In the State Championship game she made two. This week she was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. 

Anders Ericsson emphasized "deliberate practice." He discusses this in this Harvard Business Review piece. 

Expertise is made. "All the superb performers he investigated had practiced intensively, had studied with devoted teachers, and had been supported enthusiastically by their families throughout their developing years. Later research building on Bloom’s pioneering study revealed that the amount and quality of practice were key factors in the level of expertise people achieved."

"The development of genuine expertise requires struggle, sacrifice, and honest, often painful self-assessment. There are no shortcuts."

Two possibilities emerge. "This is too hard" or "I will do this." 

Here are the facts. Coaches don't choose teams. The players do. The coaches don't choose who gets the minutes, the role, and the recognition. The players do. It's up to you.  

Lagniappe. Always warm up before starting practice. You don't need hurdles. Imaginary hurdles work fine. Draw a chalk line. 

4 Plyometric Drills For Athletes pic.twitter.com/y2eAkwPkLC

— Joey Bergles (@JoeyBergles) March 12, 2025

Lagniappe 2. Author and playwright David Mamet has a phrase inscribed on the back of a new wristwatch. "What hinders you?" Everyone makes that choice. 

 

Everyday Lessons (Print and Save)

How to build a Great Reputation pic.twitter.com/cCuBbE603c

— Always Keep Learning (@AlwaysKeepL) March 23, 2025

Use your high school student-athlete experience a training ground for character and competence. 

Character allows you to do the right thing all the time, not just when it's easy or convenient. 

Competence means having the intellectual, physical, and emotional skill that drives high performance. 

Integrity, excellence, and accountability make a winning combination. 

Lagniappe. Karch Kiraly looking for "fleen" serves. 

 

Belief

Believe in yourself. Believe in your coaches. Believe in each other. Belief makes amazing results happen.  

I just think belief is really way more important than people think. Your belief in your team and your team’s belief in each other no matter what’s stacked against you, that you can find a way to win. These guys really do look at each other with a lot of confidence and know they… pic.twitter.com/OpmVOTWxUu

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) March 28, 2025

Metaphorical Fight

Team records depend on multiple factors - talent, performance, health, luck, scheduling. MVB always faces tough non-league competition. "Iron sharpens iron." 

Be the team that always shows up to fight, not run.

Last season's playoffs at Longmeadow, Melrose showed up a bit undermanned but brought the fight in a 19-25, 26-28, 25-17, 21-25 defeat. Sofia Papatsoris and Sabine Wenzel combined for 40 kills against a team that had lost only three sets all season. 

Limited highlights are available.  

Athletes choose the fight or something less. Competitors "bring the rain" in metaphorical fights.

In 2005, Melrose trailed 2-0 in the State Championship and fought off triple match point to extend the contest. 

Notice several features on this video:

• the powerful hitting approach of Medfield's Molly Barrett
• the spectacular point at 23-21 where Jen Cohane got concussed as she hit the floor. MVB players are strewn on the deck like bowling pins
• the remarkable hand-eye coordination of setter Amanda Hallett...how she picks the ball off the net
• the comeback from 16-23 was one of the great sequences of Melrose volleyball, possible because the coaches believed in the team

Stay in the fight. 

Anyone Can Be Average

Anyone can be average. #DailyWisdom via @BallIsPsych pic.twitter.com/txozO7d5rP

— Coach the Coaches (@WinningCoaches) March 27, 2025

Melrose is one of twelve in the ML12. "Average" means 6th or 7th. MVB usually has 12-14 players on the roster. That means somewhere around 6th to 8th will be average. 

Average doesn't get you on the floor. Average doesn't get you deep in the playoffs. Average doesn't get you on the Honor Roll. Average doesn't get you into the school you want. Average doesn't get you the job you want. 

Above average might get you onto MVB but it probably won't get you in the lineup. 

Make excellence your agenda. This is simple and clear, "don't put in the time, put in the work." 

Developing Leaders

Leadership books, courses, and articles are everywhere. When developing leaders, specificity matters. Telling others to 'earn respect' and 'model excellence' is good advice but not specific.

Return to specifics:

• Carry out the assignment/task/mission. That could be small (cleaning up the bench or locker room daily) or large (supervising offseason training)
• Take care of your teammates. That entails communicating expectations, providing specifics needed, monitoring progress, and reviewing the results (give and get feedback). 

"The Process of Developing Leaders"

Select some upcoming leaders whom you want to develop. 

1) Assign them a task to accomplish. 

2) Explain the conditions they must work under and the standard to which the task is to be completed. 

3) Hold those teammates personally accountable for the results. 

4) As they develop as leaders, give them increased responsibility and more challenging tasks." - from "The Program: Lessons From Elite Military Units for Creating and Sustaining High Performance Leaders and Teams" by Eric Kapitulik, Jake MacDonald

MVB has produced a myriad of exceptional players and talented leaders. How did they do that? 

• Excel at communication with clarity, simplicity, specificity. 
• Inform new players of the importance of identity (this is who we are) and process (this is how we do that). 
• Give and get feedback. What is your understanding of how we cover during attacks? Commit to being the hardest worker. 
• Ask "how can I help you be a better player?"
• Set high expectations. "We don't go out of rotation or have 'campfires' because our communication doesn't allow it."

The best teams have player ownership of process and results. 

Lagniappe. Outside hitters don't grow on trees. To be a great outside you have to excel at receiving. 

Confidence Building, Conventional and Unconventional

"You can only be as good as you believe you are." Confidence propels athletes and teams to achieve what they cannot without it.

What clear, repeatable actions boost confidence?

1. Self-talk. "I can do this."

2. Mindfulness. Mindfulness increases focus, decreases anxiety.

3. Sport psychology techniques like "Ten-Minute Toughness"

• Mindful breathing
• Identity statement - "I am a confident, prepared athlete."
• Highlight reel - visualization of high performance activities
• Performance statement - "I show up and make plays with athleticism and relentlessness.
• Mindful breathing 

Of course, there are "unconventional" approaches. "It's been a minute" since the 1986 World Series. 

View on Threads

Overcoming Adversity

Adversity arrives at some point during every season. How do we overcome it? 

Look back through history...with help from ChatGPT.

The Stockdale Paradox is a concept from Jim Collins' book Good to Great and is named after Admiral James Stockdale, a prisoner of war in Vietnam for over seven years. The paradox highlights the balance between unwavering faith and brutal realism in challenging situations.

Stockdale observed that the prisoners who fared the worst were the optimists—those who falsely believed they would be rescued by a certain date. When that date passed, they lost hope. Meanwhile, Stockdale and others who survived accepted the harsh reality of their situation while maintaining confidence in their eventual triumph.

The Core of the Paradox:

1. Face Reality Head-On – Acknowledge the brutal facts of your situation without denial.

2. Maintain Unwavering Faith – Believe deeply that you will prevail in the end, no matter how long it takes.

This paradox is useful in leadership, business, coaching, and personal growth, as it teaches resilience: Don’t sugarcoat challenges, but also don’t lose faith in long-term success.

Amidst great struggle, it's tempting to lose faith, feel sorry for oneself, and underachieve. 

What matters is letting go of distractions and controlling what you can control. Be able to say, "that's outside my boat." 

Lagniappe. Master your core skills and work on expanding them. 

Shared Post from Basketball - All the Small Things

Chapter 31 of Eric Kapitulik's The Program is entitled, "The Little Things Take Care of the Big Things." 

The quote describes the lesson - detail. The player? LeBron James.

Each of us has habits and systems. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says that habits are votes for the type of person we wish to be. Writers write, readers read, physically fit people work out. 

Many of you recall Admiral McRaven's University of Texas commencement address. He lays out ten rules for success.

Here are ten key takeaways via ChatGPT:

1. Make Your Bed – Starting the day with a small accomplishment builds discipline and momentum for bigger tasks.

2. Find Someone to Help You Paddle – Success requires teamwork and support from others.

3. Measure a Person by the Size of Their Heart, Not the Size of Their Flippers – Grit and determination matter more than physical attributes.

4. Get Over Being a Sugar Cookie and Keep Moving Forward – Life is unfair; embrace hardships and keep pushing forward.

5. Don’t Be Afraid of the Circus – Extra challenges (failures) make you stronger and more resilient.

6. Slide Head First – Take risks and be bold in pursuit of success.

7. Don’t Back Down from the Sharks – Face your fears head-on with courage.

8. Be Your Best in the Darkest Moments – Tough times test character; rise to the occasion when it matters most.

9. Start Singing When You’re Up to Your Neck in Mud – A positive attitude can inspire and uplift others during adversity.

10. Never, Ever Quit – Perseverance is the ultimate key to success.

McRaven’s message: Small actions, resilience, and teamwork can change your life - and maybe even the world. 

A core tenet of Stoicism is "control what you can control." What have the top players I've coached had in common? First, they had unusual size, athleticism, and will to develop the skill to become Division 1 athletes. Second, they had exceptional attention to detail. Samantha Dewey was always in her notebook, studying better basketball execution. Cecilia Kay has extraordinary intellect, becoming a high school valedictorian. She grew an exceptional basketball IQ through video study. She was on the Patriot League All-Rookie team this season.

As a coach, what "little things" have you emphasized that got big results?

• Teamwork. Be a "team first" player. Scoreboard over scorebook. 
• Priorities. Take care of business - home, school, then sports. 
• Share. Give credit to coaches and teammates. They'll remember. 
• Learn every day. You never know when you'll need knowledge. 
• Simplify. Vast stores of knowledge distill to fine points of wisdom.
• Give and get feedback. When people are not on the same page, painful failures persist. 
• Ask "what if?" CAPT Walsh said, "Never follow a lit fuse." 

Use small ideas to achieve great goals. 

Lagniappe 1. From "The Program," by Kapitulik et al. "The mission must always be communicated down to the lowest level if we hope to accomplish it. It isn’t enough if only half or even 80% of the team knows it. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that every single team member knows and understands the mission."

Lagniappe 2. Don't be afraid to coach. 

SCARED TO COACH YOUR BEST PLAYER?

If you are scared to coach your best player because they may leave, you are doing the rest of your players a disservice.
Players will leave their HS, AAU, and College teams for a million different reasons. That is the basketball landscape… pic.twitter.com/wx63GKJz1T

— Steve Dagostino (@DagsBasketball) March 24, 2025

 

Champion Your Growth Path

“You need to continue to be a guy on the rise.” 📈 @CoachTomlin pic.twitter.com/Ob2dznCbcJ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 15, 2023

Optimize your path forward. Most people benefit from coaching, including coaches. There's an important article about "The Coach in the Operating Room," by Dr. Atul Gawande. He shares his experience and professional concerns about not getting better. "Surgical mastery is about familiarity and judgment." 

The best coaches and the best leaders seek improvement. Rejecting input because of experience and knowledge forgets the saying, "Pride goeth before the fall." Be a lifelong learner. 

Make our athletic career a metaphor for life improvement. There's a valuable book, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There." Here's a ChatGPT summary with a few highlights:

High Points from the Book:

1. The Success Paradox

• Successful people often assume that what made them successful will continue to work indefinitely.
• This assumption leads to blind spots that prevent further growth.

2. The 20 Habits That Hold Leaders Back

Goldsmith identifies common behavioral flaws among successful professionals, such as:

• Winning too much – The need to always win, even in trivial matters.
• Adding too much value – Always trying to improve others’ ideas, which can demotivate them.
• Passing judgment – Offering opinions when they aren’t needed.
• Making excuses – Blaming external factors instead of taking responsibility.
• Clinging to the past – Using past achievements or experiences as justifications for current behavior.
• Refusing to express regret – Avoiding apologies even when they are warranted.
• Failing to express gratitude – Not recognizing or thanking others for their contributions.
• Not listening – Being distracted or dismissive when others speak.
• Withholding information – Keeping key details from others as a way to maintain control.
• Playing favorites – Rewarding loyalty over performance, leading to resentment.

3. The Power of Feedforward

• Instead of focusing on what went wrong, focus on future improvements.
• Ask others for suggestions on what to do better, not just criticisms of the past.

4. The Importance of Apologizing

• A sincere apology can repair damage and restore trust.
• Many high achievers struggle with apologizing because they equate it with weakness.

5. Changing Behavior Requires Commitment

• Leadership improvement is about behavioral change, not intelligence or technical skills.
• Feedback and accountability help sustain positive changes.

6. The Role of Coaching and Follow-up

• Leaders need external input to see their blind spots.
• Regular follow-ups ensure that improvements stick.

As we acquire more experience and responsibility, taking coaching can become more difficult, blocked by ego. Feedback is backward looking; advice looks forward. 

Develop frameworks for problem solving. It could be something simple like the Feynman Technique:

• Name the problem. What's the diagnosis?
• Explain it. What does it mean? 
• Study it. How can we obtain a deeper understanding?
• Simplify it. Clarity wins. 

In my opinion, success for MVB 25 means dominating serve and serve-receive. That doesn't mean setting, attacking, and blocking won't matter. Yes, the flavors of back row defense will matter, too. But serve and serve-receive are the opportunities to initiate offense and defense. There's a saying, "one bad pass often leads to another." 

The best teams have strong service and exceptional serve-receive. The offseason is the time seek mastery. 

Lagniappe. Athletes change their center of gravity to prepare and to execute actions. 

Core Values

Benefit from core values. They go by different names - absolutes, identity, non-negotiables, philosophy.

MVB coaches and players know your core values. As an outsider, I don't. My basketball team core values were TIA - teamwork, improvement, and accountability. 

Teamwork equals unselfishness, togetherness, and "team first attitude." 

Improvement implied process, progress, and a 'growth mindset'. 

Accountability meant holding ourselves to a high standard of performance. 

Core values arise from a panoply of possibles. Commitment, discipline, energy, effort, positivity, reliability, resilience, sacrifice, toughness and others could be core values. 

Why three? Former Navy SEAL team leader Jocko Willink explained that one of his men said before a mission, "what are the three mission points? I can't remember more than that?"

Teams succeed when they have core values, leaders to promote them, and players who want to live the values. 

Lagniappe. MVB has a strong culture formed over decades. 

Steps to Define Your Coaching Philosophy

1. Identify Your Core Values
2. Clarify Your System
3. Eliminate What Doesn’t Fit
4. Create a Coaching Statement

Read More: https://t.co/UMnatxtRFi

— Radius Athletics (@RadiusAthletics) March 17, 2025

Lagniappe 2. Everyone benefits from learning how to set as "out of system" attacks matter, too. 

 

The Secret Sauce

Want to be exceptional?

Mature Simplicity

"The greatness in coaching is simplifying complex things into simple things."@DrewHanlen shares his simple framework to help players retain key lessons

1️⃣ List
2️⃣ Emphasize
3️⃣ Repeat pic.twitter.com/2AnjGzuM3Q

— Coaching U (@Coaching_U) March 19, 2025

Legendary basketball coach Don Meyer preached three phases of coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity.

Coach Scott Celli's biggest 2025 challenges are assembling a lineup from a talented group and elevating execution of key skills. 

Top teams always show consistency and aggressiveness. Volleyball punishes passive or tentative play. 

“It’s my job to remind them every day what the Standard is”

Pat Kelsey is elite

(Via @thewinningdiff1 🎥)

pic.twitter.com/r53DKHX3rP

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) March 20, 2025

Coaches set the standard and team leadership enforces it. MVB goals (performance) thrive on behavior (standards). 

• Elevate the serve-receive percentages won.
• Supplement strength up the middle with wins at the pins.
• Blend blocking with back row growth. 

Lagniappe. Form begets function. Seek consistency.

 
    

Lagniappe 2. Study your attacks with slower-motion video.  

Consider These

Points to ponder

The body language you project matters. Shanked balls and bad serves happen. Don’t allow mistakes to live rent-free in your head. 

Enforce your standards of performance with positive body language and high rates of “playing present.” 

Be conscious of the attitude and image reflected by your body language. 

"Talent Isn't Enough"

"If it were just about talent, recruiting would be easy.
Talent gets me in the gym to see them,but it's all the other things.
For me, are they unselfish?
Are they a great teammate?
Do they understand that it's not about them?"

Talent gets you noticed-character gets you recruited pic.twitter.com/zYgIjNWxMK

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) March 17, 2025

Look at the exceptional players Melrose has watched through the years. The same features emerge - skill, athleticism, game understanding. But what separates the best has always been character. 

That goes by different names in different programs and sports:

"Competitive character" - Brad Stevens

"Football character" - Bill Belichick 

ChatGPT gives us a sampling across domains: 

Coaches across sports have different ways of describing a player's character, often tying it to their sport’s demands. Here are some notable ones:

• "Basketball character" (Gregg Popovich) – A blend of selflessness, mental toughness, and resilience under pressure.
• "Championship DNA" (Steve Kerr) – The intangible ability to perform at the highest level when it matters most.
• "Winning habits" (Nick Saban) – Discipline, consistency, and a commitment to preparation.
• "Gamer" (Baseball) – A player who thrives in tough situations and always competes.
• "Hockey IQ" (NHL circles) – Not just intelligence, but the grit and decision-making needed for success.
• "Professionalism" (NBA/NFL) – A mix of work ethic, preparation, and attitude, often used to contrast with raw talent.
• "Dog mentality" (Jalen Hurts, football) – Relentless competitiveness and refusal to back down.
• "Competitive toughness" (John Wooden) – The ability to fight through adversity and perform under stress.
• "Grit" (Used broadly) – The persistence and passion to push through hardship, often tied to mental and physical endurance.
• "Killer instinct" (Kobe Bryant) – The relentless drive to dominate and win.
• "Next play mentality" (Jay Wright) – The ability to move on quickly from mistakes and stay focused.

Lagniappe. "The secret to extraordinary results is to ask a very big and specific question that leads you to one very small and tightly focused answer." - Gary Keller in The ONE Thing

The Three C's

Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly kept coaching simple. He believed in the three C's:

• Be clear. 
• Be concise. 
• Be correct. 

Teams succeed with skill, aggressiveness, and consistency. Make those your off-season targets. In basketball, they say it another way, "you don't need a deeper bag, you need to be better with what you've got." 

Lagniappe. Wisdom

"Pressure is a privilege." Lesser teams never get to experience meaningful action.

Who's Your Favorite Player...and Why?

View on Threads

 

Duke Coach Kara Lawson has strong feelings about the values that teams have. In previous videos, you've heard her say: 

"Handle hard better."

"The easy bus is not coming around." 

"Chase perfection."

When you approach your work 'professionally', you get a lot of fans. "Impact the game. Win." 

Fight for Your Culture

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"Fight for your culture every day." Culture is your ecosystem, your surroundings and your support. 

The greatest runners in the world come from a small area in the Rift Valley in Kenya. Living at altitude and running constantly, they produce many of the top marathoners. 

Take pride in maintaining your culture. Teamwork, positivity for self and others, and accountability drive progress. 

"LIVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY CYCLE There is an undeniable connection between what you do and what you get. Actions determine outcomes, and outcomes inform actions." - Gary Keller, in "The ONE Thing." 

Commit to doing what it takes to be successful. 

Process matters. Process includes planning and preparation, everything from warmup to recovery, and an "After Action Review." This self-reflection examines what you did well and what can improve. 

Own our results. If we get a disappointing outcome or grade on a test, accept reality and then act to change process to improve results. Ask whether the process (how much I concentrated, how often I studied, what interrupted great process?) could improve. "We make our habits and our habits make us." Gary Keller shares another quote, "Accountable people are results oriented and never defend actions, skill levels, models, systems, or relationships that just aren’t getting the job done. They bring their best to whatever it takes, without reservation."

Get coached up. You have the tools for success, but they need proper application. The opposite is something I call, "Monkeyhammering." A monkey can use a hammer, but the results...

Lagniappe. Finish strong. 

With the score tied at 24, Melrose wins a critical point on an "out of system" attack (not initiated through the setter) and then completes the win. 

The Best Teammate

Brad Stevens said, "This game is about how you act as a teammate. This game is about embracing roles and accepting roles."

Great teams have great teammates.
• They care about each other.
• They commit to the team.
• They own their roles.

Here's how to be a great teammate:👇 pic.twitter.com/XwSqqWg1Hn

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) March 20, 2025

Everyone can choose to be a great teammate. 

Care about people. Care about team. 

Avoid the killer S's - selfishness, softness, sloth. 

1) Be unselfish. 

2) Play tough. 

3) Work hard.  

Questions for MVB 25

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own.

Ask better questions. Here are some suggestions:

1) How can I improve today?

2) What's my big picture view for MVB? What does it mean for me? 

3) What strength should I leverage to perform my best? 

4) What "need area" can I improve to impact winning? 

5) What will I do today to become a better player? 

6) What can I do to become a better teammate? Communication, positivity, encouragement, et cetera...

7) Have I worked out with a teammate to move both of us into the top ten percent? 

8) What physical training am I doing to improve strength, vertical jump, lateral quickness, and endurance? 

9) How can I become more resilient, improving my mental toughness? 

10)How can I become a better leader? 

You're not on an island. Get help from family, coaches, teammates, and even artificial intelligence if you're struggling for ideas. 

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Lagniappe. ChatGPT answer about building mental toughness:

Building resilience and mental toughness takes deliberate effort, and the best approach combines mindset shifts with specific, actionable strategies. Here are some ways a player can work on this:

1. Reframe Challenges as Opportunities

Instead of seeing failure as a dead end, view it as a chance to learn. Encourage the mindset of "I get to do this" rather than "I have to do this."

Drill:

• "Failure Recovery Drill" – Set up a blocking or defensive drill where the player will inevitably struggle at first. After each mistake, she must take a deep breath, reset, and immediately re-engage with positive self-talk before the next rep.

2. Embrace Discomfort

Resilient athletes get comfortable being uncomfortable. They push through fatigue, frustration, and self-doubt.

Drill:

• Fatigue Challenge – Have her execute a technical skill (e.g., blocking footwork or serve receive) while exhausted. Learning to maintain form and focus under stress builds mental toughness.

3. Train Emotional Control

Staying composed under pressure separates great players from good ones.

Exercise:

• "Reset Routine" – Teach her a personal reset ritual (breath control, cue word, or a physical action like wiping hands on shorts). Practice it in practice and games.

4. Develop a Short Memory

Mistakes happen—what matters is the response. Help her avoid dwelling on errors.

Drill:

• "Mistake Response Game" – After an error, she has three seconds to reset and call out what she’ll do next (e.g., "Next ball, strong hands!"). This builds forward-thinking focus.

5. Visualization & Self-Talk

How she speaks to herself matters. Resilient players talk to themselves like they would a teammate.

Exercise:

• "Film Study with Positivity" – Watch clips of her best plays. Have her narrate what she did well, reinforcing her identity as a strong player.

6. Expose Her to Adversity

The best way to develop resilience is to face challenges in controlled settings.

Ideas:

• Have her play out-of-system scenarios regularly.
• Simulate crowd noise or distractions during pressure drills.
• Put her in game-like high-pressure situations with consequences for performance.

7. Accountability and Ownership

Resilient players don’t make excuses; they own their performance.

Practice:

• Ask her: “What’s within your control in this situation?”
• Have her reflect on what she can do after a tough match instead of what went wrong.

Resilience is built over time with consistency.