Nobody rings a bell saying, "now is your time."
"Tradition never dies." Last season's results don't go into the win (or loss) column; graduating seniors aren't "walking back in that door."
Never underestimate the value in building or sustaining a program.
First, a digression into Gary Washburn's Boston Globe column on new Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane, the Belgian national coach.
"My philosophy is built on three key pillars - hard work because I don't believe in only relying on talent, discipline, in understanding what we are doing and how we carry ourselves, and communications, how we talk to and how we learn from others."
“Using these pillars, I am [going] to build a culture of respect, hard work, and unity.
“My experience has taught me that the success doesn’t come just from the on-court strategy, but also, I’m caring about people and trusting the players to execute.”
“I believe that for our team to succeed, every player has to feel valued and aligned with our shared goal,” he said. “If everyone feels involved in the project, we can be better, we can be more committed, and we can give the best of ourselves.
“I’m thinking about your player development process. For example, take care of the ball and make our offense more efficient to help them advance further next season. I think that I am here for bringing my skills. And I think that the European style demands more IQ basketball and maybe better ball movements.”
Excellent teams revel in the process. MVB 2012 didn't land on a spaceship from a distant planet. MVB 2010 mixed youth and veteran leadership with enough kernels popping to win a sectional title. MVB 2011 expanded on that to get to the State Finals. And MVB 2012 leveraged talent, teamwork, and experience to roll to a title.
Foundations of success align from youth through professional sports. Culture, buy-in (belief), and execution are an elusive but powerful recipe.
Take care of the ball. Coach Scott Celli will find a consistent defense to "keep the ball up." Extreme consistency and occasional exceptional plays take care of the ball.
Make our offense more efficient. Efficiency means executing the higher percentage play more of the time. Nature abhors a vacuum and a critical mass of players who want to fill available roles will emerge like 'cream rising to the top'. It starts with Sabine. "You know the sun is going to shine. You don't know how hot it's going to get." The setting is going to take care of itself. Others will step up the hitting. Only one team has ever had three 200 kill attackers, the long-departed 2005 team. A diverse offense is the best offense.
Melrose had players competing in Ohio, New Orleans, Hartford, and Providence recently. "The kids are alright."
Lagniappe. A highly underrated defender...Amanda Commito...great focus, great feet, great consistency. Study her defense and passing.
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