Championship teams make winning plays. They keep the ball up and put the ball down.
More "broken record" talk - score on serve, attack, and blocks. It's not enough to get a serve over the net against excellent teams. Create "possession ending" plays.
Here's a repost that matters:
1. Alyssa DiRaffaele delivered 'sliders' that moved down and away from receivers. She is partly the reason that Lincoln-Sudbury didn't return a home-and-away series. See the video at the end.
2. Cassidy Barbaro served more like Leah Fowke...hard, with movement and often barely clearing the net.
3. Brooke Bell was the Mike Cuellar (old-time Orioles southpaw) of volleyball, who delivered 'rotten grapefruit' over the net. Do you know how hard it is to return a rotten grapefruit? She was the mistress of the short serve.
Study this video, especially Alyssa's serves. Melrose traveled to D1 power L-S and took them apart in 2011.
Excellence begins with a commitment to doing the work. Bill Belichick's forthcoming book says the key factors are: know your job, do the work, attention to detail, team first.
I honestly can't think of one player who put herself above the team in the past twenty-plus years.
Lagniappe. Make the setter, not the pass, control the tempo.
Switches don't "turn on and off" during games. Prepared teams perform at a higher level than others.
Communication activates, energizes, and intimidates. There's a saying, "silent teams lose."
If a team doesn't communicate in practice they won't talk in games. In addition to Maggie Turner, another excellent communicator last season was Abby Dennison as fans could hear her calling the ball.
Communication can separate success and failure. "I thought it was your ball," reflects chaos. As Eric Kapitulik and Jake MacDonald write in The Program, "chaos breeds chaos. Calm breeds calm."
The authors recommend, "name, command, and volume." Assign the instruction directly and at the right volume to help maintain the line of communication, focus, and calm.
Remember the acronym CLAPP - clarity, loudness, authority, pauses, and posture (body language). The best communicators use more elements.
Lagniappe. A little goofy and it gets the point across.
Ninety percent of what you see here you'll forget in an hour. Better presentation helps us and our audience. You'll present in high school, college, maybe graduate school, job interviews, and in your career. Work on it.
Coaches prepare players for sport and for life. People judge us based upon our appearance and presentation skills.
Grab a few tips toward better presentations, including information from "The Exceptional Presenter" by Tim Koegel
1) Have a presence. A former MVB star told me she would walk into a gym with her head up, chest out, and confident smile. "I let everyone know, the best player just walked into the gym (true or not)." Your nonverbal communication sends strong messages.
2) Know your focus and your purpose. A supervisor told a woman in the CIA that she wasn't forceful enough. "Are you the person in the room who knows the most about the subject? Act like it." Engage your audience with respect and establish rapport.
3) Use stories as examples. For example, "always be prepared to be called." In 2005, setter Amanda Hallett broke a shoelace during a huge road match at D1 powerhouse Andover. Reserve Taylor Pearson came in cold and MVB won six of seven points...and ultimately the match, 3-2. Andover was runner up to Barnstable in the State Championship that season. Taylor was ready and delivered.
4) Principles matter over statistics. Identify key points. Tell your audience what you'll say, say it, and highlight what you said. After man, the most dangerous animal on the planet is the mosquito, killing by transmitting malaria. Teams score in volleyball with serves, attacks, and block-kills.
5) Give audiences a reason to care. Presentation skills launch careers. Clarity and specifics make you a better student, athlete, teacher, manager, and spouse. "Research across business, education, and communication fields shows that people who communicate clearly and persuasively — whether in meetings, pitches, interviews, or leadership settings — often earn more and rise faster in their organizations." This especially matters for client facing roles.
Lagniappe (from ChatGPT):
Here are five key points from Timothy Koegel’s The Exceptional Presenter:
Present yourself before your content: Audiences judge a presenter’s confidence, energy, and presence before they absorb the message. How you stand, move, and make eye contact matters as much as what you say.
Be clear, concise, and confident: Great presenters speak with simplicity and purpose, avoiding rambling or overcomplication. Every word should drive the message forward.
Think in headlines: Structure your presentation around clear, memorable points — much like news headlines — to keep your audience oriented and engaged.
Eliminate verbal clutter: Fillers like “um,” “uh,” and “you know” undermine credibility. Koegel stresses the power of the pause instead of filler sounds.
Engage with authenticity: Connection beats performance. Authenticity — being genuinely interested in your audience and message — builds trust and makes your presentation far more compelling.
Perhaps the best team Melrose faced in the 2012 postseason was the Canton Bulldogs, a perennial contender. Watching a full match illustrates a myriad of principles.
Study great teams and great players. Embrace the lessons.
Talent appears in multiple forms across the roster.
They didn't have an abundance of size...without a six footer
Four players were eventual All-State selections - Brooke Bell, Sarah McGowan, Jill MacInnes, Allie Nolan
Jen Cain was the best Melrose player never selected All-State
Aggressive play pays dividends
Against the best teams, you have to win points not rely on errors
Melrose had no 'exploitable' weaknesses.
At their best, they dominated serve and serve receive.
They had three solid attackers - McGowan, Cain, and Rachel Johnson.
The attack thrived on versatility - power, tips, cut shots, slide attacks
See how Brooke rarely 'trapped' attackers against the net
Note the coordination of play, especially the blocking power of Rachel Johnson and Kayla Wyland
The back row defense of MacInnes, Nolan, and Cain showed extreme consistency
They had elite "specialty service" with Cassidy Barbaro
The whole rotation contributed. Annalisa DeBari and Amanda Commito were pivotal throughout the match
Resilience was required. The team fell far behind in set two (six points) and set three (four points) and rallied for a dominating win.
When they struggled, it was "first pass" off the serve-receive.
Several 'truths' say the same thing. "Control what you can control" or "run your own race" and "that's outside my boat."
J-Mac shows her All-State form.
Often the best coaching advice is the simplest...from Blazing Saddles (1974)
Metacognition means "learning how to learn." Make your learning process active.
1) Focus. Computers don't "multitask," as they rapidly switch between individual processes. People don't have the same capability.
2) Removing distractions (e.g. your phone) is part of the solution.
3) Take breaks. The Pomodoro Technique is 25 minutes on and five off.
4) Space repetitions. Reviewing is better than single viewing.
5) Train analogical thinking. Learn how to relate ideas and solutions across disciplines.
6) Self-test. Ask yourself "what do I know about serving?" Go into as much detail as possible...types of serves, where to serve, and the details of serving mechanics. Review your serve with video.
7) Practice. If we want to improve at anything, use "deliberate practice."
Everyone in the program, whether already on a team or a middle schooler imagining being on one, is motivated.
That's not enough. Find volition, commitment to achieve what you want. Commitment means sacrifice - that means investing time to study, to train physically and mentally, and play enough to raise your skills. The sacrifice part means not having as much time for friends, texting, social media, and other pursuits teenagers enjoy.
There's never a guarantee that sacrifice and a sense of urgency fulfill your dreams. It's fair to say that the players and teams who achieved the most paid the price. You have to ask those players what it meant to them.
In 2022, Kaitlyn Chen scored 18 points for Princeton against UConn.
It caught the eye of Geno Auriemma, who recruited her for her final year of eligibility.
After winning the national title with the Huskies, Chen celebrated with her Princeton teammates:pic.twitter.com/rv7iy6351b
Kaitlyn Chen, a 2024 graduate from Princeton with a degree in medical anthropology, transferred to UCONN for a postgraduate season as she had a COVID eligibility year. In the video above, she celebrates with former Princeton teammates. I don't think you have to ask her if it was worth it.
You have to ask yourself how much work is worth it.
Lagniappe. Often when watching a championship game, you hear the announcers say, "we'll find out which time wants it the most." Both teams couldn't care more. What matters is having done the physical and mental preparation favoring execution under championship pressure. The team that bests maintains it's poise for performance usually comes out ahead.
What makes people tick? What separates exceptional from excellent from ordinary?
Everyone writes their story through the sum of daily habits, choices, effort.
What ONE thing could you do to elevate your volleyball profile? Stop, take a breath and discover the path. Then, follow it relentlessly.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911) profoundly affected young Frances Perkins. 146 workers, mostly young women died in a sweatshop fire, locked into the workplace. Perkins became a workers' rights leader, the first woman cabinet member, under FDR. Witnessing an atrocity convinced Perkins to change history.
"After the fire, Perkins was the secretary for the Committee on Safety. This committee led the way to 36 new labor laws, which included restrictions on child labor and working hours, and also providing compensations to workers injured on the job."
Perkins chose to take action to prevent future tragedies through regulation.
Want to become an impactful attacker? What holds you back? Is it your attack footwork, your vertical jump, armswing, timing, swing decision-making? What's your ONE thing?
Need a good pre-game or practice speed session? Here ya go!
Improvement in vertical jump from dedicated training varies, but here’s a realistic breakdown based on training age, current level, and program quality:
🏐 Typical Improvement Ranges
Athlete Type
Timeframe
Expected Gains
Beginner (never trained jump before)
8–12 weeks
4–8 inches
Intermediate (some strength/power training)
8–12 weeks
2–5 inches
Advanced (well-trained, near genetic ceiling)
8–12 weeks
1–3 inches
🔑 Factors That Influence Gains
Training Quality: Programs that combine strength, plyometrics, technique, and mobility deliver better gains. Think squat mechanics, approach jump sequencing, and reactive plyos.
Training Age: Athletes newer to structured training adapt faster. Those with high training ages need more refined programming to eke out small gains.
Body Composition: Losing excess body fat while maintaining strength can boost jump height even without added power.
Injury History and Flexibility: Limiting tightness in the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine opens the door to better force transfer and safer landings.
🚀 How to Maximize Gains
Strength Base First: Trap bar deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, and Nordic hamstrings matter. Power comes from strength.
Plyometrics Second: Depth jumps, bounding, and single-leg hops improve rate of force development.
Jump Technique: Many athletes have 1–2 inches “hidden” in poor takeoff mechanics or inefficient arms.
Track and Recover: Overtraining = plateaus. Sleep, protein, and rest days matter.
If you're working with volleyball athletes, a well-built 8–10 week offseason cycle can bring impressive gains, especially in high school and early college players. Want help sketching out a sample jump training plan or assessing where a player might have the most growth potential?
If writing a better origin story matters, start today.
Lagniappe. The quality of passing is a major determinant of attack efficiency.
"Experience is the best teacher, but sometimes the tuition is high."
Sport teaches lessons across domains.
1) Leadership ACE - align, collaborate, empower
Regardless if you’re leading a sports team or corporate organization, leadership comes down to the same thing: Aligning a group of people to the vision and values, having them collaborate as a unit, and empowering them to bring their best selves.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) April 20, 2025
3) You may know the Pareto Principle, that 80 percent of the benefit comes from 20 percent of the activity. Make a difference by redirecting your energy to what matters most.
"You have to have talent. I can't give a player talent. That's something you inherit. It's a gift. Don't use your talent and be average. Your talent is a gift - don't waste it. Average doesn't win. It's excellence." pic.twitter.com/woE8NJaT2M
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) April 18, 2025
"Learn a few quotes while young. "That which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better now is the time to begin." - Tennyson
Coaches can't make anyone a great player. Coaches show players the path and players decide whether that is for them.
Everything is a choice.
Do I eat that sugary treat?
Do I exercise/work out?
Do I get eight hours of sleep?
Do I study with focus and intent?
Do I carry out my chores at home well and on time?
Do I invest even three minutes in mindfulness?
Your coaches can't do any of the above for you. How you do anything is how you do everything. Excellence is a choice, your only agenda in team sports.
Lagniappe. "Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." - Werner Herzog
What's on your bookshelf? I just finished "The Program" by Erik Kapitulik and Jake MacDonald. I'm rereading parts of "Luck" by Ed Smith, former selector for English National Cricket. I'm trying out an audio book from Hoopla (online via Melrose Public Library and the BPL.org) "Uncultured" by Daniella Young (about growing up in a commune/cult).
"The difference between who we are now and the people we become in five years is the people we meet and the books we read."
Themes repeat and resonate. Disney sought the power of novelty in a new genre of animated films. They had a concept of a film with lions but uncertainty about the plot. What about a story where the son must avenge the murder of his father? And adapting a concept from Hamlet, The Lion King was born.
Themes reemerge. Remember The Princess Bride from 1987.
And MVB? Nine seniors graduate. New faces must remember who they are. It seems that a new version always has familiar faces linked to successful sisters. Anna Burns (Ava), Maggie Shoemaker (Anna), and Elise Marchais (Manon) are three examples.
MVB '25 has the call to "remember who you are," a worthy theme to pursue.
That distills to players "taking care of business" every day at home, school, and extracurriculars.
Acquire more tools to raise academic performance. Choose a few from the above list:
1) Think backwards. A "premortem examination" looks at what can disrupt a plan. Imagine a lemonade stand. What could blow it up? Higher costs for lemons and sugar, permitting (if needed), bad location.
2) Recall. Self-testing is a proven methodology along with spaced repetition (study over time instead of cramming) and the Pomodoro Method (25 minutes on, five minutes off).
3) Teaching like the Feynman technique. Physicist Richard Feynman advised studying a problem by naming it, describing it, researching, and then simplifying and sharing it.
You can use other techniques on the list. Devote time to improvement by capturing and deploying more tools.
Lagniappe. An MSU serve-receive drill... handle topspin and become a more consistent passer.
Physicality (explosiveness translates at every level)
Psychology (resilience)
Become appreciated for how you play. There's nothing like hearing a coach say, "I know your daughters are never coming to my school, but they can really play."
Lagniappe: Do five minutes a day and transform yourself.
All opinions within the blog are solely those of the author.
*Inspired by a Blinkist review
Swing a cat and you'll often hit someone reading a leadership book. That's because leadership matters at every level of society.
Positive Communication for Leaders by Mirivel and Lyon discusses key elements within teams.
Leadership isn't just for Coach Scott Celli and his staff. Captains and team members must lead together and "foster a culture of appreciation and respect."
Greetings A warm greeting by name helps human connection. As a coach, I worked to greet each player by name each practice or game. Within the team, the same practice has value. Greeting creates inclusion and appreciation.
Questions Cultivate a "culture of curiosity" within teams. Ask positive questions. "Why was your serve effective today?" or "what skills did you improve today?" Develop a mindset of discovery within your sport and yourself.
Compliments Everyone loves compliments. It's an art at home, school, and extracurricular activities. Does the twelfth players on the team feel as much a part of the team as the star player? That happens not just through coaching but within team members themselves. Have you congratulated "stay ready" players on their hard work helping to improve your play? Be specific when delivering compliments. "Way to attack the seam on your serve."
Encouragement Opportunity to seize a role always exists at MVB. High performance carves out more court time, a bigger role, and recognition. Roles are always available. Who is the designated server for MVB 25? Most spots are open for the skilled, determined competitor. Even if you start on JV, that doesn't mean you can't become a varsity contributor, like the three freshmen in 2024.
Deep Listening Listening is a critical skill, the capacity to engage and process. "Being fully present is the first step." I always remember a tiny sixth grader at basketball tryouts approaching me a minute before the session began. "Hi, my name is Naomi and I am really excited to be here." She established a presence in just a few seconds. She was the kind of player I would have wanted to coach.
"1, 2, 4, All" Make this a key point. 1 is individual reflection. 2 is paired sharing of ideas. 4 informs small group discussion. And all is inclusiveness within a team or organization. All means all, regardless of experience, prior contribution, or graduating class. Team leaders have a responsibility to support a culture of inclusiveness.
What are you doing to today to grow your leadership?
Lagniappe. This quote from "Originals" by Adam Grant, came from a Lucy Stone speech in 1855. Empowerment comes from within and outside. Don't allow others to disappoint you.
"The last speaker alluded to this movement as being that of a few disappointed women. From the first years to which my memory stretches, I have been a disappointed woman. . . . I was disappointed when I came to seek a profession . . . every employment was closed to me, except those of the teacher, the seamstress and the housekeeper. In education, in marriage, in religion, in everything, disappointment is the lot of women. It shall be the business of my life to deepen this disappointment in every woman’s heart until she bows down to it no longer."
Lagniappe 2. Have you watched a baseball game recently and heard the term "exit velocity?" Better exit velocity creates higher probability of hits (less time for defenders) and extra base hits. Red Sox minor leaguer Roman Anthony has an astonishing 'hard contact' rate of over 38 percent. Attackers want hard contact and direction ("hit 'em where they ain't").
Two books I often recommended were The Positive Dog and The Compound Effect. What we do transforms us. Another great read is James Clear's Atomic Habits. Make good habits easy and bad ones harder.
Choose a few "practices" from the above. Pick, stick, check. Pick a habit, stick with it, monitor it. "Don't miss twice."
Ideas:
Extra effort? "Do five more."
Mindfulness. Take three minutes to "search inside yourself."
Struggling with something? Simplify and try again.
Lagniappe. Four minutes worth your time. Don't overcomplicate it. You don't get ten seconds to serve. MVB 25 will succeed in serve and receive this fall. Serving resembles pitching. Chasms exist between throwing and pitching purposefully.
What makes your MVB experience? It's not the number of wins or a statistic like assists, kills, or digs. Great teams have exceptional chemistry, team spirit. They enjoy being with each other in school, at practice, on the bus ride. They share joy.
It's intentional that "Team Spirit" is one of the central building blocks of Coach Wooden's "Pyramid of Success."
Melrose's Lauren Joyce didn't go to MHS, but she carried her laminated copy of the Pyramid with her each day in her gym bag to Austin Prep. Maybe she carried it with her at the United States Naval Academy. Maybe it hangs in her locker before she goes out to work each day as a Navy helicopter pilot.
Team spirit makes all the difference. "Not without my guys..."
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. Nothing within is the official opinion of any Melrose Department.
Hi – I'm reading "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" by Adam Grant, Sheryl Sandberg and wanted to share this quote with you.
"...when I looked at the evidence, I was dismayed to discover that even today, speaking while female remains notoriously difficult. Across cultures, there’s a rich body of evidence showing that people continue to hold strong gender-role stereotypes, expecting men to be assertive and women to be communal. When women speak up, they run the risk of violating that gender stereotype, which leads audiences to judge them as aggressive."
In other words, organizations often see men as assertive and women as "witches." Do the right things, the right way, all the time.
Sport helps women's empowerment adding value to society and your community, regardless of your role.
Everyone leads, directly or indirectly.
Always be on time.
Be stretched out and ready to go when practice starts.
Listen actively.
Be positive.
Never be a distraction with poor academic or behavioral issues.
Never "bigfoot" underclassmen.
Know your identity (this is who we are) and performance (this is how we play).
"Touch the line." Cheat the drill and you cheat the team.
Leave the gym better than you found it. "Sweep the sheds."
"Leave the jersey in a better place." Leave a legacy.
Remember the Greek proverb that "old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit." You have accountability to the present and the future.
The effort you show the little girls in the stands becomes the future standard.
Lagniappe. You don't need a gym to practice footwork. REPOST.
"People only see the decisions you made not the choices you had."
This quote embeds a lot of concepts. The Fundamental Attribution Error explains that we judge the decisions of others based on 'character' and ourselves based on "situation." It unpacks the picture of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans with one image showing a couple "seeking food" amidst the devastation and another couple "looting."
It reminds me of another of "The Four Agreements" - "Never make assumptions." A car cuts you off and speeds by. Our first thought is "what a jerk," not "maybe he is rushing to the hospital to see a sick relative or his pregnant wife."
Choices and decisions have power. You've heard, "control what you can control." That's more and less than we think. We control our attitude, choices, and effort. One theme regularly seen is the influence of the books we read and the people with whom we associate. "Lie down with dogs and you get fleas." Or "are you investing your time or spending it?"
We become the product of our decisions and our opportunities. Youth sports business now exceeds ten billion dollars. Training, offseason teams, and travel are expensive. Young athletes and their families sacrifice time and treasure to compete. As you may know, economics is the "allocation of scarce resources," and minutes, role, and recognition are scarce in team sports. Big investments and great process don't guarantee high production...but they help.
Our decisions literally become our habits. "We make our habits and our habits make us."Make great, intentional decisions.
Adversity comes and goes. Often the key is to focus to prevent a drop of blood from becoming a torrent. Just as one bad pass can lead to another, a shanked receive can become a series of mistakes.
Focus allows players not to "double down" on errors. Watch any basketball game and see players take a bad shot or commit a turnover and then compound the mistake with a foul.
In "Legacy" author James Kerr shares a secret of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team. Keep a "blue head," calm in the face of adversity, instead of the frustrated, angry out of control "red head."
Top players recover instead of experiencing system failure, emotional meltdown. Play fueled by emotion not ruled by it.
Leadership requires you to bring teammates into that posture, too. That's not "it's okay" or "don't worry about it." Say "refocus" or "next play." Leaders carry on and carry their teams.
Lagniappe. Leading with a "blue head."
Lagniappe 2 (video). Line attacks against blocks...
Listen actively. Listen to understand, not to respond. Listen with empathy, with genuine concern for another's position. The best leaders listen well and give constructive feedback (backward looking) and advice (forward looking).
"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right."
— Henry Ford
Supposedly, a Ford engineer visiting a poultry processing plant came up with the idea of the assembly line. There's no assembly line turning out volleyball players in Melrose. If there were, what would belong?
Restated, how would you build a special player?
1) The "competitive cauldron." Legendary soccer coach Anson Dorrance believes that competition drives excellence and has daily player performance rankings. How did I improve today?
2) Skill development. "Every day is player development day." Improve something every day.
3) Athleticism. Athleticism, strength and conditioning, make you a better player and a more confident player.
4) Confidence. "You can only be as good as you believe you are." Do the work to earn belief. The Yiddish chutzpah reflects audacity which can be either good or bad. The Romans said, "fortune favors the bold."
5) Practice. Play a lot. This develops skill, game understanding, experience, and fosters "intuitive play" as players 'read' plays instinctively.
6) Teamwork. An African proverb says, "we can go faster alone but farther together." Choose teamwork over selfishness.
7) Mentoring. Along the way to becoming your own coach, learn from all the teachers and coaches around you.
8) Standards. Goals are aspirational. Standards reflect performance. Raise your standards. "Champions do extra."
9) Do a 'software' upgrade. What makes that player, coach, or team effective? What one thing will make me better?
"One group is tasked with writing three good things about their lives; another group has to list twelve good things. Everyone expects the twelve group to be happier: the more blessings you count, the better you should feel about your circumstances. But most of the time, the opposite is true. We’re happier after we list three good things than twelve." - Adam Grant in Originals
A lot reduces to three, including the rhetorical technique of tricolon.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." - Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
"...duty, honor, country." Douglas MacArthur in his famous West Point address
"Teamwork, improvement, accountability."
"Dig, set, kill" became "pass, set, hit."
Score with "serves, attacks, block-kills."
Win with three dynamic hitters, a middle and two outsides are common although Melrose had two excellent middles last season.
