What Is the Lesson for You?

Watch the video. What are the lessons for you? What can you take away to improve? 

 

Failure Is Part of the Process

There’s a Japanese saying:

“If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember, trees lose their leaves every year, yet they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.”

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 11, 2026

As night follows day, so failure meets everyone. 

Everyone strikes out. Everyone shanks a ball or hits out. Everyone.

In Moneyball, Billy Beane discussed how his baseball playing career was cut short with inability to handle failure. 

John Wooden, a basketball coaching legend at UCLA with ten championships, won his first in his sixteenth season. 

Sometimes a player struggles at one position and shows excellence at another. Positional change is not failure. It often reflects a better fit. Alyssa DiRaffaele moved to libero from front row and helped get MVB 2011 to the Finals. 

Injury can change career arcs. Injury creates frustration and can require mental and physical adjustment. 

Failure is our companion on life's journey. The Japanese proverb "Fall down seven times, get up eight" serves as a symbol of resilience and perseverance. Success is not defined by the absence of failure, but by the will to rise again. 

Often, the difference between failure and success is the ability to press on.

Lagniappe. Mindfulness is a tool for coping with failure.  

Strength Is Showing Up Every Day, Regardless of the Outcome

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization. 

Gregg Popovich's teams won five NBA Championships. They also lost heartbreaking games. Popovich 'represented' either way.

I don't remember too many summer Sunday night "open practices" for whomever showed up. Jeff Mate' usually came with Kira and some others. After about thirty minutes, I asked him to take over. "I don't have it tonight." I got home and took my temperature which was almost 102. Fortunately, it was a manageable infection. 

The best players, coaches, and leaders "show up" even when the 'easy road' leads elsewhere.

Ten year-old Paula had her gear on and headed out the door. "Going out to play softball?" She responded, "No, Daddy, I'm going out to win."

Consider the following:

The phrase “To whom much is given, much will be required” originates from Luke 12:48 in the Bible, where Jesus states, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.”

MVB 26 has a lot of potential. 

Disappointments will happen.

Setbacks will happen.

You will experience frustration. 

No matter what, keep showing up. That's what leaders do. 

Image created by ChatGPT Plus

 

Dreams Require Choices

There is an old African Proverb that I love:

“A cat that dreams of becoming a lion must lose its appetite for rats.”

To achieve greatness, you must let go of old habits that could hold back your progress.

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 20, 2026

The families, players, and MVB coaches sacrifice "A" for "MVB."

Everyone makes choices amidst time and resources.

Volleyball choices (examples):

• Off-season skill development
• Off-season club teams 
• Skill building with teammates
• Physical training (e.g. strength and conditioning)
• Travel, lodging and team expenses
• TIME  
• Video study

Alternatives (examples):

• Part-time employment
• Texting and socializing with friends
• Family time
• Hobbies 
• Miscellaneous leisure

There are no 'rats' among the choices. And still, big dreams demand big sacrifices. 

Blunt Objects

Blunt objects have places in the world...crowbars, tire irons, and baseball bats.

But they make lousy instruments in volleyball.

Every message should refine the player's skill, strategy, physicality, or psychology. Making a blunt object blunter falls on nobody's agenda.

Greenberg's Law says, "If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail." Don't make your skill into a hammer or your strategy into tire iron. 

Make your agenda refinement. Become a scalpel, useless in itself, magical in the hands of the surgeon. 

"Blunt objects" rise and hit. That won't be enough against quality opposition.

Volleyball players solve problems...double blockers, defenders taking away tips, imperfect sets. 

Because you want a bigger role as a contributor, develop the versatility to understand and execute the game and to become a difference maker, to move from a backup to a primary role. 

Lagniappe. "Not that this was set in stone. If you wanted a plan to work, you had to be ready to improvise." - Mick Herron in "Nobody Walks"

The Board and the Court: What "Misaeng" Teaches Us About Volleyball

"Misaeng" trailer, some explicit language. 

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization. 

Learn across domains. Varsity sports creates challenges - identity, performance, culture. You don't need to assimilate everything on day one. 

Art imitates life. The K-drama "origin story," Misaeng: Incomplete Life shares the travails of survival and success in a competitive business setting. 

Its themes transcend the workplace, applying for school and sports. 

• mentorship
• office politics
• preparation
• humility
• work ethic
• continuous improvement

It's one of the finest workplace dramas ever made.

What are "premium" coaching lessons shared? 

Volleyball lessons from "Misaeng"

"Misaeng" is a term from the board game "Go" meaning, "A stone that has not yet come to life." In sport, this most often applies to an ascending young player but can work for an upperclassman "late bloomer" like Anna Shoemaker in 2022 with 115 kills. 

The game "Go" is outside my "Circle of Competence." I asked Claude.ai to help me with "Go" principles that work for sport. I include a few annotations. 

There's a Korean drama called Misaeng: Incomplete Life that has no business being this useful to a volleyball program. It's about a high school Go prodigy named Geu-rae who never turns pro, washes out of the game he loves, and lands—of all places—an internship at a trading company he's wildly underqualified for on paper. No degree. No connections. No corporate polish.

What he has is fifteen years of reading a board.

It turns out that's enough. Not because Go and office life are similar on the surface, but because the thinking underneath both is the same thinking that wins volleyball matches: read the whole picture, commit fully to your choices, protect your connections, and never assume a lead is safe. Here are twelve lessons from Geu-rae's board that belong on our court.

Volleyball IQ matters, executing after vision, analysis, and decision.

1. Position Before Points

In Go, a stone that claims key territory is worth more than one that grabs an early, empty capture. Teams that chase the highlight kill over the sustainable system usually pay for it in set three. On the court: don't let a hot early run seduce you into abandoning your system. Build a position — serve-receive discipline, rotational spacing — that holds up when the set gets tight, not just when it's easy.

Craft a culture and philosophy and fight for it. 

2. Read the Whole Board, Not Just Your Corner

Weak Go players get tunnel vision on one local fight and lose track of the rest of the board. Geu-rae's gift is that he never stops seeing the whole thing. On the court: this is court awareness in its purest form. A libero locked onto the ball and blind to the setter's tempo, a hitter who never checks the block — both are playing their corner instead of the board. Vision wins rallies before contact happens.

3. Weak Stones Need a Plan, Not Panic

A "dead" group in Go often lives if the player stays calm and counts liberties instead of reacting emotionally. On the court: down close and late, or benched after an error, the instinct is to panic or shut down. The better response is Geu-rae's response — assess what's actually left to work with, and build from there, one stone at a time.

Stay focused and intentional throughout the game. "Win this play."

4. Know Who's Dictating Tempo

Go has the concept of sente — moves that force a response — versus gote, moves that are purely reactive. A team stuck in gote is losing control of the match even when the score is close. On the court: this is defensive pressure and needing a score. If you aren't aggressive, you're playing their game on their terms, regardless of the scoreboard.

Volleyball rewards consistency and aggressive play. 

5. Every Stone Placed Is a Commitment

Go stones don't move once they're down — unlike chess, there's no retreat. Every placement is permanent. On the court: a shot, once released, can't be un-shot. A pass, once released, can't be recalled. Indecision is worse than a wrong decision, because indecision has all the risk and none of the commitment. Geu-rae's discipline is deciding before the stone leaves his hand — which is exactly what film study and reads are for.

6. Strength Comes From Connection

Isolated stones die easily in Go. Connected groups survive almost anything. The emotional spine of the whole series is Geu-rae building real relationships with his team instead of operating alone. On the court: a six-rotation system isn't six individuals — it's one connected group. A star player isolated from her teammates is a strong stone with no liberties. She'll get captured eventually.

Team First

7. Low Experience Doesn't Mean Low Value

Geu-rae gets underestimated constantly because he skipped the traditional path. What he actually brings — pattern recognition, composure, years of reading pressure — turns out to matter more than the resume. On the court: the underclassman who hasn't played travel ball, the kid coming off the bench for the first varsity minutes of her life — pedigree isn't readiness. Character and preparation are.

"Do more to become more. Become more to do more." 

8. Sacrifice Small Stones to Save the Group

Strong Go players let minor pieces go if it protects the larger position. On the court: this is the dive that sacrifices your body position for the next play, the player who passes instead of forcing a shot she doesn't have, the senior who takes the blame in the film session so the team keeps moving instead of fracturing. Losing a stone on purpose is not the same as losing.

9. No Move Only Helps You

Every stone changes the balance of the entire board — for better or worse, for everyone. On the court: a teammate's shortcut in a drill, a captain's attitude after a bad call, one player's body language after an error — none of it stays contained. It ripples through the whole rotation. This is why culture is built or broken in the small moments nobody's grading.

Your behavior off and on the court impacts the team. Represent.

10. Patience With the Boring Middle Game

Go has a long, unglamorous middle phase where nothing looks decisive — and it's usually where the match is actually won. On the court: this is a Tuesday practice in December. Nobody's watching, there's no crowd, no scoreboard. But the teams that take the middle game seriously are the ones still standing in March of next year.

Fight complacency. 

11. Study the Opponent's Habits, Not Just Their Moves

Over a long game, a Go player learns an opponent's tendencies — not just what they did, but what they tend to do. Geu-rae reads coworkers the same way. On the court: this is scouting past the stat sheet. Does their outside hitter tip when she's tired? Does their setter favor the same set on game point? Anticipation beats reaction every time, and anticipation is built from repetition, not talent.

"Utilize strengths, attack weaknesses." - The Art of War, by Sun Tzu

12. A Won Position Can Still Be Lost

There's an old Go proverb for this: the game isn't over until the last stone is placed. Complacency turns a winning position into a loss faster than almost anything else. On the court: Up 23-18 isn't victory. It's a position — and positions require finishing. The teams that let up with a lead aren't unlucky when they lose it. They're playing gote (cautious) against a team that never stopped playing sente (aggressive).

Geu-rae never made it as a professional Go player. But everything the game taught him — patience, position, connection, composure under a weak position — is exactly what let him survive and eventually thrive somewhere else entirely. That's the whole point. The board changes. The discipline doesn't.

Lagniappe: In Go, there's a saying that a single stone, badly placed, can lose the whole game — but a single stone, well placed, can save it. Next time you're deciding whether one rep, one rotation, one sentence to a teammate matters — it does. Place it well.

The Most Important Skill

Coach Chijo asks about "the most important volleyball skill?" Click through for his answer. 

 

"What Am I Missing?"

We all have "knowledge gaps." Although I have studied Spanish with Duolingo for over 300 consecutive days, I'm not fluent and struggle with listening to native speakers. The same goes for volleyball - still many "blindspots."

I asked ChatGPT "What am I missing?" and it provided suggestions.

Jumping ahead to number 12:

12. Spend more time studying errors than highlights. This may fit your temperament best. Pick 25 lost points and classify them: technical error, decision error, communication failure, system failure, opponent superiority, or unavoidable variance. Then ask which were preventable. Volleyball acumen grows rapidly when you learn to distinguish a bad outcome from a bad decision.

What I think you're really missing

Not another volleyball book.

Not another hundred drills.

It's compressed experience.

An elite volleyball coach has seen tens of thousands of patterns and unconsciously recognizes:

“I've seen this before.”

Your basketball knowledge already contains that enormous pattern library. Volleyball doesn't - yet.

The fastest way to close that gap would be an unusual exercise: watch one high-level match each week and study only one thing.

One match: setters.
Next: middle blockers.
Next: serve-receive formations.
Next: out-of-system decisions.
Next: transition.
Next: what changes after timeouts.

Don't follow the ball unless the week's subject requires it.

Afterward, write five things you noticed that you wouldn't have noticed a year ago.

Video is from the 2025 D1 State Final with Franklin vs Newton North.

Where was the point won or lost? Often that means to "look away from the ball." 

1. Franklin picks the ball off the net spectacularly

2. Franklin's double block pre-empts a NN advantage

3. The NN dig results in a pass that 'traps' the setter against the net and limits her options. "One bad pass often leads to another." The NN outside hitter can't get a swing and Franklin scores.

 

Jump float serve - Ace

• a) Hard (within @ 2 feet of the tape)
• b) Minimal spin
• c) Seam! 

Velocity, spin, location, and targeted receiver all can contribute to put the defense at a disadvantage. 

Successful attack by NN:

• The initial pass is again long
• Remarkable set from an unfavorable position
• Franklin maybe late to the block, but good offense more than defensive read wins the point

Franklin wins (positive scoring) the point:

• Solid initial defense
• NN in position for a strong attack (note excellent blocking position by Franklin)
• Outside blocker gets the "block-kill" for a point won as opposed to a NN point lost. 

Sometimes in real time it's difficult to say. 

• NN gets the initial attack in order.
• Franklin is crowding the middle and drops the OH late
• The NN attack appears mishit (although perhaps there was a deflection)
• The Franklin defender can't play the ball
• Sometimes an unintended attack can work well

The Stoic principle of control what you can control demands a lot of attention at every level. 

Deserve What You Want

Epictetus was right when he said: pic.twitter.com/RxLxNzMBdJ

— Psyche Wizard (@PsycheWizard) July 19, 2026

"Win the morning, win the day."

We make our habits and our habits make us. Better habits make better versions of ourselves.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits says, "Habits are votes for the type of person we want to become."

• Exercisers develop fitness.
• People with better diets often have better health.
• Readers improve their knowledge and often their writing.

If becoming special at home, in school, and in athletics is important to you, then develop habits that support the plan. As for discipline, Clear says, "Don't miss twice." Everyone misses a workout, but don't let missing become the habit. 
 

 

Contact

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Serving is the only part of the game where the player has total control of the shot. It's her pre-shot routine, footwork, toss, contact.

"Big hand" makes bigger contact. 

F = MA (physics) force = mass x acceleration

 Better contact determines both direction and velocity 

 

*Coaching Lessons from "Dave"

*Adapted from my basketball blog.

I've written over 10,000 blog posts about basketball and volleyball. That's about the equivalent of a dumbed-down ten Anna Kareninas. Here's a piece that resonated for me. 

Coaching lessons surround us...if we're open to seeing them. The 1993 comedy, "Dave" shares an abundance of valuable lessons and standards. 

"I want you to do this because it's the right thing to do." 

The authentic President violates every principle of integrity in the interest of politics. He's the antithesis of principled. For him, it's all about him. 

Be willing to help. 

The Secret Service tells Dave they need him as a double for the President for the good of the country.

Fake it until you make it.

We sometimes lack the skills or the experience to execute a tough job. Leverage our skills to upgrade our capabilities and succeed. 

Be adaptable. 

Dave has to "become" instead of impersonate the President. He has to grow rapidly into a job that requires him to navigate waters he has never even imagined. 

Play the part.

In his "day job," he acts as a celebrity impersonator. Sometimes leaders feel the weight of "imposter syndrome," feeling underserving of the assignment. Dave works on mastery.  

Surround yourself with capable people.

Dave literally is in the midst of a palace coup. He enlists assistance from a trusted friend and earns the respect of his Secret Service. 

Keep learning (his entourage administers training)

Dave knows nothing about tripartite government or how the Executive functions. He gets a crash course and gets up to speed. 

Everyone won't like you. Deal with it. 

He quickly learns that there is plenty of opposition (and support) in Washington. He's developing a thicker skin while in the job. 

Authenticity helps - if you're not a jerk

Authenticity cuts multiple ways. If you're authentically selfish, lazy, and soft, others see it. But if you're intrinsically honest, kind, and a sharer, you gain allies. 

"When you hurt someone intentionally, that is not a mistake."

He's caught up in forces beyond his control, sometimes ignorant of policy that would offend anyone's sensitivity. His action or inaction harms a cause of The First Lady, who calls him out. He learns more about the issue and becomes a problem solver, stepping on toes. 

Resource management is on you.

Dave quickly understands, "The buck stops here" and the 'lightweight' learns that he can throw his weight around via title and power. 

Public relations matters

Leaders may be 'performative' - shaking hands and kissing babies. His humanity and sincerity shine through in how he treats others. 

Share.

In the White House kitchen, he prepares a midnight snack, an oversized sandwich. He cuts it in half and shares with his Secret Service agent (Ving Rhames), who sits down to eat with him. 

Have a big picture plan.

Dave's 'handlers' in the palace coup have a plan, but Dave has other ideas. He genuinely has the interest of the country at heart, despite being an unelected imposter. 

Develop new ideas

In his day job (employment agency), he sees the joy and fulfillment of clients who get work. In a classic "Chekhov's Gun" moment, he proposes a National Employment Act, seeking full employment. 

"You don't know how much you can do until you stand up and decide to try." 

Coaches have enormous influence as teachers, mentors, and leaders. Understand how one person can make a world of difference. 

Be worthy. 

"Dave, I would have taken a bullet for you." 

The 'job' of leadership has many parts - student, teacher, decision maker, advocate, judge, 'director', etc. Embrace Dave's genuine decency, capacity for growth, and integrity. 

Find the coaching and leadership lessons that inhabit everyday life. 

Lagniappe. Gregg Popovic says, "Don't ask for minutes. Make me play you." JVG tells players to take a hard look in the mirror (sound quality fair). 

 

Selling "In"

Some may know the term "sell out" meaning to betray. What about selling in?

1. A teacher had an unruly class. At her wit's end, she created a novel assignment. She distributed a paper with each classmate's name and each student had to write two things they liked about each and return the paper. She then cut and pasted the compliments and distributed to each student. There was a giant turnaround.

Years later the teacher passed on and many from that class went to the wake. And some pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from their purse or wallet with those compliments. Help others be seen and heard. 

2. One day practice was slow. I gathered the players in a circle and asked each player to say something positive about the girl on either side of them. Not "I like her hair," but something about the player. One player said about our best player, "She's amazing." Remember MUDITA, "your joy is my joy." 

3. "Water the flowers." Consider this exercise. Pair up and "sell why your partner deserves a role on the team." 

• "She's an excellent server who puts us in advantage."
• "She's an energizer who lifts up the team."
• "She's the best passer on the team."
• "She's our loudest voice." 
• "She makes everyone feel better about themselves."
• "She is confident. If we were all as confident as she, we would never lose."

Elevate your teammates. Sell in. 
 

 

What Kind of Player Are You?

"In the end, once we got him here and once he got in the field, Rob was great. He was great. He had a great career here, but he was a great teammate. Everybody loved him and not because of his (personality) and all that, but just the way he competed and the type of teammate he was. Sometimes the first impression is not always the right one.” - Bill Belichick about Rob Gronkowski via Mike Giardi in Boston Sports Journal

What kind of player are you? 

First, the question should be, "What kind of person are you?" as we place the person ahead of the player. Players are "people" not "assets" or "pieces on the board." You have feelings, families, friends, strengths and weaknesses. That's humanity. 

1. Person > Player

"How you do anything is how you do everything." As Mike Lingenfelter said, "Culture comes from consistency." 

Help at home, excel in the classroom, do your best on the court.

2. Compete

Learn to compete. Ask yourself, "what does competing look like in volleyball?" 

• Focus. Attention is the first price paid.
• Coachability. Listen and do your best to follow coaching.
• Preparation. Develop skill, volleyball IQ, physicality, resilience. 
• Communicate. Excellent teams communicate, which is more than talking. 
• Performance. Execution is vision, decision, and resilient action. 
• Recovery. Maintenance is part of the program. 

3. Teamwork

Put the team first. Encourage others. Be a leader and a mentor. You do not need a title or have to be an upperclassman to lead. Many of the MVB "youth movement" are leaders.

Teamwork doesn't mean silent acceptance of whatever. In his MasterClass, Ron Howard said, "The director is the keeper of the story." Leadership from within the team keeps the story arc moving. Bring energy and energize others. Praise when appropriate and redirect when necessary. 

As Belichick said, the impactful player is about more than having personality - it's competitive character, leadership, and impact. The best players make everyone around them better. 

What kind of player are you?

Lagniappe.  

“My father always used to say, don't raise your voice. Improve your argument.”

— Desmond Tutu

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 13, 2026

Lagniappe 2. Play with force. Power your approach to attack and block. 

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Marcus Aurelius on Doing the Work

The most powerful passage from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: pic.twitter.com/IEigLmHrDz

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) July 19, 2026

Stoicism is simple but not easy. The top principles of Stoicism center on mastering your mind, virtue, and responding to life with clarity rather than impulse.

• Control what you can control.
• Align our behavior with our best human capacities - reason, virtue, cooperation, and clarity. 
• Practice virtue - wisdom, courage, justice, temperance
• Perception shapes reality. Events cause pain to the degree we allow them to cause pain. Don't feel "the second arrow." 
• "Memento mori" - remember that life is finite. 

Do the work of life. 

Lagniappe. MVB 2011 went to the State Finals. 

MVB 26 Schedule

The regular season schedule is published on Maxpreps.com. 

MVB has a highly competitive schedule including three tough matches to start. 

Body Language (some AI Assist)

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Emotional self-regulation is a powerful skill for student-athletes. Celebrate small victories while staying under control. 

Athletes show positive body language:

• Strong posture - Stand tall with shoulders back and head held high, signaling confidence and readiness. Servers show positive posture.

• Eye contact - Athletes lock eyes with teammates or coaches to show focus, trust, and engagement, especially during huddles or timeouts.

• Encouraging gestures - Positive touches help. High‑fives, fist bumps, pats on the back, or a thumbs‑up reinforce team unity.

• Composed breathing - Slow, controlled breaths signal calm under pressure and assist your reset after mistakes.

• Active listening stance - Leaning in slightly, nodding, and maintaining open posture during coaching moments shows respect and focus.

The Symmetry of Volleyball Practice

Many sports show symmetry. For example, in basketball, teams want to get more and betters shots than the opponent. Offense works to setup opportunities without turnovers and defense wants to force "one bad shot" and force turnovers.

In it's simplest iteration scoring arrives via: 

• Serves - put opponents at a disadvantage
• Attacks - get high probability attacks
• Block-kills - make blocking a high priority for scoring

Serves

The symmetry arises from better serve-receive. Better strategy, better communication, better execution. Working on serving simultaneously improves serve-receive. 

Attacks

Each season with graduation, offenses must "replace" kills not available from established players. Some increases occur via "redistribution" to ascending players and others occur from "player development" to players who earn a larger role and more opportunities. 

The best "drills" have offense, defense, communication, decision-making, and competition. Other drills have value (e.g. small-sided games) because they allow more touches. 

Practicing attacks includes competition against blockers, which also builds their skill. 

Block-kills

Last season Melrose had a lot of blocks but also left "chips on the table" with opportunities to block the outsides as teams limited middle attacks. 

Practicing block-kills also requires hitters to exert creativity scoring with "the short sword" on tips, rolls, tools, cut shots, and so forth. 

The best players take advantage of competitive practice to improve and to help those around them gain edges.

Lagniappe. 

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