Noise Not News?

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

"Articulating my perspective by writing was an enormous aid to my understanding. But it’s mostly an editing process—I spend much of this quiet time deciding what is not worthwhile. This is… liberating." - Barry Ritholtz in "How Not to Invest" 

Authors work to get the story right. Investigative journalist Bob Woodward tells a cautionary tale: he nearly published a story about a coffee shop that wasn’t actually the coffee shop - similar name, different operation. Verification isn’t just checking the facts. It’s checking the identity. 

MVB Legacy

Players create legacies based on multiple factors - performance, recognition, and winning. There's a mythical MVB "Mount Rushmore;"  three faces are 'easy' - Brickley, Bell, and McGowan. 

Image created by ChatGPT Plus (not a likeness of MVB players)

Hannah Brickley was All-State three times and Brooke Bell and Sarah McGowan were both elite performers on the State Championship team and part of the Boston Herald "Team of the Decade." Winning big and driving winning matter. 

What We Know of MVB 2026

• The revised MVB schedule will create 11 league games (one for each team), 7 non-league games, and 2 seeded league games to be determined. 
• A large contingent of returning players creates intense competition for the triad of positions, roles, and recognition. Opportunity is there for everyone. 
• Two non-league commitments so far - Newburyport and Marblehead

Noise Not News

Two areas change substantially. Opponents can't "load up" with the idea of stopping Sabine Wenzel, who in the words of Rick Pitino "won't be walking back through that door." Inexperience will be less of a factor. The five sophomores and five freshmen from MVB 25 become ten players with a year of experience. 

Outlier 

"The wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain." There's no Freedom Division crown to defend. Every team has turnover, the opportunity to "reload not rebuild." MVB 26 has the chance to plant its flag on the volleyball landscape. That builds excitement. 

Lagniappe. The foundations of high school sports are demonstrating character and competence through competition. 

High school basketball is about more than just X’s and O’s.
- It’s teaching young people to handle pressure without panicking.
- To show up for their teammates, even when it’s hard.
- To walk into adversity with confidence, knowing effort always gives them a shot.

— Steve Collins (@TeachHoopsBBall) February 8, 2026

Lagniappe 2. Great baseball pitchers have combinations of velocity, movement, and control. Many of Melrose's best servers and hitters had a lot of topspin. Develop it. 

From AI: 

Topspin in volleyball is primarily explained by the Magnus effect.

The Real Driver: The Magnus Effect

When a volleyball spins forward (topspin):

• The top of the ball rotates against the direction of flight.

• The bottom rotates with the direction of flight.

• This creates a pressure imbalance in the surrounding air.

• The ball experiences a downward force, causing it to drop faster than gravity alone would produce.

That downward force = Magnus force.

This is why a hard topspin serve can clear the net by inches and still dive sharply into the court.

Where Bernoulli Fits (and where it doesn’t)

The Bernoulli principle explains how faster-moving air has lower pressure. It’s part of the physics description of why the Magnus effect happens—but it’s not the whole story.

Modern physics describes topspin more accurately using:

• Airflow separation

• Boundary layer behavior

• Newton’s third law (deflection of air downward → force upward or downward)

Coaching Translation

If you’re teaching players:

• More spin = more dip

• More velocity + spin = sharper late drop

• Flat contact = float behavior

• Brushed contact = topspin dive

The practical lesson:

Topspin gives you margin. You can swing harder because the ball will fall.