Saturday, March 07, 2026

What Are Your Core Volleyball Principles?

Consider and write out your core volleyball principles. Don't create an exhaustive list. Make it specific, succinct (e.g. five elements), and clear.

Address your core attitudes, beliefs, and values. Merit can arise in sharing lists as public declarations set a standard. For example, if one of your core principles is maximizing athleticism, sharing that you want to raise your vertical jump two inches sets the bar low. 

Use graphics when applicable. "I commit to winning at intangibles, to being a great teammate and elite competitor."


Graphic from ChatGPT Plus

Give yourself the best chance to succeed at home, in class, and in your extracurriculars.
- At home: Ask "How can I help?"
- In school: What are the teacher and the text telling me? 
- In sports: How can I impact winning, my teammates, and myself? 

Periodically, check in with your list and your questions. 

Your list, commitment, and monitoring reflect your ownership of volleyball education and training. 

Summary: 

Write down clear volleyball principles that capture your core beliefs and non-negotiable standards. Public commitments raise accountability: win the intangibles, be a great teammate, compete relentlessly, improve your athleticism. Then live them across environments - at home by asking “How can I help?”, in school by listening to teachers, and in sport by asking how you can impact winning, teammates, and your own growth. Revisit the list often; reflection signals owning development. Metrics like vertical jump, strength, and conditioning expose preparation and discipline and remind athletes that effort leaves evidence and that culture is built on measurable work.

Lagniappe. The late Carl Pierson included fitness testing during his tryouts. These provided objective measurements:

Vertical jump

  • Proxy for explosion, lower-body power, and athletic ceiling

  • Hard to fake; reveals who has trained

Bench press
  • Upper-body strength and toughness
  • A culture signal: who embraces the weight room
Timed mile run
  • Conditioning, discipline, and willingness to suffer
  • Separates “basketball shape” from résumé or reputation
I absolutely don't recommend fitness testing. Make fitness your standard. Carl included these because when a parent said, "why didn't my daughter make the basketball team?" he could say, "Susie struggled as an athlete among her peers. She was 40/40 in vertical jump, 38/40 in bench press, and didn't complete the mile run."  

Lagniappe 2. Sport rewards athletic explosiveness. Don't allow what you can't do to interfere with what you can.
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