What Don't You See?

Our imagination helps us answer the question, "What don't you see?" What could make you an impactful player? 

When watching a sport, ask more than "What am I seeing?" Ask, "What am I not seeing?"

In basketball, that includes:

• Defensive pressure on the ball
• Dominant defensive rebounding
• Pick-and-roll offense/defense
• Effective spacing
• ROB shots (in range, open, on balance)

What absences "appear" in volleyball? 

• The "identifiable" weakness (the offensive/defensive hole)
• Communication ("absence of evidence not equal to evidence of absence")
• Early reading of plays ("step late defense")
• "Enough" - not enough blocking, not enough aces
• Effective coverage during attacks

Make absence equal problem solving

Closing the Loop

Solutions will always be partial. Nobody can remove the opponent from the equation. Opponents get a 'say'. In the military, the expression is, "No plan survives contact with the enemy." Solutions must emerge during games because "chaos challenge" is part of the game. 

Recognizing what isn't there 

Sometimes there's not "Enough."

Not enough blocking touches. Not enough aces. Not enough aggressive swings in transition.

Teams sometimes lose not because they are terrible - but because they are slightly insufficient. Close matches have little margin for error. 

The stat sheet tells you what happened. It does not tell you what should have happened.

Final arguments

So the next time you watch a match - ours or anyone’s, ask two questions:

"What am I seeing?" And, "What am I not seeing?" Championships often hide in the invisible.

Lagniappe. An unavoidable truth, exceptional players become exceptional athletes. 

Use this 3-tier jump circuit to improve your vertical ⬇️

a) Pogo Jumps
b) Box Jump
c) DB Squat Jumps

3-4 sets per exercise

Start with 50 reps & accumulate volume over time pic.twitter.com/mrgJ0ex5n6

— Keith Ferrara (@keithjferrara) March 1, 2026

Lagniappe 2. Excellence requires that you see what isn't there.