Attention to Detail

"We pay a lot of attention to detail. We're not sloppy."  

Attention to Detail

Every great program 'suffers the details', sweating the small stuff. Bill Belichick emphasized detail. Nick Saban emphasized detail. Geno Auriemma lives the details.

Attention to detail supports sustainable competitive advantage. Attention to detail fine-tunes process. 

Process is Old-Fashioned

Detail is old-fashioned. In the early 1970s, Coach Ellis Lane handed out mimeographs before every game with scouting reports of opposing team offense and defense, personnel, and three "keys to victory." His attention to detail helped him earn multiple championships and election to the New England Basketball of Fame. 

Process Must Precede Conclusions

Never allow conclusions to drive your decision-making process. Process should drive conclusion. In the early 2000's, NASA's Mission Management Team concluded, despite engineering's safety warnings, that debris risk to the Space Shuttle Columbia was not significant. ‘You know, if there was any real damage done to the wing, there is nothing we can do about it.’ Columbia broke up during reentry. Seven astronauts died and careers died with them.  

Detail Touches Every Team Member

Detail (process) touches everything. 

• Court conditions impact play and safety. 
• Communication includes knowing the details of your role.
• Every practice activity impacts winning. 
• Preparation leads to skill, strategy, physicality, and psychology. 
• "Strength and conditioning" impact execution and confidence. 
• Proper recovery includes sleep, rest, hydration, and nutrition. 

"How you do anything is how you do everything." 

Lagniappe. "What would make you believe that I'm an incredible coach...what if my job as a coach is to hold you accountable for your dreams? 

Lagniappe 2. The two best servers (in my opinion) in MVB history were Alyssa DiRaffaele and Cassidy Barbaro with aggression and consistency. Neither had a jump serve. Both had pace and movement on the ball. That said, a lot of you have a jump serve. In the video, Coach Artie explains the "jump toppy" and rationale. The analogy for baseball/softball players is pitcher extension. Release closer to the batter and shave microseconds off of reaction time.