What Are You Reading Today?

"My greatest skill was being teachable. I was like a sponge. Even if I thought my coaches were wrong, I tried to listen and learn something." - Michael Jordan

School's out. Learning's still in. Volleyball tryouts start in 68 days, giving you just under ten weeks to build on your fundamentals. 

First, what are you reading today? I'll go first:

• Finishing David Baldacci's "The Whole Truth"
• Reading Rolf Dobelli's, "The Not to Do List"
• Starting Allistair McCaw's "Habits That Make a Champion"

Reading won't make you a better person, but it can help us become better thinkers, foster academic success and career opportunities. Here's a one paragraph summary from ChatGPT:

Habitual readers and non-readers often diverge over time not because of innate ability, but because of the compounding effect of knowledge. Readers steadily accumulate vocabulary, background information, critical-thinking skills, and exposure to diverse ideas, giving them an advantage in school, where reading proficiency strongly predicts academic success across subjects. This educational edge frequently carries into the workplace, where strong readers are better equipped to learn new skills, adapt to changing industries, communicate effectively, and qualify for higher-level positions that require continuous learning. While non-readers can certainly succeed, habitual readers benefit from a lifelong process of incremental improvement—each book adding a small advantage that, over years and decades, can translate into greater educational attainment, broader opportunities, and increased career mobility. 

Better reading informs speed and breadth of knowledge in academic pursuits, in careers, and in sports. The greater your foundation, the more you can build upon it. 

Consider a simple volleyball toss. The higher the toss, the shorter the time interval to strike the ball accurately as it descends. That means a narrower sweet spot for ideal contact. 

The basic physics equation s = 1/2 a*t(squared)

Coaching Application

A higher toss gives the server more time but also creates more variability because the ball is exposed longer to wind, gym currents, and timing errors.

For example:

• A 12-inch toss falls in about 0.25 seconds.
• A 48-inch toss falls in about 0.50 seconds.

The higher toss provides only about a quarter-second more time, but doubles the opportunity for inconsistency.

This is one reason many elite servers favor a low, repeatable toss—high enough to allow full mechanics, but low enough to minimize error. As coaches often say, the toss is the first contact of the serve. A consistent toss reduces the number of variables the athlete must solve before contacting the ball.

"Physics has no opinion about your serve. Every extra foot of toss height adds only a fraction of a second, but it also adds another opportunity for the ball to be somewhere you didn't intend. The best servers don't just hit the ball well—they manage time and variability well." 

Volleyball is a thinking person's game. Reading creates sustainable competitive advantage. 

Lagniappe. You don't need a gym to practice footwork and coordination.