Mike Reiss's Sunday ESPN column reminded me about 'developmental arcs':
"As for special teams, Ninkovich recalled talking to former Patriots assistant coach Brian Flores about how the team ultimately gave him a roster spot, and what tilted things in his favor.
"He said the questions asked were, 'What's his upside? Can he play special teams? Is there a spot he can develop into?'"
Legendary soccer coach Anson Dorrance spoke of seeking players with "continual ascension." An imperfect analogy for "special teams" is the "designated server" role, where a player or players substitute (usually for a middle hitter) with service and defense. This is a vital role where "runs" arise. Two memorable designated servers were Cassidy Barbaro and Michele Foley. I'm forgetting many others.
Competition is always fierce for roles but especially so for MVB 26. The combination of graduation of important players and a large number of talented young players creates opportunity.
Do not be content with making the team. Like Ninkovich, ask yourself:
- What's my upside?
- Can I make the team better?
- Can I earn a role?
Grit, as defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth, is the combination of sustained passion and perseverance toward long-term goals — not a single burst of effort, but a steady commitment that survives boredom, setbacks, and plateaus. In sport, grit shows up less in the dramatic comeback and more in the unglamorous repetition: the extra sets of serves after a loss, the rehab exercises done alone in an empty gym, the athlete who keeps showing up for a role that isn't glamorous. It's distinct from raw talent or even short-term motivation. A gritty athlete doesn't necessarily have the most natural ability, but they treat failure as information rather than identity, and they hold onto a defining goal — making varsity, earning a starting spot, mastering a skill — even when progress is invisible for long stretches. Grit manifests differently across sports: in distance running it looks like pushing through the physiological wall; in volleyball it might look like a player who keeps taking cuts on defense after getting embarrassed at the net, refusing to let one moment define the match.
Building grit is less about willpower in the moment and more about designing habits and mindset over time. Coaches and athletes can cultivate it by setting "stretch" goals broken into smaller, trackable milestones, so effort has visible payoff even when the big goal is far off. Deliberate practice matters — seeking out drills that expose weaknesses rather than reinforce strengths, since growth lives in discomfort. Equally important is how athletes explain setbacks to themselves: a "growth mindset" framing, where a bad performance is treated as a data point rather than a verdict on ability, tends to produce more resilience than one that ties self-worth to outcomes. Finally, grit is contagious within a team culture — when captains and coaches model persistence after losses instead of excuses, and when effort (not just results) gets recognized publicly, it signals to younger or less experienced athletes that the daily grind is the actual competitive advantage, not a means to an end.
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