All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.
*Adapted from my basketball blog with a major AI assist
With The Power of Negative Thinking, Bobby Knight went back to something older than any playbook, "via negativa," the negative way.
The Greeks and Romans had it right.
Define something by what it is not.
Strip away the unnecessary.
What remains is closer to the truth.
Classic example: Michelangelo was asked about sculpture and he said that his job was to take a block of marble and find the sculpture within.
Applied to volleyball:
Winning volleyball isn’t always about adding more.
It’s about removing what loses points - bad decisions, bad swings, bad platform skills.
Simple is hard.
Practice Subtraction
Every rep should redirect toward winning.
- No wasted movement
- No empty reps
- No filler
Borrow Brian McCormick's line, “No lines, no laps, no lectures.”
What to remove:
- Long lines replaced with high-contact, small-sided reps
- Static drills gone, instead game-speed decision making
- Cognitive overload, use one point, one correction
Tighten the system:
- Shrink the drill book
- Shrink the playbook
- Shrink the language (terminology)
Limit film:
- 10–12 clips max
- No video fatigue
Offensive Subtraction
Points are lost before they’re won. Remove low-value decisions:
- Out-of-system hero swings
- High-error serves without intent
- Blind setting (no read of block/defense)
- “Me too” swings on bad sets
Recall Jay Bilas's "Toughness" advice:
“It’s not your shot, it’s our shot.”
Translate it: It’s not your swing, it’s our swing.
Tighten core decision-making:
- In-system = terminate or stress
- Out-of-system = live to fight the next ball
Eliminate:
- free balls into the net
- predictable high balls with no plan
- wasted transition opportunities
Decision clarity:
- Good pass leads to full offensive array
- Medium pass decide on controlled aggression
- Bad pass equals make a disciplined choice.
Defensive Subtraction
Defense improves faster by removing mistakes than adding schemes.
Eliminate breakdowns:
- No more seams in the block
- No hands drifting backward
- No flat-footed base defense that reduces defensive range/reaction
Communication is non-negotiable:
- No silence
- Early, loud, often (ELO)
Stoicism in action - Control the controllables:
- Put downballs in play
- No free balls landing untouched
- No missed coverage assignments
Discipline:
- No reckless net touches
- No out-of-control pursuits
- No “almost” effort
- There are no 50-50 balls. Jousts are yours.
Block and floor connection:
- No “ghost blocks” (jumping without purpose)
- No disconnected defense
Teaching Via Negativa
Use questions, not just answers.
Ask:
- What should we do?
- What must we stop doing?
The System
When you remove:
- bad swings
- bad decisions
- bad communication
- no intentionality
What’s left? Clean volleyball. Simple. MVB 12 style play that overwhelms with aggression and consistency.
Bottom Line
Think about it. What should be stripped from our lives and our volleyball? Excellence is often subtraction, not addition. Do less and do it better.
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