"Character is job one."
Former Patriots consultant Mike Lombardi wrote in Gridiron Genius, "Moss displayed another Belichick staple: mental toughness, which the Patriots define as “doing what is best for the team when it might not be best for you.”In New England, Moss was a “program guy”: someone who works hard, is a supportive teammate, and cares deeply about winning. In other words, someone with football character."
Character and competence.
Competence reflects skill, volleyball IQ, and physicality. As Kevin Eastman says, "Success leaves footprints." Former Patriots assistant Ernie Adams ("Belichick's Belichick") had a sign on his desk, "Stamp out bad football."
Character shows up in all the intangibles seen on the court - communication, connection, discipline, effort, sacrifice, and teamwork.
College basketball coach Shaka Smart kept a sign on his desk - LOVE - because you have to love your teammates and the game.
How you do anything...
"How you do anything is how you do everything." Excel at home, in the classroom, and in your extracurriculars.
Commit to the Fourth Agreement - "Always do your best."
Compete
The court is the coach's laboratory. The entire ecosystem, MVB Culture, is yours. Compete for each other, not with each other.
Play with force - discipline, effort, and toughness.
NFL and NCAA champion coach Pete Carroll describes your attitude as "Win Forever."
Four time Super Bowl winner (coach and GM) Bill Walsh wrote, "The Score Takes Care of Itself." The precursor to that is knowing that "A champion behaves like a champion before being one."
Volleyball character reveals itself in your identity and performance. Student-athletes are 'billboards' that convey messages to coaches, teammates, and the community.
Lagniappe (AI Assist). Provide context. AI works as a partner, summarizing wide swaths of input across many platforms including the blog.
“Play with force” does not mean swing harder at everything. Force is focused power. Serve aggressively. Attack with purpose. Block with penetration. Get your feet to the ball. Play with urgency.
A ball slammed of bounds is not force; it is inefficient. Force means making the opponent uncomfortable - compromising time and space, creating difficult first contacts, attacking seams, leveraging angles, and turning free balls into pressure.
Teams playing with force create identity. They are early reading plays, loud, connected, and decisive. They anticipate and impose their will on the match. "The strength of the wolf is the pack."
Force appears in the feet, the voice, the platform, the serve, the block, and the decision. Call the ball early. Set with conviction. Attack with purpose. Cover with urgency. Force means pressure - pressure with the serve, pressure with the attack, pressure with pursuit, pressure with your presence. Force is not frenzy. It is artistry within the dogfight. Force is focused, controlled aggression.
Lagniappe 2. Women being heard series.
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