The Season Approaches As Summer Shadows Lengthen

Melrose volleyball has enjoyed decades of stable leadership with strong culture and proven results. 

That doesn't guarantee everyone's happiness. In fact, highly competitive situations create a struggle for limited resources - minutes, role, and recognition. 

Coach Celli chooses the team that he believes gives Melrose the best chance to succeed, and adjusts personnel and roles accordingly. 

I wrote this article on my basketball website among 3100+ other posts. It discusses a few of the hazards of the minefield of coaching. 

Here's an excerpt:

"Have hard conversations with two adults present. When serious issues arise, usually behavioral, always address the problem with multiple adults in the room. Never allow it to become, "but he said...""

Orientation: A Few Things to Consider

New jobs often come with orientation, the "this is how we do things here" introduction. 

I participated in a Navy version, Officer Indoctrination School, now Officer Development School. It included topics like Sea Power, Correspondence, Leadership, Military Law, and Military Indoctrination...with a physical fitness and swimming component. 

The NFL has a rookie transition program including benefits, social responsibility, media interaction, rules changes, and more. 

What, if any, transition services and information might fit student-athletes in high school? It doesn't have to be voluminous, but ideally written, online, and signed off. Guidelines protect both schools and students. 

• Academic requirements and expectations
• Athletic department rules (including Chemical Health Policy)
• School/program culture 
• Fitness requirements (if any specified)
• Personal responsibility including Hazing or Harassment
• School health resources (including Mental Health)
• Social media policy 
• Coach specific values, such as the importance of mentoring/upperclass leaders

What specifics might merit inclusion? This is not a comprehensive list. 

• "Care as much about academics as you do about sports." (Dawn Staley thrived at Virginia once she made that choice.)
• Review alcohol and drug (including smoking) policies. Locally for basketball it's a four-game suspension for a violation. 
• You represent yourself and the program. 
• Here is information for some fitness options. I like the Lee Rose sets of 220s. In high school soccer, we had to complete two laps (a bit more than 600 yards) around the soccer field (at the end of practice) in under 1:50. 
• Review athletic training and mental health resources available in your school.
• "Don't let 140 characters take $140,000 scholarship from you." Respect teammates, opponents, officials, and the game. 
• Zero tolerance for hazing. Share examples of area community problems. 

We're not looking to become the behavior police but to develop responsible adults while encouraging respect, dignity, responsibility, and sportsmanship. 

Key takeaways:

• Get everyone on the same page of culture and behavior. 
• Care about academics as much as sport. 
• Know and follow the chemical health policy.
• Have a defined social media policy. Social media mistakes follow you. 
• Have an agreed upon fitness policy. 
• Embrace representing yourself, team, school, and community.

Lagniappe. Everything goes into our 'brand' including verbal, non-verbal, and written communication. That covers moral, ethical, and legal territory. For some, it will impact their NIL status. A highly compensated athlete may have earnings contingent on adhering to behavioral standards clauses. 

Lagniappe 2. John Deere is famous for its first day. 

Summer Reading List

Cross-posted from my basketball blog. 

A quarter of Americans never read a book. That shuts them out from change. The books included are exceptional and well-written. Many others belong on the list such as some from Jon Gordon like The Positive Dog and The Hard Hat, Darren Hardy's The Compound Effect, and the Heath Brothers' Made to Stick. 

When we encounter a bad book, abandon it. When we discover a great read, read it again. 

Habits

"We make our habits and our habits make us." 

What kind of person do you want to be? Elite grades demand elite study habits and "unrequired work." If you want to become an excellent athlete, you need skill, tactical excellence, physicality (strength/conditioning/endurance), and strong psychology (resilience). 

Develop better habits. Listen to this podcast featuring James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. 

Stoicism Has Power

Ask yourself these dozen questions from Stoicism. 

The MIAA basketball committee is revising policies for this season - eliminating margin of victory, extending the shot clock to 35 seconds, and scheduling quarterfinal playoff games at neutral sites. Will some of these spill over to volleyball? 

Cross Posting - The Power of Mise en Place

Learn every day. Learn across disciplines. Here's a post shared from my basketball blog. Mise en place works in sports, in school, on the job, interviewing, and more.

How does that relate to volleyball? Have you gone to practice without your sneakers, uniform parts, personal items, hydration, medical supplies (e.g. an inhaler), tape, and so on? You probably have because you didn't use mise en place thinking. 

Mise en place shares powerful analogy for life. 

Blocking Training

Blocking training 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/449126689950706

Boston Herald All-Scholastics (Published)

Elena Soukos complete the "Triple Crown" of All-State and Globe and Herald All-Scholastics. Congratulations and highly deserved...

Boston Herald All-Scholastics

Boston Globe All-Scholastics

 Elena Soukos is the latest

Lack of Resilience Is Never an Option

Train to be resilient. 

Cross-posted

All-Time Statistical Leaders

Statistics aren't everything, but they provide context to decision-making and history. 

Here are Melrose all-tme leaders

As more players start younger and come to high school more skilled, statistics are improving. But a few "old timers" are still on the list. 

Scoring also changed from time to time: 

2000-2001 - regular season 2 sets out of 3, 15 points,  tourney 3 of 5, 15 points 

2002-2004 - regular season 2 sets of 3, 30 points,  tourney 3 of 5, 30 points

2005 on - current system, 3 of 5, 25 points (except for fifth set, 15 points)

Success Comes in Many Forms

Most players in the volleyball program experience a lot of team success and winning. Since 2003, teams have won nine sectional championships and many top players have experienced that.

One of the fiercest, toughest, most skilled did not, but is one of the most successful, having been All-State and continuing to succeed in graduate school. 

Ask ourselves whether we are doing the right things to succeed. Success is about more than winning. 

 

Great Players Pay Attention to Detail

 I'm no expert on volleyball. But she is. 

Melrose Weekly Summary of Awards Night

 Melrose Weekly News summary of Awards Evening

"Never Read a Person by Their Book"

Coach Celli has the team read and study a book together. There's a principle called cognitive dissonance. That embodies being conflicted about a topic. 

Urban Meyer expresses that. He accomplished a lot in coaching, but has proven to have major shortcomings. 

But his book, "Above the Line" is exceptional. Here's a link to a pdf summary. 

Examples:

E + R = O   (Event + Response = Outcome)

10-80-10  (How players fall on a continuum)

"Escape velocity"

"Crossing the red line" 

Are You Mentally Prepared? Tips from an F1 Racing Champion

 

Better Defense Separates Elite Teams. Need Inspiration?

Keeping the ball up can win a few more points.  

Advice That Works Over Decades

"The magic is in the work." Durable coaching advice. 

Know Your Competition...Sometimes It's You

Steal shamelessly from every source. MasterClass gives me a world of ideas. 

Steve Martin: 

• "Love your rivals." We will always have them.
• "Feed off them." If we don't, they'll eat our lunch. 

Steph Curry: 

• "Competing with myself, not being complacent." 
• "My opponent will look small...compared with my expectations."

Serena Williams:

• Know your opponent...play their weakness.
• "Don't overhit to a weakness. Mix it up."
  
• "Hit the ball to where your opponent is not." 
• "Know your strengths." 

Garry Kasparov:

• "Playing chess was not just about winning and losing."
• "Make a difference...it's about coming up with new ideas, challenging your own excellence."
  
• "Making mistakes was like physical pain...I no longer had that appetite for new ideas." 

Thomas Keller: 

• It's the critical feedback that we learn from the most. 

Steve Martin:

• "There's always work to be done." 

 

More Banquet Snaps

Images courtesy of Jen Gentile. Click to enlarge.

Seniors Autumn Whelan, Ava Burns, Abby Hudson, and Elena Soukos move on.

Captains old and new... Sadie Jaggers, Gia Vlajkovic, Autumn Whelan, Abby Hudson, Elena Soukos, and Chloe Gentile