Brought to You By ?

I guess it was inevitable. The MIAA is looking for sponsors for the Power Rankings. Will MIAA venues start having corporate logos on the courts or banners posted on the walls? And will playoff teams get iron-on patches for uniforms? 

Remember Sarah Blakely's advice:

• Make it
• Sell it
• Build brand awareness

Team Selection

Coaches constantly seek edges. Edges arise from experience, study, attending clinics, speaking with trusted advisors, and so forth.

I'm reading Ed Smith's "Making Decisions," an examination of his process as English cricket chief "Selector" from 2018-2021. Smith turned around the fortunes of the English team.

The Cambridge-educated former professional cricketer advocates for using data analytics and the human elements of creativity and intuition.  

Smith quickly rewarded England's prescience. 

During the selection process, Smith came to rely on the Hawk-Eye video system employed for officiating in the Indian Professional League. But he used the system for scouting, particularly a young 'bowler' Jofra Archer. 

For team selection, Smith asks:

• "Is this the right question?" 
• "How accurate is your information?" (Science helps)
• "What is the extent and the limitation of your knowledge?"

By analogy, NBA analysts learned three factors determined a prospects success:

• Age at the time of the draft (younger is better)
• Program attended (elite college basketball programs were better)
• Performance during their college career

High school coaches don't have the same "official" data sets as pros, which is why the experience "eyeball test" makes a difference. Player selection, player development, and team coordination determine effectiveness. Coach Scott Celli brings a wealth of experience in all of the above and continuity, an undervalued part of "legacy programs." 

On a long-departed website, authors noted that postseason performance often related to the number of players playing on elite off-season teams. 

What would a team selector seek?

• Skilled players who impact winning both offensively and defensively
• Consistency of effort and performance
• Resiliency, the will to fight through adversity
• A diversity of skills where players complement each other
• Finding the above in context of players with character and teamwork

Lagniappe (something extra). Move to the ball, partner drill. 

On Reading

Stephen King wrote a marvelous book "On Writing" that everyone should read. Here are ideas on reading that will make us better content evaluators and coaches.

1. Better to read a great book multiple times than many bad books. I've read James Kerr's Legacy over three times. I'll read Ed Smith's Making Decisions multiple times. Give ourselves the chance to imprint great concepts. 

2. Abandon bad books. Just because we start a book doesn't oblige us to finish it (unless it's assigned). 

3. Share great books. I've given multiple copies of Man's Search for Meaning away. Everyone should read it. 

4. Think about it. Read a chapter of a nonfiction book and process it. What did the author want to share? Is that an enduring idea? 

5. Ask "did the book leave me in a better place?" Did it help me understand the world, the game, people? 

6. What books do coaches read with their teams? Coach Scott Celli has read Jay Bilas's Toughness with multiple VOLLEYBALL groups. UNC legendary soccer coach Anson Dorrance reads The Leadership Moment (Michael Useem) with his teams. 

7. Read widely. Walter Isaacson's biographies on DaVinci and Ben Franklin are exceptional. Study greatness. Werner Herzog recommends J.A. Baker's The Peregrine for its prose. 

8. Fiction has merit, too, as it stimulates us to ask, "What's next? How does the hero escape this predicament?"

9. Read this article (I'd Rather Re-Read These 10 Books) and a few quote excerpts. 

• Work to learn, not for money. People who build wealth focus on building profitable skills first and making money second (from Rich Dad Poor Dad)
• "The Turkey Problem — A turkey gets fed 364 days in a row. Each day it grows more confident in its future prospects until Thanksgiving. This is a metaphor for people in fragile positions who can succeed and thrive for a while until they don’t."  (Nassim Taleb)
• “People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”
• "Don’t do what you know on a gut level to be the wrong thing to do. Don’t stay when you know you should go or go when you know you should stay. Don’t fight when you should hold steady or hold steady when you should fight...I don’t think there’s a single dumbass thing I’ve done in my adult life that I didn’t know was a dumbass thing to do while I was doing it.”" - Cheryl Strayed
• "Invert, invert, invert — Instead of trying to be smart, avoid being dumb. Instead of trying to make amazing decisions, avoid catastrophic ones." - Charlie Munger

Lagniappe (something extra). Elite 'platform skills' will get you and keep you on the court. "Repetitions make reputations" equals consistency. 

Competing Against Yourself

Adapted and shortened from my basketball blog. 

David Hemery sets a World Record in the 1968 Mexico Olympics finals. 

Hemery discusses competitiveness in Sporting Excellence. He shares numerous examples: 

• "From my point of view, the enjoyment was managing to achieve the new record breaking performance; the number was almost irrelevant." - Hemery 
• Runner Steve Cram said, "I'm awful. I time myself driving to training every day." 
• Arnold Palmer said that he was out playing with a club from the age of three. I can recall breaking 50 (for nine holes) for the first time and breaking 40 for the first time." 
• Olympic hurdler Ed Moses "would challenge himself to see how many books he could read over the summer holidays."

How about us? What drives excellence? How many 'push the envelope', challenging ourselves to exceed personal bests in everyday activities. 

• In "Around the World" (10 shots out and 10 in, the goal is always to have zero misses). The same applies for "Around the Key." I've done both dozens of times. 

• Some challenge themselves to risk management. At a golf tournament, Warren Buffett was asked about a $10 entry fee for a chance to win $10,000 for a hole-in-one. He declined. "If I'm not disciplined in the small things, how can I be disciplined with big ones?"
• Bill Russell threw up before every game from nerves.  
• Larry Bird took 500 free throws before school. 
• Kobe Bryant took 1,000 shots a day during the summer "off-season." 
• And Isiah Thomas played for eight hours a day on hardscrabble playgrounds. 

Some might call our habits 'relentless' or 'obsession' or even misguided. Perfection is impossible but we can seek the "asymptote of excellence." 

Lagniappe. "It's about having the courage to fail...winning has a price." 

It distills to this, what are you prepared to do to bring the best version of yourself to home, to the classroom, to the volleyball court?  

Lagniappe. What's in your workout? 

• Are you willing to pay the price to be a "top 10 percenter?" 
• Are you going to drag a teammate into the top 10 percent with you? 
• It's not how much you want excellence. It's how much you are willing to sacrifice for excellence. 

Fun Matters (Cross-Posted)

Many explanations exist for the popularity of Melrose Volleyball - coaching, winning, tradition, community support, and more. 

What's underrated is FUN. Volleyball is fun and Coach Scott Celli understands the primacy of skill and engagement. 

Here's a link to my basketball blog post on Making and Keeping it Fun. 

Here's an excerpt about copying greatness:

Copy greatness. Reproduce elements building excellence from Adam Grant, Ken Burns, Thomas Keller, Sarah Blakely.

Grant wrote, Give and Take. Be an ambitious giver

Burns is the king of documentaries. Unearth discoveries worth sharing. Give people more of what they don't know. 

Keller has multiple Michelin 3-Star restaurants. Critical feedback matters, because we're a team from the dishwasher to the chef.

Blakely advised us to design prototypes of excellence. Her first SPANX idea grew out of cutting the feet out of pantyhose. She turned an idea into a $5 billion dollar enterprise. She never raised capital through stock or bonds, by obsessing the product. 

"But Coach, I Don't Have a Gym Membership"

"Don't tell me you can't; show me you do."

It would be great to have a home gym or a gym membership. None of us had those resources as children. A step ladder with a tennis racquet attached was a defender to shoot over. Stairs were a jump box. A milk carton with water in it was a weighted cone.

Four major factors determine your volleyball destiny:

• Skill (technique)
• Strategy (tactical knowledge)
• Physicality (athletic development)
• Psychology (mental approach, resilience)

Excellence demands "unrequired work." A better body helps with injury prevention, better performance during long matches, higher level execution via vertical jump, court movement, and hitting power. Better athletes also develop more confidence.  

Today's video focuses on PHYSICALITY with four simple exercise you can do at home. Three sets of eight to ten repetitions are reasonable demand on your time and physique. 

Analogical thinking helps drive innovation. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb explained that imagination, persistence, and analogies drove his creativity. 

Challenge yourself to do more, to believe more, and to become more. A few of you will embrace the "champions do extra" mindset and it will show up on the court this fall. 

 

Fast Five - "Win the Morning, Win the Day" - Habits Matter

We make our habits and our habits make us. Better habits build better people, better students, better athletes.

1. "Pick, stick, check." Identify a habit you want to adopt. "Condition every day." Imagine you have a treadmill or an exercise bike. The hard part ISN'T using it every day. The hard part is GETTING ON IT every day. Once you've started, the time flies by. I like to read (Kindle app on phone) while walking. 

• Pick your habit
• Stick. Keep doing it. "Don't miss twice."
• Check. Track it somewhere. "Winners are trackers." 

2. Win the morning, win the day. Have a few productive morning actions...eating breakfast doesn't count. Walking to school could count instead of driving or riding with a friend. Here are a few of mine:

• Final edit and publish the blog.
• Listen to a MasterClass lesson. 
• Read widely. 

3. "Do one thing every day for your business and one for your craft." - David Mamet

What is important to you? If volleyball matters do something for your skill, your game understanding, your physicality (e.g. strength and conditioning) or your psychology (resilience) every day. Figure it out. 

4. "Do five more." - Dan Pink

Invest five more:

• study five more minutes 
• read five more pages 
• write five more paragraphs 
• do five more sprints or five more reps 
• watch film five more minutes

5. Mental repetitions count, too. 

• Visualize yourself taking the perfect swing or dig
• Replay your mental highlight reel 
• Studies have show mental reps improve physical performance
• Out-think the other team, outplay the other team. 

Finish by reading this article. 

Lagniappe (something extra). 

Opportunity Knocks But Success Kicks the Door Down

Recognize opportunity and celebrate excellence. Burt Bacharach passed last week at 94, composer of this song from the iconic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Most of your parents never saw it. Few of you have even heard of it. 

It has special meaning to me as Coach Sonny Lane often asked, "who are those guys" after 'nobodies' kept winning.

 

The relentless posse kept tracking the intrepid outlaws Butch and Sundance, a seemingly impossible task. 

Great seasons, like great films, string together memorable moments, unforgettable moments. Don't be in the position of asking, "how good are you?" Know that you're good. 

• "Champions do extra." - James Kerr, "Legacy"
• Do the unrequired work.
• "Repetitions make reputations." 
• Don't tire of doing the little things - attention to footwork, arm swing, and timing
• Commit to make a difference. 

Six seniors graduated including both primary outside hitters, Gia and Anna. Chase excellence. Don't knock, kick.

Lagniappe (something extra). "Many are called, but few are chosen." A few of you will choose to win the spots and do what's necessary. I look forward to seeing the results.

Remember what Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." 

Luck

"The harder I worked, the luckier I got." 

Examine how attitudes, behaviors, and choices influenced the destiny of Melrose volleyball. 

1a. A pair of twins planned to tryout for Melrose swimming. Amanda Labella and Marianne Foley suggested they consider volleyball. In the intervening four seasons, Melrose had four playoff runs, three sectional championships, and a state final appearance. 

1b. Victoria Crovo was an outstanding youth volleyball goalie. Her switch to volleyball was a vital part of Melrose success as she became a fixture of excellence and All-State player. 

2. Summer volleyball camps introduced and refined the skills of dozens of players destined to play and win titles. Community support for the volleyball program has been a integral part of team success. There's an element of luck in sport choice. 

3. Offseason play became the rule not the exception for volleyball athletes. Experience and training improved consistency and the ability for players to make both 'formulaic' and instinctive plays. Luck helps but skill dominates. 

4. Luck cuts both ways. Powerful outside hitter Laura Irwin was struck down twice in the postseason with ankle injuries. In a tough piece of luck, Caroline Higonenq sustained an injury and is likely to miss most of the coming season. Get well soon. 

Ed Smith's book, "Luck: A Fresh Look at Fortune" informs a detailed view of luck. Here are a few quotes from the book:

"Luck is not a force but an opportunity."

"Luck is not a thing but a pattern."

"Luck is not a possession but a relationship."

"Luck is not a number but a story."

"Luck is not a gift but a challenge."

"Luck is not a destination but a journey.

I think it's important not to spread the thumb too wide. If you do, then the wrist tightens and you can't snap your wrist through as easily. Feel how your wrist feels with the thumb in different positions. 

Tips from AI

Get higher performance using a blend of artificial intelligence and the creativity of the human experience. 

The topic: Building skills with individual practice

There are several one-person drills that can help improve your volleyball skills. Some examples include:

1. Ball Control Drills: These drills involve using one hand to control the ball and practicing different techniques such as setting, passing, and hitting.

2. Footwork Drills: These drills focus on improving your footwork and movement around the court. Examples include ladder drills, agility cones, and jumping rope.

3. Serve and Serve Receive Drills: These drills focus on improving your serving and receiving skills. You can practice serving against a wall or using a serving machine, or practicing receive by passing a ball off a wall or using a rebound net.

4. Jump Training: Jumping is a key skill in volleyball, by doing exercises such as jump rope, plyometrics or box jumps can help improve your vertical jump.

5. Watching footage of yourself playing: Recording yourself playing and watching footage of your gameplay can help you identify areas that need improvement, and you can focus on those areas during your training.

It's important to remember that consistency and repetition are key to improving your skills. It's also important to practice drills at game speed to improve your reaction time.

Don't buy a ladder, make one with chalk or duct tape.

Connect with Your History

Area coach Nicole Boudreau called Melrose a "legacy program." Legacy programs have history and tradition on their side.

Barnstable is the ultimate Massachusetts legacy program with 25 South sectional titles and 18 Massachusetts State Titles. 

Melrose has achieved 10 sectional titles and one State Title in 2012. 

If you've never seen the title game, it's worth a watch as the 2012 club was loaded:

- A pair of All-State players in Brooke Bell and Sarah McGowan

- An exceptional player in Jen Cain who played college volleyball 

- Elite blocking pair, "the Great Wall" of Rachel Johnson and Kayla Wyland

- A pair of future All-State players in Jill MacInnes and Allie Nolan 

- Solid rotation players in Amanda Commito, Analisa DeBari, and Sydney Doherty. DeBari was one of the greatest athletes in Melrose history winning state titles in volleyball, gymnastics and track individual events

- Designated server Cassidy Barbaro

The team had no weaknesses and elite experience of having played in the state championship game the previous year and a four-year run of North Sectional titles. They had good coaching, too...

Cross Post: FIVE Issues That Kill Teams

Disclosure: The opinions expressed within are solely my own and do not represent the City of Melrose, Melrose Schools, or the Melrose Athletic Department. 

Guitarist Tom Morello shares five issues that kill bands. They're worth avoiding.

A better mnemonic is:

MEMOS

M - money (recognition)

E - ego 

M - mental health

O - others 

S - substance abuse 

Comments:

- Humility doesn't mean thinking less of ourself, but thinking less about ourself.

- Others  The voice to listen to is our coach. 

- "Money" (recognition). One way to ingratiate yourself to your teammates is to deflect and share credit for team success. 

Lagniappe (something extra). Do volleyball drills at home. Ball skills (click) are perishable. If you neglect them, they go bad, like food. 

"Best Version of the Truth"

"Everyone has their own version of the truth." - Bob Woodward

Life, school, and the world throw a firehose of information at us. Our job is to learn how to filter, assess, and make sense of it. The same goes for coaching.

As we progress, we become our own coaches, learning how to organize, invest time, to think and to communicate clearly. 

Woodward wrote a book, "The Brethren," about the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court clerk told him that the book misquoted him. Woodward invited him to his home, went to his files, and produced a document with the quote in the clerk's handwriting, signed. The clerk said, "I would have sworn on my family's lives that I never said that." Woodward goes to great lengths to unearth and publish 'the best version of the truth'. 

Key elements of Melrose volleyball truth include:

- Continuity matters. The father of continuity is Coach Celli. 

- One voice. Everyone is on the same page. The ball doesn't hit the floor.

- "This is not a union job." Experience helps, but the players who play the best together, to impact winning, play. If a freshman is the best player on the team (it has happened), she plays. 

- Set the bar high. The goal is never just to show up. Setting low expectations generally achieves low expectations. 

- "We make our habits and our habits make us." Because it's your intention to compete for league, sectional, and state championships, develop championship habits. Skill, strategy, physical development, and psychological strength (resilience) are your tools. 

Nobody regrets giving her best. 

Great Conversations: What Belongs?

Coaches educate. Education changes behavior. Learn how to think and to communicate clearly. 

Former Communications Director George Stephanopoulos shares four required elements for communication in his MasterClass. Great lessons are often painfully brief. 

CLARITY. Share information clearly. 

CONCISION. Use short, direct sentences. "This is how we play." 

CURIOSITY. Let's unearth more on this topic. 

CANDOR. Accountability demands candor, honesty about 'what is going on'. 

"Brevity is the soul of wit." 

Lagniappe. Simplify. How do you succeed? 

Our actions cast votes for the person we want to be. 

Lagniappe. Today, it's Physicality. Get quicker. 

Focus on Your Arm Swing

Commit to be great. The opportunity is there.

1) Study great players

2) Learn the fundamentals

3) Practice those fundamentals

4) Get a partner to take cellphone video for study

5) Study the video and revise your technique. Ultimate success requires you to become your own coach. 

I think this is a wonderful video to review and to study the actions in slow motion.  

Remember that great hitting synthesizes numerous contributions:

• Approach (run up)
• Timed jump with coordinated arm movements
• Arm swing including activating core, shoulder motion, and wrist snap. 

The coach's keys of initial position, high elbow, and swing make perfect sense. 

What does AI say? 

Sunday Double Bonus: On Selection

Cross-post on selection processes 

• Process
• Philosophy
• 'Virtu' versus virtue
• Why youth coaches should sit.
• Why "atomic habits" matter. 

Study Greatness, from Socrates to the Relentlessness of Kobe Bryant

"I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” - Socrates

Coaches change lives. Want to change them only for the better. Look to the past to find future answers. 

Use the wisdom of Socrates' 'three filters' when passing along information. 

1) Is it true? Social media allows news to spread like wildfire. That applies equally to truth and lies. Our nature is to believe what we hear. President Reagan is known for his quote, "trust but verify." 

2) Is it kind? We've all responded disregarding the impact on others. Nobody wants to be considered mean-spirited, thoughtless, or cruel. Develop the skill to widen the space between listening and responding. Some people use the "24 hour rule" to avoid 'reflex', poorly thought out answers. 

3) Is it useful? That's a loaded question. Private information can harm people or groups in ways we don't know. 

Sometimes people must reveal true, unkind, and critical information. For example, during the Unabomber crime spree, family recognized 'unique' phrases in the Unabomber's manifesto. To stop additional deaths, Ted Kaczynski's brother David went to the authorities, leading to an arrest.  

Video is also known as the 'truth machine'. What people recall doesn't always mesh with what happened. The discomfort we feel when seeing ourselves make poor decisions or bad execution can depend on the spirit the corrections are offered. "Let's clean this up" carries a different tone than, "you're useless." 

Remember Socrates to communicate true, helpful, and kind messages. Resist the temptation to overshare. 

Lagniappe. Study greatness. 

 

Volleyball Footwork

Coach Pete Newell is perhaps basketball's leading 'Father of Footwork'. Newell recognized that "you play 100% of plays on your feet," emphasizing footwork, balance, and maneuvering speed. 

In volleyball, it's critical to get 'to your spot' using a variety of footwork for serving, setting, digging, spiking, and blocking. Practice better footwork without having a full gymnasium. 

1. Attacking (run up) footwork.

2. Blocking foot work (one or two step with crossover).

3. Digging footwork 

4. Serving footwork 

5. Serve receive footwork  

The AI take:

Volleyball footwork refers to the movement and positioning of a player's feet during gameplay. Proper footwork is crucial for success in volleyball as it allows players to move quickly and efficiently, maintain balance, and get in the right position to make effective shots. Some key aspects of volleyball footwork include:

1. Quick feet: Players must be able to quickly move their feet to get into position for shots and dig balls.

2. Balance: Maintaining balance is crucial in volleyball, as players must be able to make quick movements in any direction.

3. Foot placement: Players must be mindful of where they place their feet in order to maintain balance and stability.

4. Shuffle step: The shuffle step is a basic footwork technique used for moving sideways along the court.

5. Cross-step: The cross-step is a more advanced footwork technique used for moving diagonally across the court.

6. Pivoting: Pivoting is the act of turning your body while keeping one foot stationary on the court.

By focusing on these elements of footwork, players can improve their overall performance and become more effective on the court.

Four Questions

Call it review, self-assessment, or as in the military "After Action Review." Do this after both games and practice. Teams can play well or poorly, win or lose. We can play well and lose or poorly and win. Some say, "love our losses" or better yet, "learn from losses." 

In the introduction to Michael Useem's The Leadership Moment, he shares four questions to ask:

1. What went well? (Do more of that.) Be specific. 

2. What went badly? (Do less.) Look objectively at areas of need. "We had twelve service errors." 

3. What can we do differently next time? Attention to detail separates execution from failure. 

4. What is the overarching lesson? "We demonstrated resilience and toughness because of superior conditioning in a long match."

What made a practice, game, lecture, or season memorable or disaster? What separates ordinary from extraordinary? 

Study excellence. Evolve as an individual and as a team. Is an opponent doing something to copy? 

Winning Strategies

Return to our framework for development:

• Technique (skill)
• Tactics (strategy)
• Physicality (athleticism)
• Psychology (resilience)  

Focus on strategy today. How can individuals and teams leverage effective strategy?

- Win more points 

- Lose fewer points 

- Emphasize player development (skill)

- Prioritize team communication 

- Enhance conditioning (shows in long matches)

- Improve focus and resilience (mindfulness)

- Scouting of opponent strengths and weaknesses

- Do more of what works and less of what doesn't (play to strengths)

Examine what AI says: key strategies for winning volleyball

Serve aggressively: A strong serve can put pressure on the opposing team and give your team an advantage.

Communicate effectively: Clear communication on the court can help players anticipate where the ball is going and make quick, accurate decisions.

Develop a strong defense: A good defensive strategy can help your team dig up difficult balls and keep the rally going. (Keep the ball up.)

Focus on ball control: Consistently making clean passes, sets, and hits can help your team maintain possession of the ball and limit mistakes.

Use a variety of shots: Having a diverse range of shots in your arsenal can keep the opposing team guessing and make it more difficult for them to defend. (Top players like Hannah Brickley had a myriad of solutions.)

Be Adaptable: Be ready to adjust your strategy in response to the opposition, the weather, or any other factors that may affect the game.

Be Mentally Strong: Volleyball is a game of momentum, so it's important to keep a positive attitude and stay focused even when things aren't going well.

Lagniappe. What's in your mental "highlight" reel? Have a highlight reel to visual of several minutes of 5-6 memorable plays. Visualization (mental practice) is similar in effectiveness to physical practice. 

Lagniappe 2. Hitting drills.