In the military, they call some performance evaluations, "After Action Reviews." In medicine, we had "Morbidity and Mortality" conferences or postmortem examinations. As a student, I invested a month on the Autopsy Service at Boston City Hospital. Viewing the extent of internal cancers, organ damage (e.g. cirrhosis), or multiple ruptured aortic aneurysms informs a perspective more 'real' than a textbook.
Coach Scott Celli conducts exit interviews as another means to "take the pulse" of players and program. MVB has been fortunate to have scores of impressive young women come through the program.
Informal "drop in" sessions can help, too. Sometimes they clarify where a player stands and what her needs are in the context of the team's.
In the introduction to "The Leadership Moment," Michael Useem offered four questions:
1) What went well? (about an event, season, class)
2) What went poorly?
3) What can we do differently next time?
4) What are the enduring lessons?
Consider these or develop your own as you apply lessons from sport to your lives.
"One of the things Tom (Kite), or any successful pro, does is to accept his bad shots, shrug them off, and concentrate completely on the next one. He has accepted the fact that, as he puts it, "Golf is not a game of perfect." - Dr. Bob Rotella, in Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect
What separates the elite baseball hitter from the average one? One hit a week. That's the difference between hitting .250 (e.g. 125 hits in 500 at bats) and .300 (150 hits in 500 at bats). Exceptional attackers and defenders give away fewer mistakes than ordinary ones.
Focus completely and relentlessly on each action. Whether it's a serve, closing the block, an attack, back set, or serve-receive, be fully engaged.
Many players and some coaches dismiss the mental part of the game. The "head game" crosses over to your home life, relationships, academics, job performance...everything.
Being a fierce competitor doesn't mean being unapproachable or a bad person. Brad Stevens said:
“In 11 years, [I’ve] never had a player in the program that worked his tail off on the defensive end that wasn’t a great teammate/student.”
The mindset of "superior focus" translates to higher performance across life. It's the "how you do anything is how you do everything." When you've had some success, you want more. And you want it for your family, your "teams" and your "affiliates."
Coach John Wooden said, "Little things make big things happen."
The elite competitor devotes more concentration to her work.
"A golfer must train his swing and then trust it." - Dr. Bob Rotella in Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect
Dr. Bob Rotella is a foremost authority on sport psychology, especially golf. He might say that he helps athletes "get out of their own way."
Serving is totally under the server's control. The same applies for pitching, striking a golf ball, or shooting a free throw.
Dr. Rotella doesn't say that 'mechanics' don't matter. Of course they do. Proficient athletes who "think about their mechanics" during competition get distracted from delivering the ball to their targets. The time for working on mechanics is during practice.
Serving demands a repeatable toss, footwork, and armswing. The high percentage servers in MVB history all had 'repeatable' deliveries. I've shown numerous examples of Alyssa DiRaffaela and Cassidy Barbaro. Brooke Bell and Paula Sen also had "high percentage" serving but not as impactful. This season, with a minimum of 200 serves, Dani DiGiorgio, Anna Burns, and Sadie Smith all had serving percentages of at least 94 percent.
"Life is about the management of risk." Serving carries reward and risk. Aces accompany "S's" - seams, spin and spinless, sidelines, and short - and deep serves. Sidelines, short, and deep serves all have smaller margins of error. Attacking weaker defenders helps but the best teams don't have weak defenders.
Let's examine the serving a few teams. Rely on their reporting. Newton North, one of the D1 Final Four had an "ace percentage" meaning direct scoring is over 20 percent. This came at a cost of 15 percent service errors.
Winchester, the strongest ML12 club, had an Ace % of 18.6 percent and a serving error percentage of just over 15 percent.
A wild guess is that Melrose had about 10 percent aces to go along with 8.5 percent serving error percentage. Do teams with higher "Ace percentage" also have higher percentage of service points scored. The answer is, "it depends."
Here's input from AI about aggressive serving (including my prompt):
Prompt: In volleyball teams score "positive points" with service aces, attacks, and block kills. There is a "risk reward" to higher ace percentage. But do more aces also correspond to a higher percentage of service points relative to serves attempted. In other words, does more aggressive serving also lead to fewer opponent attacks and more 'free balls' and "out of system" attacks?
ChatGPT said
Short answer: yes, up to a point. Teams that serve more aggressively and produce more aces tend to win a higher percentage of points on their serve (more “service points per serve”). But the mechanism is less “more aces” and more “more bad passes / out-of-system swings.” And if the aggressiveness pushes error rate too high, the benefit disappears.
Let’s unpack it in volleyball language.
1. What actually wins “service points”?
When you serve, three broad outcomes matter:
Direct win:
Ace
Overpass → immediate attack/kill
Shank/pass off the court
Indirect win:
Poor pass → opponent is out-of-system (no quicks, predictable outside swing)
You block or dig that predictable swing and transition for a point
Direct loss:
Service error
When we talk about “aggressive serving,” coaches really care about overall point scoring efficiency on serve, often modeled as:
Service-Point % = (Points Won While Serving) / (Total Serves Attempted)
Aces are just the most visible piece of that.
2. How aces and aggressive serving link to service-point %
From high-level stats (NCAA, FIVB, pro leagues) and analytics work:
Teams with higher ace rates almost always also force more poor passes.
Servers who can hit seams, deep corners, and float tough zones produce more aces and more “2” or “1” passes on a 0–3 scale (where 3 is perfect).
That means more out-of-system attacks for the opponent →
Fewer quicks/middles
More high, slow balls to the pins
More transition chances for your team
So in practice, a higher ace rate is usually a tracer for overall serve quality, not just “hero balls.” Strong serving leads to more broken plays and higher service-point %.
Coaches who track detailed stats will often see:
Good serving rotations: high ace % + high “opponent 2-pass/1-pass %” + decent error control = strong service-point %.
Reckless serving rotations: high error % + only slightly better ace % lead to neutral or negative impact on service-point %.
3. Risk–reward: where it breaks
The key is the trade-off between aces and errors.
For example, suppose per 100 serves:
Conservative server
Aces: 3
Errors: 5
Opponent perfect/“3” pass: 50
Service-point %: around, say, 38–40%
Aggressive server
Aces: 7
Errors: 12
Opponent perfect/“3” pass: 35
Service-point %: maybe 42–45% (because of aces + more bad passes)…
But if errors climb to, say, 18–20 per 100, that advantage vanishes.
In other words:
A more aggressive server usually wins more points per serve until the error rate crosses some threshold where you’re giving away too many free points.
That “threshold” depends on level (HS vs college vs pro), sideout skill of the opponent, and your own block/defense quality.
4. Does aggressive serving lead to more free balls?
Yes, often:
Tough float/zone seams create poor platform and high free ball back.
Deep seam to a weak passer may cause panic swing or roll shot and easy dig and free-ball-like transition.
These don’t show up as aces in the box score, but from a coach’s eye, they feel like “hidden aces”:
No full approach for the hitter
No middle committed
Easy read for your blockers/defenders
High-quality transition chance for you
So functionally, aggressive serving produces:
More aces
More bad first contacts
More free-ball or roll-shot situations All of which raise your service-point %.
5. A simple framework
Serve outcome spectrum
Error - Perfect pass - Good pass - Bad pass - Overpass - Ace
**Goal isn’t “aces” - it’s pushing the opponent as far right on that spectrum as possible without falling off the left edge into error-land.
Aggressive serving is good if:
Aces + overpasses + bad passes outweigh the extra errors.
Your service-point % rises (more points per rotation).
Aggressive serving is bad if:
Ace rate looks cool on paper, but you’re missing 2–3 per set in key rotations.
Your service-point % stagnates or drops because you’re giving away too many points.
6. How you might phrase it to players
Something like:
“We’re not chasing aces, we’re chasing pressure. Aces are just the tip of the iceberg. The real win is forcing bad passes, predictable swings, and free balls. Aggressive serving is great - as long as our errors don’t erase the pressure we’re creating.”
You can even give them a target:
“If you can keep your miss rate under ~10–12% while making their passers uncomfortable, that’s winning volleyball for us.”
(Adjust the exact number for your level, but that’s a nice, simple benchmark.)
Bottom line
Yes, more aggressive serving and more aces generally correlate with more service points per serve because of the chain: tough serve to bad pass to fewer clean attacks to more free balls and transition chances for your team.
The key is to ensure that error rate doesn’t climb so high that it cancels all that out.
Lagniappe. From the Edelman-Gronk podcast with Matt Light and Will Campbell - "What does football mean to you?"
Light: "Discipline"
Campbell: "Teaching real-world skills"...prepares you for life.
Dr. Bob Rotella shares tips for excellence in his classic, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect. One is the value of having an uncluttered mind.
He points out that nearly 70 percent of shots come from 120 yards in. He explains that too many players worry about power and virility and too few about "delicate" shots. The words he emphasized were touch and feel.
Dr. Rotella tells his clients that if they want to excel, be great at managing the course, at the wedge, and with the putter.
What does any of this have to do with volleyball? MVB has had a lot of "bangers" who deliver the smash and delight the crowd. They haven't always won the most.
Players with touch and feel at the net have been a part of the:
First Dynasty - sectional titles three-peat of 2003-2005
Second Dynasty - four-peat 2009-2012
Third Dynasty - repeat 2021-2022
The 2009-2012 run migrated from Hannah Brickley to Sarah McGowan, both with exceptional craft at the net.
The 2003-2005 craft constant was Paula Sen, not a big hitter like her twin Karen.
The 2021-2022 edition relied on power (Elena Soukos, Gia Vlajkovic) and a blend of power and precision (Sadie Jaggers).
The following illustrate Sarah McGowan in 2011 as a junior.
Examples 1: precision over power
Example 2: creativity
Example 3: craft in location
Both power and precision matter. Power often relates to size and strength whereas precision requires less of either but placement mastery.
When attacking, you're not trying to keep the ball in play. You're scoring...putting the ball down.
Bill Bradley has enjoyed a spectacular life, shared in his books. His best and most well-known was Life on the Run. Bradley was one of my earliest sports heroes and McPhee's book (below) was the first basketball book I read.
First, an introduction:
Son of a banker, he grew up well-off, atypical for a basketball star.
Princeton grad, All-American, Final Four star, scored 58 points in a consolation game in 1965, still the record.
Profiled in John McPhee's book, A Sense of Where You Are
Rhodes Scholar
NBA star, won two championships with the NY Knicks
U.S. Senator from New Jersey
Overarching message:
“Life on the Run” taught that greatness is not glamour but discipline - not ego but teamwork - not fame but awareness. Real victory builds a life of depth, integrity, and connection.
Top quotes:
“You cannot be average and expect to win in this league.”
“You owe the game your best because the game owes you nothing.”
“The greatest measure of any player is how he makes his teammates feel.”
You discover who you are by what you do when no one is watching.”
“Leaders set standards by the consistency of their example.”
Additional key points (from ChatGPT Plus) that apply to all of us:
Humility Is the Foundation of Growth
Unlike many athlete memoirs, Bradley constantly questions himself:
Am I good enough?
Am I working hard enough?
Am I contributing to the team?
Am I understanding what matters?
His humility is the most enduring feature of the book.
Greatness Comes From Obsession, Repetition, and Attention to Detail
Bradley was never the most athletic player, but he built an NBA career through:
meticulous practice
almost fanatical footwork drills
hours of shooting alone
studying angles, passing lanes, spacing
He reinforces a powerful message:
Talent is nice. Craft is everything.
Team Success Requires Sacrifice and Unselfishness
The New York Knicks of the early 1970s were known for beautiful, selfless basketball.
Bradley explains why that mattered:
The ball moved.
The players trusted each other.
Everyone accepted roles.
Ego never overwhelmed the system.
He elevates the idea that basketball is a civic act — a collective effort to make something better than any individual could alone.
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine, for educational purposes. This blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.
"Pressure is playing a $5 dollar Nassau with $2 in your pocket." - Golfer Lee Trevino
I am neither a golfer nor a gambler. First, an explanation of a "Nassau" via a ChatGPT Plus consult:
Basic Structure
A Nassau is actually three matches in one:
Front nine – one match
Back nine – one match
Overall 18 holes – one match
Each segment is worth a separate bet or point total.
For example, a "$5 Nassau" means:
$5 for the front nine
$5 for the back nine
$5 for the total 18-hole score
So the total wager is $15 (three $5 bets)
“Needing a win” usually applies to a person or team that’s been struggling. The adage says, “They needed a win.”
In sports, it might mean breaking a losing streak or a return to winning ways after a tough five-set defeat. In life, it could mean something deeper - a faith-restoring moment, a job after a long search, or a simple reminder that effort still matters.
Sometimes “needing a win” is less about the scoreboard than the soul.
Tangible Melrose Volleyball Examples
Season opener: After an up-and-down preseason, MVB 25 needed and got a win in a hard-fought opener at Belmont - proof that the work, not the doubt, defined the team.
Injury comeback: After a tough injury, Leila’s return from the boot wasn’t just physical progress - it was a personal victory, a moment when “needing a win” became “getting one.”
Early adversity: MVB endured its first three-game losing streak in many years during a brutal early stretch. After a few uneven matches, the win at Masco turned the page - momentum and belief restored.
Quiet recognition: Not every player earns headlines or stat lines. A kind word after a game, a mention in the media, or simple acknowledgment can transform “needing a win” into “getting one.”
Appreciation and value: Every team has players whose consistency fuels the group - the ones who bring energy, effort, and encouragement daily, even when they're not playing a lot. Sometimes a smile, a high-five, or a sincere “thank you” gives them the win they’ve earned.
Closing Reflection
“Needing a win” happens to every athlete, coach, and person. The best teams don’t just chase victories; they create them — in attitude, in gratitude, in the way they lift each other.
A scoreboard can’t capture every win. Some are measured in belief, recovery, and respect.
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. This blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose institution.
"Differentiating yourself as an athlete involves a mindset shift and consistent behavior that goes beyond simply exercising. While some define an athlete by competitive participation, others emphasize the internal identity and lifestyle commitment."
Former Patriot Julian Edelman asks Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla how is playing in Boston 'different'?
As an athlete, ask yourself, why am I training, working hard, sacrificing?
"I enjoy the competition."
"I want to be part of a team."
"I play for my teammates."
"I want to see how good I can be..."
Think about differentiating yourself as individuals and as a team.
Lagniappe. PBS is currently showing the Ken Burns documentary, "The American Revolution." Boston was an epicenter of a growing movement where British colonists began to feel differently about their relationship with England. Understanding the past helps us understand the present.
Mike Vrabel said, "My goal was to build a program that you guys and the coaches and the staff wanted to be a part of, that they wanted to protect, and that you were proud of."
Coach Vrabel's training camp message should resonate with everyone who has coached and played sports.
It's a message about respect, caring for each other and for everyone affiliated with the program - the kitchen staff, the custodians, the equipment personnel.
Be professional in the small things and that carries over to the big things.
Over the last 15-18 years on working with players and teams on development, my philosophy on what to prioritize hasn’t changed. Fill in the gaps of what players need, that will result in the best chance of success in games.
First, maturity will raise your physical makeup but will not maximize it without training.
Second, young players "do not know what they don't know." As LA Rams coach Sean McVay says, "Everyone benefits from coaching."
Third, beware ego, distractions, and complacency. If anyone thinks this season was "good enough," be sure that Coach Scott Celli does not. It's something to build upon.
Fourth, become more versatile. Be able to play more positions at a high level. Add to your craft. Learn to score off tips, cut shots, off the block, or whatever the demands of your position are.
Lagniappe. Enemies of greatness. Do you want to be great?
You don't need a gym for this, but you need to be warmed up and have a safe surface and shoes.
Volleyball rewards athletic explosion. Get to balls, close the block, and have the lift needed to block and attack.
Compile a list of activities and exercises that you will do this offseason, ideally with a teammate.
Been experimenting with a new drill; simple but sneaky hard.
It’s not about jumping then sliding in games — it’s about training the mechanics behind force redirection and reactive balance. It builds stability, hip control, and direction-change speed. pic.twitter.com/AKwGqPs4wi
Coaches help take players where they cannot go by themselves. Growth is the journey from good to great, and that pathway applies as much to volleyball as it does to business, school, or life.
Classics stay relevant because of enduring messages. In Jim Collins’ Good to Great, he outlines several themes that define exceptional organizations. They fit well into high-performance volleyball:
Level 5 Leadership: team-first captains who elevate the whole group
First Who, Then What: rotations and roles built around character, trust, and fit
Confront the Brutal Facts: honest review, honest feedback
Hedgehog Concept: clear identity: Who are we? What do we do best?
Culture of Discipline: standards, habits, and accountability every day
These ideas show up in practice gyms, locker rooms, and huddles.
Leadership
The best teams don’t wait for leadership - they own it. Captains set tone and tempo, but great teams have multiple leaders who:
raise standards
reinforce culture
connect teammates to ensure that everyone is on the same page
Character
Reputation is what people think you are. Character is who you actually are.
At MVB, you represent your family, your school, your teammates, and the players who came before you. Coaches see players with integrity, humility, and consistency - the ones who make the team better even when nobody is watching.
Character shows up everywhere: in your effort, in your communication, in your response to adversity.
The Brutal Reality
Coach Ellis Lane had a classic line for his players:
“You know what I like about you?" We answered, "Nothing.”
And then, “I’m pleased, but I’m not satisfied.”
It wasn’t cruelty - it was clarity.
Other teams keep improving. MVB has to as well. Great teams ask: Where do we need to improve?
Skill
Strategy
Athleticism
Resilience
Honest self-evaluation precedes real progress. Chase perfection and you might land on excellence.
Hedgehogs
Collins’ “Hedgehog Concept” asks three questions:
What can we be great at?
What are we passionate about?
What drives our success?
In volleyball terms:
Who are we? What is our identity?
Are we great in serve-and-pass?
Are we resilient defensively?
Are we disciplined attackers?
Are we the loudest, most connected team in the gym?
Identity drives performance. And identity is a choice.
Discipline
Discipline defines destiny. “We make our habits, and our habits make us.” Exceptional teams aren’t great by accident. They excel because they:
are on time
practice hard
communicate clearly
take care of academics
make good decisions outside the gym
The discipline you bring to home, school, and volleyball determines your ceiling.
Closing Thought
Good teams compete. Great teams commit. The difference is leadership, character, honesty, identity, and discipline - the timeless ingredients that move a program from good to great.
Which is easier, doing one thing well or doing five? Students learn the alphabet before studying Shakespeare. There's a progression.
Coach Don Meyer said that coaching had three phases - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity.
Years ago, Masslive.com had message boards including high school sports. A poster said that Melrose's style was simple but done well.
Do simple well.
1) Serve-receive the first pass high and to the middle of the court. That gives the setter options, avoids "overpasses" and "trapping her at the net."
2) Good > Great. Sadie Jaggers said that a tip from Gia Vlajkovic helped a lot, "Make good passes instead of great ones."
3) Do well what you do a lot. Three Melrose servers had over 300 serve attempts - Dani DiGiorgio, Anna Burns, and Alisa Dautovic.
4) Grow your game. For example, Sadie Smith improved her "right side" setting a lot this season. Anna Burns did a solid job on "out of system" passes to create attacks. What one skill you can add?
5) What is your MVB skill? What gets you and keeps you on the court? Consult your coaches if you're not sure. Earning Coach Scott Celli's trust will earn more playing time.
6) Study the game. "The WHY is everything." Study MVB video. Study volleyball teaching videos (e.g. Karch Kiraly, Volley Country, Elevate Yourself, AVCA).
7) Connect. Some of you have played together and gone to school together for years. Strengthen those ties. Share.
8) Keep a notebook. Write down what you learn. The act of handwriting improves retention. If you learn three new volleyball concepts a day, that's over a thousand a year.
9) Work out together. Shared experience builds skill, competitiveness, and connection. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had the 10-80-10 concept, that players sort into the top 10%, middle 80%, and bottom 10%. He insisted that top 10%ers bring someone to training to "drag them" up into the top 10%.
10) Want to be great. What makes exceptional coaches? Exceptional players. Do not fear greatness.
One of my favorite basketball teammates played on the freshman "B" team. He asked Coach how he could improve. Coach said, "Play a lot." John became an ML All-Star, outplayed a future Celtics draft choice in Boston Garden, played at Tufts, and had a wonderful career in the petroleum industry.
11) Never tire of the little things. Footwork, armswing, platform. You can't be "too good" at fundamental skills.
12) Believe. Ted Lasso's "fourth thing" was BELIEVE. Belief helps you make a play "in the moment." The 2005 team lost the third set in the State semis and won the fourth something like 25-8. The 2012 State Champions won the fourth and final set 25-10. Excellence has no doubt and leaves none.
Lagniappe. What book are you reading now? I read one fiction and one nonfiction - now it's "Savage Son" and "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect," a sports psychology book.
All opinions expressed are my own. This blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose institution.
During the Celtics' 2024 championship season, Coach Joe Mazzulla showed the team images of sand castles, beautiful and ephemeral - washed away by the tide.
Some learning will be "shorter term" for players, skills and strategies, while others (habits, teamwork, critical thinking) can endure when applied consistently.
Mazzulla said, "at the end of the day I think you have small moments in your organization to set the temperature of what you want to be about." Your coaches and your team define your culture.
Many influences shape the identity and character of a team. Cricketer Ed Smith, author of "Luck" and "Making Decisions" notes that there is always the inside view and the outside view. Here's an AI take:
In Smith’s terms:
The inside view is what it feels like to be inside the dressing room.
It’s built on intimate knowledge: training loads, personalities, effort, culture, intent.
It’s powerful for motivation and belonging, but risky for forecasting and decision-making.
Because when we’re inside the story, we overvalue our specialness:
“We worked harder… our spirit is different… this season will be different.”
The outside view is more analytical and detached:
The outside view is objective, comparative, and statistical. It asks: What usually happens in situations like this? It relies on base rates, historical data, and external benchmarks.
Smith believes that both contribute to better decisions. "You need the intimacy of the dressing room and the detachment of the balcony.”
The MVB 2025 "wrap" consists of how you felt and how you did. The coaches and players drive that narrative, "your story." Take ownership of your story and disallow distortions.
