Coaches Celli and Walsh and the team were hard at work on coverages today, as well as working on situational volleyball.
A new season beckons, from A to Z. Speaking of A to Z, Melrose has one senior, Athena Ziavras.
And yes, there's another change in the schedule, as Monday's game will be a home contest instead of a road tilt. Coach Celli had to drop participation in the Holyoke volleyball tournament as some of the players had other academic commitments.
So, tomorrow at four o'clock, the ball goes up on the 2010 season. And here are ten of the top reasons to watch this years team.
10 Youth will be served. More than half the roster is composed of sophomores and freshmen.
9 The team has new uniforms, revealed tomorrow. What will they look like?
8 This team looks to be the most 'athletic' Melrose volleyball team, top to bottom, ever.
7 The season has an attractive non-league schedule, including Northern power Central Catholic and Southern elite, Canton...
6 Find out who replaces the 550 kills from Hannah Brickley, Laura Irwin, and Siena Mamayek.
5 Combination special. Watch the young team develop with depth at all positions.
4 Block off the old 'chip'. The Lady Raiders have some veterans at the net (Jill Slabacheski, Alyssa DiRaffaele) but they've got some "new kids on the block", especially Rachel Johnson, Sarah McGowan, and Jen Cain who have 'ups'. Expect the "Roof" cheer...often.
3 "Do the math." Melrose has superior coaching.
And, they never age.
2 Full tilt, full time. These athletes play hard every play, every day, to the whistle.
1 Taking care of business. Excellent process will result in outstanding performance.
This is the latest/updated Melrose volleyball schedule. More than anything else, it reminds us of how brief the regular season is, over in less than two months.
Always click the photographs to get the FULL picture.
History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. 2003 brought Melrose to volleyball prominence in Massachusetts with a 22-2 season culminating in a 3-0 Division 2 North Championship over an undefeated Arlington Catholic team that had not lost a game that season. The team graduated its senior core, All-Scholastic Marianne Foley, terrific middle hitter Erin Hudd, a great setter in Amanda Labella, and another athletic hitter Denise Applegate.
Expectations came in uncertain for 2004, with a young team led by back row defenders Kerry Dillon and Betty Krechmer. But the young team stepped up, and over the next two seasons won a pair of championships, went 64-5 and advanced to a state final.
I see 2010 as being very similar to 2004. This year's club is very young, with 7 of the 13 players being sophomores or freshmen, but very talented from top to bottom.
Don Norris has generously provided some photographs. I publish them as I get them.
The lone senior on the team, Athena Ziavras had over 100 kills last season and should help replace the over 450 kills that Hannah Brickley and Laura Irwin delivered in 2009. Athena has a versatile repertoire of offensive skills that fans will quickly appreciate.
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Jill Slabacheski has worked hard on her hitting to become a dominant offensive player. She has the skills needed to be one of the top players in the Middlesex League.
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Alyssa DiRaffaele is another returning player who made an enormous contribution in 2009. Alyssa's strong performance in the Division 2 North Championship contest allowed Melrose to garner its fourth sectional title in seven years. Toughness at the net is her calling card, but she has very solid back row defense as well.
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Sophomore Brooke Bell steps in at setter this season, replacing All-State performer Colleen Hanscom. Brooke has literally worked toward this for more than the past three years. I wouldn't be surprised to see her eventually eclipse Colleen's assist record. Every team needs a lefty, and that's Brooke.
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Sophomore Rachel Johnson emerges with great potential as a "natural blocker". Melrose has always relied on the middle blocker to help control the opposition's big gun, and Rachel has the best blocking skills for her level of experience that I have seen in the Melrose program.
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Sophomore Sarah McGowan is a powerful, athletic player with the skill set to play any of the front positions (middle, outside, opposite) and is a capable back row player. In a sense, she's the "Swiss Army Knife" of this year's team, reminiscent of Gina Ciccone. She will likely see time at all of the above positions.
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Jen Cain is another athlete with versatile skills and good overall consistency. She will compete for time at the opposite position in particular, and be in the mix for time in the back row.
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Sophomore Amanda Commito starts the season on the injury list, recovering from a basketball injury. Amanda is another talented, fiery defender who could be a libero when recovered.
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Rachael Wolley has the key role as the reserve setter. The setter touches the ball on virtually every play, and Rachael has good skills and consistency. Fans may not know, but with teams scrimmaging practically daily, the importance of the second setter can't go unnoticed.
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Cassidy Barbaro breaks through as the first (but definitely not the last) of the talented Class of 2014 to reach the varsity. Cassidy has terrific quickness, good passing skills, and serves very well. She will compete for time as a regular as a defensive specialist and spot server.
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Melrose has a lot of depth this season. Junior Brittany Adelman (far right, wearing the shoulder splint) starts the season injured. She played outside hitter last season. Next to her, Maggie Moriarty will also look for time as a defensive specialist. Maggie has a sister (freshman Maeve) on the Junior Varsity as the tradition of having 'volleyball families' continues. Sophomore Sydney Doherty (player second from left) is another versatile athlete who will look for time as an outside hitter.
So, although graduation produced losses, those losses produce this year's gain, an athletically gifted group that will compete at a very high level from the outset. Fans should anticipate excellent volleyball from this group despite its youth. The first match is Wednesday at 4 P.M. in the Middle School Gymnasium.
How do you build a successful high school sports program? Can you build from the bottom up, or does it come from the top down? Usually, a high school baseball coach doesn't run the Little League, but introducing young athletes to volleyball becomes a necessity if you want to compete against the best teams in the state.
Coaching. Melrose is fortunate to have a stable coaching staff, with the reigning Coach of the Year in Scott Celli, with a 257-63 career record, and including playoffs, usually a 20 win season each year. With Assistant coach Steve Wall and freshman coach Andrea Basteri, the coaches make volleyball not only successful but fun, and most of the players view it as their favorite sport. Coach Celli has also developed a volleyball infrastructure with summer camp instruction, so that youngsters in elementary school get an introduction to the sport early. I believe that over thirty girls were playing in offseason leagues, so the girls are up and running at full speed early, and competition to make the team has never been greater.
Players. The extensive offseason preparation gets players ready for varsity competition earlier than ever before. We can expect to see freshmen contributing early each year, just as Hannah Brickley did in 2006, Amanda Commito in 2009, and Cassidy Barbaro will in 2010. Hollywood gets it wrong. Girls sports are replete with ATHLETES, players with terrific hand-eye coordination, strength, quickness, speed, and toughness. They work to become not only skilled but highly conditioned. To quote Madeline Blais' award-winning book, "In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle."
Community. Volleyball has developed a big following locally, with enthusiastic crowds at most games. The sport gets support via Community Television (MMTV), the print media, and the Internet. Both the Melrose Free Press and the Melrose Weekly provide excellent coverage, and Maxpreps.com is also another valuable resource.
Women's athletics provides a big payoff to the community, with a cadre of leaders and role models, and health and academic benefits to the players.
Here's an excerpt from the Women's Sports Foundation:
High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl's risk of breast cancer by up to 60%; breast cancer is a disease that afflicts one out of every eight American women. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1994)
Forty percent of women over the age of 50 suffers from osteoporosis (brittle bones). (Osteoporosis, 1996) None of us should want our daughters to repeat the experiences of generations of women—our mothers and grandmothers—who were not permitted to play sports or encouraged to participate in weight-bearing exercises that are necessary to establishing bone mass.
Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.
Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors—critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of our children's lives will be dependent on two-income families, our daughters cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former "tomboys"—having played sports.
Most important, women follow sports into the competitive workplace. "I will" equals "I can."
Melrose hosted Chelmsford today in the roaster, toasty Middle School Gym this afternoon. Chelmsford, from the Division I Merrimack Valley Conference brought good size and aggressive offense that tested the Lady Raiders. By the end of the contest, fans could easily have mistaken the players for the swim team.
The team has progressed very well in the early season, appearing solid in many areas.
Service errors have been few and far between.
The setting from both Brooke Bell and Rachael Wolley has not disappointed.
Hitters Athena Ziavras, Jill Slabacheski, and Alyssa DiRaffaele have all demonstrated the ability to get "on top of the ball", allowing for a diversified offense.
Sarah McGowan and Jen Cain have a great competition going for the opposite spot.
Sophomore Rachel Johnson has shown promise as an impact blocker on the front line...
The remainder of the team has exhibited skill, athleticism, and poise
With absolutely no disrespect to other Middlesex League teams, I think that every player on the team this year would start on most ML teams. Having watched the team for the past nine seasons, I have no doubt that this is the deepest team from players 5-13 in the history of Melrose volleyball.
The role of 'reserve' players can't go unmentioned. During the 24-1 2005 season, Melrose traveled to Andover (Division I State runner-up to powerful Barnstable) to face the Warriors. During the closely contested match, setter Amanda Hallett broke a shoelace (always bring a spare pair) and had to leave the contest. Taylor Pearson came off the bench cold, and Melrose won 6 of the 7 points she played, until Amanda subbed in. Melrose won the match 3-2 before a huge crowd, in what I consider the second greatest regular season win for the program after last season's defeat of Barnstable.
Tomorrow Melrose travels to Medway for the annual play day round robin scrimmage.
Melrose traveled to Newton North and faced off against the Tigers in the first official athletic contest held in the new gymnasium. Both teams gained valuable varsity experience playing solid competition. I found the lighting conditions distracting watching the video, but I haven't heard the players' opinions.
Pictures courtesy of Jeff Mate' video.
Melrose does their pre-game ritual huddle. Note the T-shirts with the "Do the Math" lettering. Nice touch.
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Alyssa DiRaffaele goes up for the spike.
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Athena Ziavras attacks from the outside.
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Jill Slabacheski prepares to serve.
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Sophomore 'Middle' Rachel Johnson follows through on the arm swing middle attack for a kill.
Coach Scott Celli will analyze the game video, searching for both personnel groupings and strategic advantages as he prepares the team for the upcoming season. It's still the first full week of practice, so it's both unfair and unrealistic to analyze strengths and areas for improvement. I'm sure Coach Celli would say the team needs to get better at everything.
At this point, everyone works on all aspects of their offensive and defensive repertoire. The best combinations will attain not only the highest peak performance but also consistency, which often separates excellent from superior teams.
Weather permitting, Melrose hosts Chelmsford in a 2 p.m. scrimmage tomorrow.
Melrose travels to The Taj MaHigh School tomorrow to face the Newton North Tigers. Newton's new high school came with a cool 197 million dollar price tag, Olympic swimming pool, two theaters, and other assorted goodies. Coach Richard Barton always has a tall and talented team which is among the best in Division I. According to Maxpreps.com, Newton North finished 18-2 last season, and ranked 21st in Massachusetts.
TIME CHANGE. The Lady Raiders opening regular season match (Sept. 8) at home versus Belmont will be a 4:00 Varsity start.
Here are updated rosters. The freshman roster is not finalized.
The evolution of the program is such that the overall talent level in the program constantly improves.
Playing with great intensity before a big crowd won't always bring victory...but it will always bring credit to your team. Sequence from 2005 State Championship loss to Medfield, 3-2.
The mark of a competitor is how you play when things aren't going your way.
Offense puts fans in the seats, but defense wins championships. I'm putting up a block sequence from the 2004 season against Lynnfield, which had been a formidable opponent for Melrose historically. Lynnfield had an All-League middle hitter.
Lynnfield sets up a middle attack (ball in the air), with Melrose preparing a single block, and Amanda Hallett (setter, attack line) coming in to defend the tip. There is space to the left corner.
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The Lynnfield attack at the moment of contact. The Melrose defender (Paula Sen) has just left the floor and not yet shaped the counterattacking block. Coverage is available for tips to either side.
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A fraction of a second later, the plan is only beginning to come together.
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The critical moment, maximal jump height, the hands and forearms above the net, fingers spread, and penetration of the 'airspace' that allows the block/kill to happen. Melrose ran off four consecutive blocks during the sequence to establish control of the tempo early.
Consistent blocking can frustrate the opposition and help the back row immeasurably. Melrose has a number of young, athletic blockers this season, who will determine whether it's nature or nurture in blocking.
Recently, we were coaching youth basketball, with six players on a team, needing to have one player sit out at a time. I asked the young girls each to pick a number between one and six, and a girl pipes up and says, "seven". Well, seven doesn't go into six, and that especially holds true for volleyball, six players on the floor at once.
Here are the 'superstars' of Melrose High School. And most of them haven't touched a volleyball twice. The library will always count more than the court, but when you're on the court, the play's the thing. The best way for the players to respect the game is simply to come out and play hard every day.
This week, Coaches Celli and Wall will probably meet with the players and parents and give them an overview of his expectations. Still, being honest with players and parents may not always earn points. He might regret a few of his decisions (who doesn't?), but that doesn't mean that he would change them at the time. "Sports doesn't build character, it reveals character."
A parent cheering enthusiastically for the team when their child doesn't play much always shows me a lot about that family, and why that player made the team in the first place. Sometimes "patience carries a lot of wait".
The coach does the best job possible identifying combinations of players that will help the team have a good process and play well. At the same time, the coaches help maximize the ability from every player. A player might earn more time because of a specific skill (e.g. defending, blocking, serving) and that will necessarily come at the expense of the time of another player. Melrose volleyball has never lived on the seniority system. But at the end of the day, seven still won't go into six.
Coaches have to make tough decisions all the time. Years ago, a couple of players threatened to quit unless the coach reversed an executive leadership decision. He told the players to do whatever they had to do. Each made a choice which they felt was right for them. The team went on to win a sectional championship.
Although many players have earned attention locally and some regionally, few have accomplished more than a girl who played years ago- being a great teammate. She wasn’t the star of the team. She often played only late in games after the outcome was decided. She came to practice every day, practiced hard, and became the best she could be. She knew she wouldn’t be in the game at the big moments, while younger, less experienced athletes would be. She accepted this because she valued being part of the team and contributing however she could. Her best friend, Marianne Foley, became an All-Scholastic in 2003, while she cheered and supported the team. Both shared Melrose's first Division II North volleyball championship, on a team that went 22-2 and came within a point of going to the state championship, losing to the ultimate champions, Marlborough. And everyone remembers Danielle Burke as a great teammate, a part of Melrose volleyball history.
From Pete Carril, former Princeton basketball coach, in his book "The Smart Take from the Strong,"
You Cannot Hide on the Court
"I can check the level of your honesty and commitment by the quality of your effort on the court. You cannot separate sports from your life, no matter how hard you try. Your personality shows up on the court: greed, indifference, whatever, it all shows up. You cannot hide it. It.s possible to be a phony on the court and still be successful if you have talent by relying on talent instead of hard work. You think you're skilled enough to take shortcuts, to cheat on the effort it requires. But you cannot hide it. "
Melrose teams have achieved consistent results through the years because they made a commitment on the court AND off, both in the classroom and in the community. Embrace your opportunity and the leadership that comes with it.
Always click the photo to see the entire picture.
Melrose Volleyball 2010...
front row (left to right) Amanda Commito, Athena Ziavras, Cassidy Barbaro
back row (left to right), Jill Slabacheski, Alyssa DiRaffaele, Rachael Wolley, Brittany Adelman, Maggie Moriarty, Brooke Bell, Jen Cain, Sarah McGowan, Rachel Johnson, Sydney Doherty
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The roster brings youthful experience.
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Coaches Scott Celli and Steve Wall announce the 2010 Melrose volleyball roster, holding their first full squad practice this morning at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School Gym. Although very young, the team returns some very experienced players, as volleyball has become a year-round sport for many of the players.
Although reloading a roster filled with all-state and all-league players doesn't come easily, Melrose promises to be an exciting and very athletic team, led by senior Athena Ziavras. Athena has the volleyball intelligence quotient (IQ), energy quotient (EQ), responsibility quotient (RQ) and talent that could make her Melrose's next All-Scholastic player.
Today's first session emphasized the importance of process, as talented teams with an effective and consistent process have a far better chance to succeed. The coaches emphasized their offensive and defensive rotations, the need to communicate, and the essence of "playing to the whistle." They also had a variety of suggestions to help players develop more reliable positioning. Coach Celli reminded the girls that "there's no 'I' in team" and his mathematical flair came out with "you've got to use the whole rectangle."
Observing almost a full practice also afforded the chance to see the team dynamic and their interaction with the coaches. The girls had both an educational experience and a lot of fun as they clearly enjoyed being together.
The players had a full session of both fundamental drills and team concepts. The offense intends to expand its attack, with a full array of attacks being installed. They completed the morning practice with a 'service' drill, with the players getting 100 percent of their serves in play.
Clearly, "tradition never graduates".
As a reminder, the team will host a scrimmage next Friday against Chelmsford at 2 P.M.
Brittany Adelman and Amanda Commito will be returning from the disabled list later this season.
*All information contained within is the sole opinion of the author. Apologies for any errors (especially spelling). This is not an official page of Melrose High School.
Melrose opened up today, with a record 28 upperclassmen and 21 freshman appearing for tryouts. The freshmen worked out this morning.
Obviously, Coaches Celli and Wall were excited about the turnout and with ever-younger players appearing on scene, more freshmen get a long look. Four were invited to the upperclass afternoon session. Whatever the outcome of tryouts, the team will be young. The four returning players as of now are hitters Athena Ziavras, Jill Slabacheski, Alyssa DiRaffaele, and setter Brooke Bell.
Injuries already continue to be an issue, with Amanda Comitto recovering from knee surgery and outside hitter Brittany Adelman recovering from an off-season injury as well.
The gym looks magnificent with the floor newly resurfaced.
Melrose will have the teams picked by sometime Saturday (TBA) and the Lady Raiders scrimmage Newton North next Thursday in the Tiger Den, host Chelmsford Friday, and will go to the Medway play day Saturday.
Tomorrow kicks off the volleyball tryouts/training camp as volleyball aspirants compete for slots on the 2010 version of Lady Raider volleyball.
Last season the girls won their fourth Division 2 North championship in seven years, and their first since 2005, and beat perennial Division I power Barnstable.
Jeff Mate' posted highlights on YouTube, and maybe this will get your volleyball Jones on.
Signs of life emanated from the Melrose High School today, with the football team back in fall action.
Volleyball tryouts will begin Thursday, August 26th as the Lady Raiders seek another Middlesex League title and defend their Division II North championship.
Projecting the roster at this point is impossible, with the team having to replace so many quality starters, and over 550 kills from Hannah Brickley, Laura Irwin, and Siena Mamayek. In addition to Siena's offense, she was a dominant defender with superior blocking skills.
Coach Scott Celli has a lot of questions to address:
After Athena Ziavras, who will become the team's secondary offensive threats?
Who will replace Jess Farr and Alex Harlow as the primary back row defensive specialists?
Who will emerge as a primary middle blocker?
Can anyone approach the passing skills of Hannah Brickley, facilitating the ideal "bump-set-spike" offense?
Will the offense attempt to diversify with the short set without as much height?
The season will present special challenges and opportunities with less experience at the front end of the roster and more experience at the back end as more girls have started playing volleyball earlier and an enormous number are playing off-season volleyball.
Melrose gets set to embark on another volleyball season, pursuing a tradition of excellence that has resulted in seven consecutive appearances in the Division 2 North championship. During that span, the Lady Raiders have captured four sectional titles and one berth in the state finals. What's different this season? Melrose graduated a number of key players, including Trinity-bound Division 2 Player of the Year Hannah Brickley and an All-State setter in Colleen Hanscom. They lose another power hitter in outside Laura Irwin, All-League defender Jess Farr, steady blocker Siena Mamayek (also with 100 kills), and versatile Alex Harlow.
Final Maxpreps rankings, 2009-2010 Massachusetts.
But for Coach Scott Celli, the season presents opportunity not rebuilding. He and assistant Steve Wall have returning hitters Athena Ziavras, Jill Slabacheski, Alyssa DiRaffaele and Brittany Adelman, sophomore setter Brooke Bell, and defender Amanda Comitto returning from injury.
Celli and Wall will have to develop a strong passing game from the back row, and look for young talent to replace over 450 kills from Brickley and Irwin.
The evolution of Melrose volleyball has produced young players committed to off-season development and participation in camps. Players come to the high school with more volleyball knowledge and competitive experience than ever before. And as a result, the coaches expect
young talent to step in and step up. Coach Celli noted that the incoming freshman group has more talent than any he has previously coached, which is saying something in a program that has produced four all-state players and five all-scholastics in the past seven seasons.
Melrose has its usual challenging non-league schedule, including southern power Canton and perennial Division I North powerhouse Central Catholic.
Within Division 2, the preseason favorite might be North Reading, a narrow runnerup to Melrose in five sets last season, with monster Middle Hitter Kirsten Morrison. We can be certain that the Hornets have their sights set on dethroning the Lady Raiders.
Melrose's first home tilt will be a scrimmage September 3rd at 2 P.M. against Chelmsford.
