Coaching Is Teaching: Six Lessons for Basketball and Volleyball

Doug Lemov’s The Coach’s Guide to Teaching refines one point - coaching is teaching. The best coaches don't run drills; they shape how players think, learn, react, and remember. Here are six lessons from his work, applied to basketball, with parallels to the volleyball court.

1. Attention Is the Starting Point

"Start with the end in mind." In basketball, Mike Krzyzewski demanded laser focus even on simple warm-ups. If attention slips during a passing drill, it will vanish under full-court pressure.

Volleyball parallel: attention to detail matters in serve-receive. If an athlete lets their platform angle wander or their eyes follow the scoreboard, the point is gone. Coaches build habits of attention by demanding sharp posture and readiness on every ball, even in warm-up passing lines.

How much focus can you generate? Can you catch a tennis ball consistently on your platform?  When you can, then a volleyball should be easier. 

2. Memory Drives Learning

John Wooden’s UCLA teams practiced fundamentals over and over with small variations—repetition without repetition. That way, players weren’t memorizing a drill; they were building recall they could use in different games.

Volleyball parallel: blocking schemes work the same way. You don’t just block line every day. You alternate line, cross, soft block, read the setter, then rotate. Spacing those situations out and revisiting them builds memory under pressure. When the big outside goes cross late in the set, your middle recalls the footwork instantly.

3. Feedback Must Be Precise and Manageable

Brad Stevens was known for his short, surgical adjustments: “Force baseline here.” One cue, not a lecture. Brian McCormick reminds coaches - no lines, no laps, no lectures. 

Volleyball parallel: instead of stopping play to correct everything—“get lower, move sooner, watch the hitter’s shoulder”—pick one cue: “late hands” or “beat her to the spot.” Give players something they can act on right away. Volleyball moves too quickly for paragraphs of feedback.

4. Transfer Matters More Than Drill Mastery

Geno Auriemma ends UConn drills with chaos: fatigue, pressure, contact. He knows perfect free throws in silence don’t win games—transfer under stress does.

Volleyball parallel: perfect hitting lines against no block don’t tell you much. Can your outside score after a long rally when the block is set and the defense is waiting? That’s transfer. Game-like reps—transition swings, serve under pressure, digging in long rallies—are what stick when it matters most.

5. Culture Shapes Learning

The 2008 Celtics lived by Ubuntu: trust and unselfishness. Mistakes were allowed, effort was required. 

Volleyball parallel: a team that embraces errors as learning grows faster. If players realize a missed serve but bear down on the next rep, they build resilience. Coaches set the tone—effort and communication must be non-negotiable. In volleyball, where trust in coverage and defensive responsibility is everything, culture is performance.

6. Teaching Is Deliberate, Not Accidental

Wooden scripted practices down to the minute. Nothing was left to chance—every rep carried a teaching point.

Volleyball parallel: the best practices don’t just run six-on-six for 45 minutes. They script: footwork warm-up, serve-receive with feedback, transition defense, then pressure scrimmage. Each piece builds on the next. Great coaches teach deliberately.

Basketball and volleyball look different on the surface—one has a hoop, the other a net. But both are our teaching laboratories. Attention, feedback, transfer, culture, and deliberate practice aren’t just buzzwords—they’re the lifeblood of how athletes learn.

Coaching is teaching. Teaching well is how you build not just good teams, but sustainable teams. 

Lagniappe. Self-talk is a separator. 

#TheChampionsMind 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DnK6SSbYnd

— Dr. Jim Afremow (@goldmedalmind) October 1, 2025

Lagniappe 2. Coaches celebrate the success of our players. MVB legend Victoria ("V-Rex") Crovo graduates from veterinary school in a few months and will return to the area.  

Tony Dungy said, "If you only coach that person on the field and you only make them a better player, you've really missed a great opportunity."

Great coaches coach character.

They focus on developing people. 

Because character outlasts talent, stats, and wins. pic.twitter.com/KOMl90qLjM

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) October 3, 2025

Lagniappe 3. Exceptional coaches inform special preparation. 

This is from Bill Walsh's playbook.
Love his thoughts on practice.
1. Players got the practice schedule the night before.
2. practice was structured and everything done at full speed like a game.
3. learning process was accelerated.
4. All players expected to be mentally… pic.twitter.com/ju9C3zihp2

— coachkou (@coachkou) October 2, 2025

Lagniappe 4. Reading the hitter. (Hint: for longer videos, increase the playback speed to 1.25 or 1.5 for more efficiency). Where do our hitters like to spike? Use that to your advantage in practice. 

The Four Sisters

My dad used to say: "You should never be outworked or out-prepared."

There will always be people smarter than you and more talented than you.

But you control the effort and the prep.

— Clint Hurdle (@ClintHurdle13) October 3, 2025

"Control what you can control." That distills to: 

• Attitude
• Choices (how we invest or spend our time, decisions)
• Effort (intensity, immediacy) 

There are four Ration sisters, two are the big sisters, two are the little ones. 

Big Sisters

=== Prepa

=== Perspi

Little Sisters

===Aspi

===Inspi

Preparation and perspiration drive results.

Aspiration and inspiration drive wants. 

Stats Melrose - Lexington

Stats are in.

Highlights: 

Attacking

Melrose had 58 kills, led by 29 for Sabine Wenzel and a career-high 12 for Adriana Santoriello

Serving

Although Melrose had a 90 percent serving percentage, MVB had a 64/109 service points to attempt. Two aces in the fifth set (Sadie and Gen) came a critical times. Alisa Dautovic (17) and Danni DiGiorgio (16) led in service points. 

Setting

Sadie Smith racked up 33 assists and Anna Burns three with good 'out-of-system' sets

Digs

Anna had 13 and Sadie 12. 

Receiving

Anna (14) and Alisa (12) were the leaders. 

Updated stats for state stat leaders will appear on Maxpreps.com tomorrow. 

“You’re Not in Kansas Anymore”

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose institution.

COVID winter season Melrose played 13 games as a full schedule. MVB 25 is at 11. "You're not in Kansas anymore."

Regardless of whether you’re a freshman or a sophomore, Coach Scott Celli relies on you physically and mentally to translate identity into performance. 

You know the story of the tortoise and the hare. MVB 25 is the tortoise, plugging away, getting better. 

Strong teams have identity. The Green Bay Packers of the 1960s had six running plays and rammed the ball down opponents' figurative throats on the way to NFL titles. Coach Ellis Lane told us before the first playoff game in 1973, "You're playing a good Division 1 team (15-5). They'll give you a game." We looked at each thinking, "That is not happening." We led 45-10 at halftime. 

Tell yourself, "this is who we are" and "that is how we play." 

via GIPHY

Problem Solving

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Sports and coaching require problem solving. As a young player, find multiple ways to solve problems.

"If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail."

Few players can "make a living" solely by hammering. Exceptional players fill their toolbox with more skills. 

• Marlboro used cut shots to help beat Melrose in the State semis in 2003
• Marlboro used pipe attacks (back row) to beat Melrose in the Finals in 2011
• Medfield had a trio of sisters with different skill sets who beat Melrose in the Finals in 2005
• Melrose had four current or future all-state players that enabled them to win States in 2012. A hard loss in 2011 hardened them for 2012. 

Craft shows up in technique, tactics, physicality, and resilience. The ability to prevent "one bad play" from becoming a bad set separates elite players from solid ones. 

And often the difference is focus, full engagement, "next play" mentality. Talent is not enough. 

• Become more versatile in your craft. An orchestra has drums, string, and wind instruments.
• Follow the conductor. The conductor communicates. So must you. 
• Sometimes the music is scripted, other times it's jazz. 

Lagniappe. Summary of Colvin's "Talent Is Overrated" (Via ChatGPT Plus)

🏐 Coaching Summary: “Talent Is Overrated” for Volleyball

Core Idea

Great volleyball players aren’t born — they’re built through deliberate practice: specific, structured, feedback-rich training that targets the skills just beyond their comfort zone.

1. The Myth of Natural Talent

• We often call gifted players “naturals,” but consistent excellence almost always comes from years of purposeful repetition.

• Even the smoothest players have put in hidden hours refining technique, decision-making, and anticipation.

• The “10-year rule” holds in volleyball too — mastery of reading hitters, serve-receive, and defensive positioning takes thousands of deliberate, high-quality reps.

Coaching cue: Praise work habits and learning behavior, not “talent.” What we reinforce shapes identity.

2. What Deliberate Practice Looks Like in Volleyball

Element	Volleyball Example
Specific goals	“Improve eye sequencing on blocks” instead of “work on blocking.”
Immediate feedback	Coach or video feedback every rep; measure success by execution consistency.
Concentration	Short, high-focus sessions — no going through motions.
Repetition with variation	Mix tempos, serves, and angles so players adapt while refining technique.
Stretch zone	Design drills where success rate hovers around 70–80%; enough success to motivate, enough challenge to grow.

Key distinction: Playing games isn’t deliberate practice. Improvement happens when training targets weaknesses under feedback, not when players just scrimmage.

3. How Coaches Create “Deliberate Environments”

• Film as feedback: Quick, specific reviews of footwork, platform angle, or hand positioning turn reflection into improvement.

• Segmented learning: Break complex skills (like serve-receive footwork → platform → shoulder control) into focused pieces.

• Mental modeling: Watch elite players with a purpose — identifying movement cues, timing, and spacing.

• Repetition under fatigue: Once mechanics are sound, add fatigue to simulate game-level decision pressure.

• Peer teaching: Have players coach each other — teaching strengthens retention and awareness.

4. Motivation: The Hidden Engine

• Sustaining deliberate practice takes intrinsic motivation — curiosity, pride, and the desire to master a skill.

• Help athletes connect work to purpose: “We’re training your serve to give us momentum, not just points.”

• Recognize that motivation ebbs; structure sessions so progress is visible — metrics, streaks, video comparison, or goal cards.

5. Implications for Team Development

• Practice structure matters more than practice volume.

• Feedback culture must be normalized — immediate, specific, and impersonal.

• Attention to detail is contagious; leaders model deliberate effort.

• Long-term development > short-term performance — Wooden’s “gradualness” applies here.

6. Coaching Takeaways

• “Greatness is grown.” Every rep should either build skill or deepen understanding.

• Make practice slightly uncomfortable — that’s where growth happens.

• Replace the myth of talent with a culture of craft: learning, feedback, precision.

• Celebrate process, not just outcome — the best players will be those who master how to practice.

Final Thought

“The difference between the good and the great is not genetics; it’s how they practice when nobody’s watching.”

Build that mindset into your gym, and “talent” takes care of itself.

Chat GPT Plus: “So What” – Miles Davis (from Kind of Blue, 1959)

Analogy: Structured freedom within a simple framework.

• The piece begins with a clear call-and-response bass line and horn motif — like a team’s set play.

• Then the solos (Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley) build off that structure, improvising within the modal scale.

• Everyone knows the “system,” but within it, each player has freedom.
  Sports parallel: A basketball team that runs motion offense or read-and-react — shared language, fluid roles, adaptability within boundaries.

Lesson: Master the system first; versatility grows from understanding structure deeply enough to play freely inside it.

“Take Five” – Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959)

Analogy: Thriving in unconventional rhythm.

• Built on an unusual 5/4 time signature, “Take Five” was revolutionary.

• Paul Desmond’s saxophone floats effortlessly over Joe Morello’s precise drumming.
  Sports parallel: A volleyball or basketball team that changes tempo or formation — a zone press, a quick transition, a hybrid serve receive — and still maintains rhythm.

Lesson: Versatile players are comfortable when the game’s rhythm changes; they keep poise in odd time.

"Make It Happen Today"

"All of us are addicted to tomorrow...but making it happen today is how you improve.”

Don’t mistake planning for progress.
Improvement only lives in what you do today. pic.twitter.com/fJnj3HD6dc

— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) October 3, 2025

There's a scene in Ted Lasso where the team owner discusses 'procrastination'. She asks where the term arises. 

Procrastination comes from the Latin:

pro = for 

cras = tomorrow

Do you remember the 'achievement equation'? 

ACHIEVEMENT = PERFORMANCE x TIME

Procrastination lowers performance and time. There's no "Procrastinators Hall of Fame." 

Outside hitter skills:

• Attacking (reading the play, choosing an attack - down the line, crosscourt, cut shots, tips, roll shots, tooling the block)
• Blocking
• Defending
• Serving 
• Setting (other frontcourt players in 'out of system' situations)
• Leadership 

That's a lot to digest. Raise your standard of excellence. Leverage the power of now. Take care of business today. 

More Than Extracurricular Activity

Sahil Bloom's column, "The Stonecutter Principle" reminded me of a conversation. A former President visited NASA Houston and stopped to chat with a custodian. He asked the man, "What is your job?" He answered, "I helped send a man to the moon."

Excerpt:

A traveler approached three stonecutters working on a construction site and asked each of them what they were doing.

The first stonecutter said, "I am cutting stone."

The second stonecutter replied, “I am building a wall.”

But the third stonecutter smiled proudly, “I am building a cathedral.”

The same principle applies for MVB. We might ask why you are here.

"I'm playing volleyball."

"I'm part of a team." 

"I'm building a legacy."

Distinguish activity from achievement. Distinguish activity from experience. Distinguish time spent from time invested. 

Purpose and passion are not the same. Some say passion fades while purpose endures. 

Look carefully at the foreground of the picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon. "Success leaves footprints."

Be memorable. 

Game 11: Melrose 3 Lexington 2

Lexington historically plays Melrose tough and that is an understatement as Melrose won at home in five sets - 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-5, and 15-8. The win boosts Melrose to 8-3 starting the second half of their campaign. 

Wild swings in performance characterized the play, which might be labeled the "Gen Overlan Game." Seldom do you see a player who gets midseason promotion play a key role in helping a varsity team win.

Wednesday afternoon Coach Scott Celli shared that he thought she could end up playing sooner rather than later. Prophetic. 

By no means did Melrose dominate the first set as MVB led 21-20 and closed it out with a 4-1 run. In the first set, it was "Casablanca" and the usual suspects as Sabine Wenzel piled on kills. 

The first set did not feature a lot of "high octane volleyball." 

Adriana Santoriello has an increasing impact on the game. Key plays can occur at any time. Here a diving dig turns into a kill to knot the score at eight.

 

In an unusual play, Adriana Santoriello digs a serve, leading to a "get me over" free ball kill by Anna Burns. 

The second set had more action but less fruitfully so for Melrose. Lexington showed a strong serve-receive game and general defensive excellence. There were some technical difficulties with the feed, limiting highlights. 

Melrose trailed 18-21 but rallied to tie the set at 23 after a Lexington time out. But Lexington steadied their ship and Melrose errors gave the Lady Minutemen the set. 

Things got worse in the third set but Melrose changed momentum. Trailing 12-19, Sabine blocks with a vengeance to start a Melrose comeback.

 

Trailing 15-24, Melrose strung together six consecutive service points with Gen Overlan a key architect, but Lexington still led 2-1. 

At that point, plagued by defensive inconsistency, Coach Scott Celli made a decision to alter the defense radically, going small with Danni DiGiorgio, Anna Burns, and Gen Overlan in the back. The analogy was Steve Kerr substituting Andre Iguodala for Andrew Bogut in the 2015 NBA Finals. That turned the Finals around as the Warriors beat the Cavs. 

Melrose lost the first point of set four, but then reeled off 19 of 20 points to lead 19-2. Sabine must have had a minimum of ten kills during the set and the defense was pristine. Aided by some rest from "all six" play, Adriana seemed revitalized with several powerful attacks as well. Melrose closed out the set in pedestrian fashion 25-5.

The question became not what the lineup would be, but whether Lexington had expended too much mental energy in the first three sets to recharge for the tiebreaker. 

Melrose sprinted out to a 6-3 fifth set match with multiple kills. Lex narrowed the margin to 7-5 but Melrose had too much with a Santoriello kill at 10-5, an Overlan service ace to make it 12-7, an Ella Friedlaender crosscourt cut shot to widen the lead to 13-7, followed by a beautiful Elise Marchaise winner to put MVB on the threshold of victory. 

With the score 14-8, Sabine added the coup de grace with a smash from the middle and Melrose escaped with the win. 

Melrose Notes: Consistency and aggressiveness usually define victory. Melrose's young club went through the "quicksand" in the second and third sets, mostly manifesting as serve-receive problems. 

Coaches rely on talent, player development, strategy, and "deployment" to get the right people in the right seats on the bus. MVB defensive changes led to a dramatic surge in overall performance as Melrose finished the match on a 40-12 run. 

It was rewarding to see a broader distribution of offense in set five with a true team effort. That said, I expect Sabine to have matched or approximated her all-time record of 30. 

Not since 2005 have I seen Melrose put the hurt on an upper division club like that since the 2005 rematch with Lexington. Melrose topped the visitors 25-3 in the first set. 

 

The Power of Habit

pic.twitter.com/MI2DyeX5UH

— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) October 3, 2025

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

Great Advice for Young Players

This is Gold from Klay

“All the rookies, I tell them: be loud, communicate, play with great effort, & have a great attitude…You're going to make mistakes. But if you do those things, you're going to fulfill your potential & that's what being a pro is.”

pic.twitter.com/DaQlTHZHcZ

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 1, 2025

Don't fear making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Don't repeat them. Top players learn from mistakes to transform themselves.  

"Don't Settle"

Who do you aspire to be? That's up to you. Here's some advice.

"Don't settle." That doesn't mean tossing aside extraordinary. Don't settle for "fine." Good enough seldom is. 

Work for more. Deserve more. Is a "Gentleman's C" good enough in math class? Was making the team good enough? If you want to be the best defensive specialist in the league, is becoming a starter enough? 

"With great power comes great responsibility." Let ability meet opportunity; imagine the possibilities.

Don't let complacency hold you back. If you want more, go after it. 

Lagniappe. What do you want for MVB? Bring immediacy, intensity, and intelligence. 

Lagniappe 2. Facing failure is hard. 

Kobe Bryant said, “The greatest fear you face is yourself.” “Being fearless means putting yourself out there and going for it, no matter what.”

Facing your fears is uncomfortable.

It takes courage, resilience, and action.

(🎥@kobehighlight)pic.twitter.com/eTs5AONO8e

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) October 2, 2025

 

 

Lexington Friday

Melrose starts the second half on the season Friday, hosting Lexington from the ML Liberty Division.

Lexington always brings height and the complexity associated.

Roster Reset

At the halfway mark, a roster reset:

Seniors:

• Adele Akland (DS)
• Emme Boyer (MH)
• Juliet Chevalier (RS)
• Sabine Wenzel (MH)

Juniors:

• Anna Burns (DS)
• Maggie Shoemaker (MH, OH)

Sophomores:

• Ella Friedlaender (RS)
• Elise Marchais (OH)
• Sabrina McArt (MH)
• Gen Overlan (DS)
• Sadie Smith (S)

Freshmen:

• Alisa Dautovic (OH)
• Danni DiGiorgio (DS)
• Leila Kiggundu (S)
• Adriana Santoriello (OH)

Coach Scott Celli and his staff continually calibrate the roster with dual intent - win today and win tomorrow. Much to the relief of the rest of the league, Sabine isn't going to be here forever. That puts urgency on performing well now and opportunity for the future, especially in the middle with Emme Boyer also Class of 2026. 

"It Takes a Lot of Extra" and the "Core Four"

Study success. Entrepreneur Sara Blakely founded SPANX, the women's shapewear company. She turned an idea into a five billion dollar company, without issuing stock or debt. Listen to her advice on branding:

• Make it
• Sell it
• Build brand awareness

All follow her primary rule: OBSESS THE PRODUCT

Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban says, "It takes what it takes." 

• Skill (technique)
• Strategy (tactics, volleyball IQ)
• Physicality (sport rewards explosiveness)
• Psychology (resilience, mental toughness)

This gets me to today's point: 

"It takes a lot of extra, not a little." Everyone can't be "the best" at whatever, but each of us decides whether to be our best. When you work at developing the "Core Four" above, you raise your academic, athletic, and personal ceilings. 

That's the daily challenge - to become the best version of yourself. 

Building Culture

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast."

MVB has developed an enduring culture with positivity and team-building activities.

Organizational culture is the global environment surrounding a program. Culture is a force multiplier. Coaches drive culture and strong teams have its ownership. Culture includes everything from leadership, positivity, and relationships. It's an inside job that outsiders only partially understand. 

Some examples: 

• Team readings, this year Jay Bilas's "Toughness"
• Pasta parties
• Brownies on the bus
• Team bus song, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
• Home game "Lollipops"
• "Shout Outs" - celebrating and recognizing teammates at practice for effort and contributions
• A welcoming environment for young players
• Offseason physical training as a group 
• Club volleyball together within restrictions

Positive culture isn't unique to MVB but it's an expectation. Players enjoy each other's company and many have close friendships. 

ChatGPT Plus Consultation: 

A positive culture doesn’t just “happen”—it grows from shared values, habits, and accountability. Here are some ideas and perspectives you might find useful:

1. Establish Clear Standards and Shared Purpose

• Define the “why.” Teams unite around a bigger mission than wins and losses. Whether it’s “be the hardest working team” or “make each other better every day,” clarity gives direction.

• Set standards, not rules. Rules are enforced externally; standards are lived internally. Teams with high standards regulate themselves.

2. Build Trust and Relationships

• Trust is the foundation. Players need to believe teammates and coaches have their back, both on and off the court.

• Model vulnerability. Admitting mistakes or showing humility creates safety for others to do the same.

• Invest in connection. Shared meals, community service, or small rituals (e.g., high-fives, team circle before practice) strengthen bonds.

3. Emphasize Communication and Candor

• Open communication. Encourage players to speak honestly while maintaining respect. Silence breeds resentment.

• Radical candor. Balance caring personally with challenging directly. Feedback lands better when players know you care about them.

4. Reinforce Selflessness

• Celebrate “we” plays. Highlight assists, hustle, or smart rotations as much as scoring.

• Promote servant leadership. Captains and seniors model putting team needs above personal stats.

• Ubuntu mindset. As the Celtics once said, “I am because we are.”

5. Create Daily Habits of Excellence

• Attention to detail. Culture lives in the little things—being on time, listening, picking up equipment, practicing with intent.

• Consistency. Great culture is “boring” in that it shows up every day, not just on game night.

6. Repairing a Damaged Culture

• Acknowledge the issues. Pretending problems don’t exist only deepens them.

• Reset with honesty. Team meetings where players can voice frustrations—framed constructively—help clear the air.

• Recommit to values. Coaches and leaders can re-anchor the team in what’s non-negotiable (effort, respect, togetherness).

• Small wins rebuild trust. Fixing culture isn’t one speech; it’s steady improvement in how the team interacts.

7. Celebrate Progress, Not Just Outcomes

• Catch people doing it right. Recognize effort, teamwork, and growth daily.

• Tell the stories. Remind players of moments when the team embodied its best self—these stories become cultural glue.

Culture is the scoreboard you can’t see. Wins and losses show up in the record book, but culture determines whether a team thrives in adversity, whether players leave the program better than they arrived, and whether success is sustainable.

Lagniappe. Hard conversations...

 

Halfway Mark Perspectives

All opinions expressed in the blog are solely mine. The blog is not an official publication of any Melrose organization or institution. 

Volleyball season, unlike baseball, is a sprint not a marathon. Here's a look from an MVB observer since 2002. 

1. "You are what your record says you are." - Bill Parcells

If the season ended today, Melrose wouldn't get a playoff home game. Sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles. Last season in boys' soccer, Newton North, ranked 31, won six games in the postseason...and the State Championship. I'm not saying that's going to happen again but the goal is to be playing well at 'Tournament Time'. 

2. "Coaches don't make up lineups, players do." 

You force your way onto the court with your performance. It's easy to overlook that with the current 15 person roster, nine are freshmen and sophomores. Everyone gets opportunities and some are able to take advantage of them sooner than others. 

3. "Your actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear a word you say." 

MVB has always had admirable culture, the ecosystem surrounding the team. I heard a loud roar from the back room signalling the team welcoming Gen Overlan. Embracing team play, not always easy in sports, creates culture. MUDITA, a foreign term, means "your joy is my joy."

4. "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." 

Melrose opened the season with a tough five game stretch, including facing Winchester, the top-ranked team in the state. No excuses, MVB wasn't ready to win at that point. Love your losses and learn. 

5. "Form begets function."

A serve time violation reminds players to shorten their pre-shot routine. A "campfire" reminds players to show constant communication. A "rotation error" tells players to show attention to detail. 

Are you watching? Watch the long runway (behind the ten foot line), the three step approach, the high armswing back during the decisive attack, the high contact point, and the crosscourt attack. That must be a senior, right? It's freshman Adriana Santoriello. Better ingredients, better results with classic form. 

6. "Confidence comes from proven success." 

There's an old basketball saying, "The best thing about a freshman is that next season he's a sophomore." A corollary on experience is that "Experience is the best teacher but sometimes the tuition is high." MVB has only one lineup constant from 2024, Sabine Wenzel. And nobody will pretend that the state leader in kills doesn't matter. 

Sadie Smith has worked her way up to the top 15 in assists. 

Sabine remains on top. 

7. "Leaders make leaders." 

Coaches work to fashion teams who play to their philosophy - detailed, consistent, and aggressive. Someone asked legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg about his team and he said, "Ask me in twenty years and I can give you a better answer." MVB graduates become outstanding people, professionals, leaders in many fields, and often mothers. 

Coach Scott Celli remains the architect, as passionate about the sport as he was over 25 seasons ago. 

8. "You're getting better or worse. Staying the same is getting worse." 

The team has improved from four weeks ago at Belmont. The receiving, attacking, blocking and defense are better. I'd ask my teams what we need to work on and get the one-word answer, "Everything." 

With two consecutive practices coming up, the team can continue to work on serve receive, passing, and serving. 

What coaches want to see is a lot of players under consideration for Most Improved Player. And there are a lot of players in that category now. 

How to Get Better Grades in School

You own your paycheck. Every MVB athlete belongs on the honor roll.  "Hack your GPA" without cheating. How? Have better process. 

Content from ChatGPT Plus appears in blue. 

1. Get adequate sleep. 

Aim for eight hours, required for best athletic performance.

Sleep has a profound impact on academic performance because it is the foundation for attention, memory, and learning. During sleep, especially deep and REM stages, the brain consolidates information gathered throughout the day, strengthening neural connections and making recall easier. Students who are sleep-deprived struggle with focus, problem-solving, and critical thinking, leading to more mistakes and slower processing. Chronic lack of rest also heightens stress and reduces motivation, compounding academic difficulties. On the other hand, consistent, high-quality sleep improves alertness, mood, and the ability to transfer knowledge from short-term to long-term memory, making it one of the most effective — and often overlooked — study tools available.

2. Mindfulness. 

Mindful meditation (takes about ten minutes a day), improves attention, sleep, and grades. 

Evidence shows that mindfulness practices, including mindful meditation, can positively influence students’ academic performance by improving focus, emotional regulation, and resilience to stress. Research in higher education settings has found that students who participate in mindfulness training demonstrate better working memory, reduced test anxiety, and improved concentration during study and exams. These cognitive and emotional benefits translate into measurable outcomes: multiple studies report modest but significant gains in GPA or course performance among students who regularly practice mindfulness compared to controls. The mechanism is thought to be twofold—first, mindfulness enhances sustained attention and reduces mind-wandering, and second, it lowers stress reactivity, which helps students perform closer to their potential under academic pressure. In short, mindful meditation doesn’t just reduce stress; it creates mental conditions more favorable for learning, retention, and ultimately higher grades.

Access mindfulness scripts from the UCLA Mindfulness site. There's an app for that. 

3. Learn How to Learn. 

Free courses like Coursera's "Learn How to Learn" have value. The three key points from the course included:

• Reduce distractions. They suggest the 'Pomodoro Technique' of 25 minutes study time and five minutes break.
• Spaced repetition. Spreading your studies out beats cramming with last minute study. 
• Self-testing. After reading a chapter or studying, ask yourself what are the key points, what matters, and the importance. 

4. Write better. 

• Almost all writers are readers. Read. 
• Get something down. To paraphrase Salman Rushdie, use your 'creative imagination' then refine with your 'critical imagination'. 
• Become a storyteller. Books like "Made to Stick" inform the power of storytelling. Chip and Dan Heath explain the SUCCESS acronym - simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional stories. 
• Study great writers like Stephen King and Hemingway. His book "On Writing," should be required reading for all students. Use strong verbs and limit adverbs. Hemingway said, "Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." His writing conveys emotion often with short sentences and simple words. 
• Have a structure. Your opening line and paragraph capture the reader's attention. "Call me Ishmael" or "My business is death" start page-turners. 

5. Commit to the process. 

The child, a future MVB captain was leaving for a family graduation. She said, "I promise that I will be the valedictorian." Match your work to your dream. 

Lagniappe. Every MVB athlete belongs on the honor roll. Every MVB athlete belongs on the honor roll. Commitment and discipline inhabit both. "How you do anything is how you do everything." Highlights from Stephen King's "On Writing." 

✍️ Key Takeaways from On Writing

1. Read a lot, write a lot

   • King insists the two habits are inseparable: constant reading expands vocabulary, style, and imagination, while regular writing sharpens craft.

2. Write for yourself first

   • Don’t chase trends or markets. The story must matter to you; only then will it have the authenticity to matter to others.

3. Cut the clutter

   • His famous rule: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Keep sentences clear, direct, and lean.

4. Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open

   • The first draft is private and free of outside influence; revision invites feedback and considers the reader.

5. Tell the truth

   • Good writing is about honesty. Characters, dialogue, and settings must feel authentic even in fiction.

6. Avoid overplanning

   • King discourages rigid plotting. He prefers to discover stories through characters and situations, letting the narrative unfold organically.

7. Make writing a routine

   • He stresses discipline: set aside a consistent time and place, treat it like work, and write daily even when uninspired.

8. First drafts should be fast and raw

   • Aim to finish a draft in about three months. Momentum prevents self-doubt and keeps the story alive.

9. The toolbox metaphor

   • Writers need a “toolbox” filled with vocabulary, grammar, style, and storytelling tools, sharpened through practice.

10. Writing is about life, not just words

• The craft is deeply tied to living fully — experiences, emotions, and relationships feed the imagination and enrich stories.

Stats Melrose - Ipswich

Stats are in.  

Highlights:

Kills

Sabine delivered 17 and Adriana Santoriello had a career-high 10. 

Serving

Danni DiGiorgio had a massive 24 service points. 

Team statistics were less satisfactory with serve percentage at 84%

Assists

Sadie Smith did her usual excellent job with 31 assists. 

Serve Receive

Anna Burns (19) and Alisa Dautovic (15) both put up big numbers. 

Digs

Anna, Adriana, and Danni all delivered double digit digs. 

Melrose Notes: Melrose has enjoyed a lot of success during the past three decades. Successful teams play "complementary volleyball." Blocking gives the defense a chance. Serve receive gives your quarterback (setter) a chance. Playoff runs require three solid attackers. The young attackers are showing a lot of growth and the middles keep doing their job.