Learn every day. Borrow from other cultures when appropriate. "Kaizen" is a Japanese word meaning "continuous improvement." Think about how you can improve and then do the work, measure the improvement, and repeat the cycle.
Author Salman Rushdie discusses our "creative imagination" and our "critical imagination." Both matter. Our creative imagination generates ideas, often when there are none. Our critical imagination asks how we can improve - our process, our writing, our training, our technique.
Brad Stevens asks, "What does our team need now?" That summarizes coaching.
Coaching is teaching. Teaching changes behaviors. Coaching changes behaviors.
Everyone talks about culture. What is that? Coaching shapes the entire "ecosystem" of a school, a classroom, a business, or a sports program. Coaches work to develop an ecosystem (environment) that allows both team and individuals to do their best work.
Some may think, "Nine seniors graduated. How can we replace them?" That is the wrong question.
Eight players return. Even more talent is coming. "How can MVB build on the scaffolding of current and new players?"
We don't know the roster size of MVB '25. And we know that the initial roster will be designed to perform at a high level. And excellent players will be on JVa, getting valuable experience to prepare to step up.
History tells us that the Opening Day lineup will probably not be the lineup in the postseason. Last season Sadie Smith, Elise Marchais, and Ella Friedlaender all started the season on JV. They finished playing for the varsity, contributing in the postseason.
True story. I tell people that I was selected for varsity baseball as a sophomore. About four games in, I asked to be put on JV to play (pitch). Next season, on a first varsity start as a junior on opening day in 1972, we lost 2-1 at Stoneham. That happened when our excellent centerfielder lost a ball in the sun in the sixth inning and two runs scored on their only hit. Stoneham later won the state championship.
JV experience, player development, made that start possible. There's no prestige to sitting.
We often don't control what happens to us but we always control how we respond to it. Never let ego get in the way of performance.
Regular readers know they'll discover an occasional recipe from impeccable sources.
Basil provides wonderful flavor in sauces, on pizza, and of course in pesto.
This recipe is from Massimo Bottura, proprietor of Osteria Francescana in Northern Italy, voted the number one restaurant...in the world. This is his grandmother's recipe and substitutes bread crumbs for pine nuts. I first learned of Chef Bottura from MasterClass.
A food processor or great blender is important. I had harvested almost a pound of basil leaves from my garden, so pesto!
I add a little bit extra olive oil and a little bit of water as well. I use two cloves of garlic and use grated parmesan cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano (last time I checked) was more costly than premium steak. Salt to taste.
"Arete" is a Greek word meaning virtue. For Aristotle, arete was the search for excellence.
Just as society has Halls of Fame, it doesn't have Halls of Really Good.
Making your MVB journey and process the quest for excellence. That has distinct advantages. Wooden said, "Make every day your masterpiece" and Ruiz, "Always do your best." Embracing those concepts adds meaning to all your work.
At home that means doing chores well, without being asked. It means laser focus in class. It means the before, during, and after practice routines that separate excellence from very good.
Elite performers in every field are wired differently. If you watch team sports on television, some teams succeed more by competing, not just showing up.
Never shrink before a strong opponent. Never play down to a lesser opponent. If you're capable of dominating, dominate. That also allows hardworking teammates more opportunities to play. Repay their diligence in practice.
Find your muse and chase excellence.
Lagniappe. "The Four Agreements"
Lagniappe 2. Arete and eudaimonia.
56 years ago today, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Anything is possible.
"There's something I know I'm supposed to do, but I don't want to do it. Can I make myself do it."
"Undisciplined people do dumb things. Disciplined people do smart things."
A guy is the greatest college football coach ever. He's polarizing. He won championship after championship. He helped attract far more than $500 million dollars and among the most National Merit Scholars. He talks the talk and walked the walk.
All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own.
"Our defaults work off deeply ingrained biological tendencies—our tendencies for self-preservation, for recognizing and maintaining social hierarchies, and for defending ourselves and our territory." - "Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results" by Shane Parrish
Let's take a 'hypothetical' situation. A hypothetical is an imagined situation not necessarily true.
Presume there are three similarly skilled outside hitters with the necessary skills - attacking, defending/passing, blocking. (Not everyone serves.) Realistically, two have the ability to ascend the "depth chart," and the third initially has a smaller role.
You may have played the game "musical chairs," where the music stops and everyone scrambles for a seat. And each round, one chair gets removed. That's the lineup "numbers game."
Similarly, the Red Sox have a group of capable outfielders - Abreu, Rafaela, Anthony, Duran, Refsnyder, Yoshida. Depth is great but teams have three outfield slots and the DH. Everyone will not be happy and ownership doesn't want to pay big money for hypothetical production.
The "numbers crunch" challenges coaches and players. Different factors play into it - ego, emotion, the "social" situation.
Everyone needs to be valued (ego demands).
Being the person left out can create dissent, frustration, anger.
How is the team reacting to the decision?
Across the wide world of sport, what happens? Some players put the team first and keep working. Some players redouble their efforts, knowing that playing time is 'dynamic' and depends on performance. Some players rebel and become a distraction. Some quit.
Coach Sonny Lane used to say, "It's not who starts that matters, it's who finishes."
Earn the trust of Coach Celli and the chance at crunch time.
Control what you can control - attitude, choices, effort.
Be a great teammate.
It is hard not to have the role you want. If it's important to you, keep grinding. You will always get an opportunity.
Lagniappe. Prepare to attack different types of sets.
Volleyball is a game of momentum. Sustain yours and interrupt theirs. The best way to do that is playing present. Coaches say that many ways:
"Next play"
Play "in the moment"
Focus.
Be here now.
"Be where your feet are." (my favorite)
Every "run" starts with one play. In basketball, some use the term 372. Three "stops" in a row, seven times a half, both halves. Some call three stops in a row "kills."
Mistakes are inevitable. Nobody beats a competent team 25-0. In 2005, an 'angry' Melrose team beat an upper division ML team 25-3 after the opposing coach had 'called them out'.
Mental mistakes frustrate coaches and are correctable. "Don't blame, complain, or make excuses."
Foot faults on service can never happen.
Ball watching shouldn't happen.
Lack of communication "campfires" shouldn't happen.
Rotation errors can't happen.
Lagniappe. Great short video on technical and tactical passing errors. Thinks "feet, platform, head."
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) July 16, 2025
Experienced coaches like Coach Scott Celli know what their team needs. Sometimes they need more energy; sometimes they need to calm down. Sometimes they need extra work; sometimes they need the weekend off. Some players need encouragement. "You can give us more." Other players need more positive reinforcement. "Keep it up. Keep leading us."
The better players understand what their team needs, too. And they have the skill, volleyball IQ, and resilience to deliver it.
And every athlete has better days and "off days." Coaches know that and sometimes you're the best option even on your off day.
1. They compete in practice 2. They compete in every drill 3. They compete against the best 4. They compete in the weight room 5. They compete against themselves 6. They compete for the team culture
Top players thrive on competition. They want to be the best. They don't put in the time; they put in the work.
Relentless by Tim S. Grover
Success is a Choice by Rick Pitino
Why the Best Are the Best by Kevin Eastman
Lagniappe. Highlights from Why the Best Are the Best from ChatGPT
Kevin Eastman's Why the Best Are the Best shares powerful lessons from his experience as an NBA coach and executive, emphasizing habits and mindsets that separate elite performers from the rest. Here are five key highlights:
1. Your "E-Word" Defines You
Eastman stresses the importance of effort, energy, enthusiasm, and excellence. What he calls your personal “E-word” defines how you show up every day. Great performers consistently bring their chosen E-word to every situation, regardless of circumstances.
2. Success Leaves Clues
The best are constantly observing and learning. Eastman believes excellence is a trail—those who reach the top often leave behind a "breadcrumb path" of habits, routines, and decisions. High performers seek these clues, study them, and adapt them into their own process.
3. Don't Cheat the Drill
Small details matter. Eastman emphasizes the compound effect of daily habits. Cheating the drill—cutting corners in practice or preparation—adds up over time. The best don’t skip steps; they embrace repetition and discipline.
4. Be a Lifelong Learner
Greatness requires humility. Eastman highlights that elite performers and leaders are voracious learners. They ask questions, read constantly, and surround themselves with people who challenge them to grow. “The best are the most curious,” he says.
5. "You Get What You Demand"
Eastman believes leadership is about setting high standards and holding people accountable. Championship cultures don’t settle. Whether in sports, business, or life, the best organizations demand excellence—and their people rise to meet it.
"Success leaves clues..." is a favorite. ChatGPT picks breadcrumbs. Think about other types of clues - tracks, organizational DNA, fingerprints, footprints, or on British crime dramas...CCTV.
*Adapted from my basketball blog. All opinions expressed in the blog are solely my own. The blog is not an official publication of any Melrose organization.
"How do you plan to impact winning?" Three elements that get you and keep you on the floor include:
Making everyone around you better.
Earning the trust of coaches (perhaps first in importance)
Making plays..."chase perfection and find excellence"
Develop your plan now in the offseason. "Control what you can control." Understand "what is my varsity skill?"
Make yourself better (become your own coach)
Build skill at your position (attack, passing, defense, block, serve)
Play a lot
Individual strength and conditioning
Study the game (video, clinics, other reading)...study (YouTube) some of the elite players in Melrose history (Hannah Brickley, Gia Vlajkovic, Elena Soukos, Brooke Bell, Sarah McGowan, Jen Cain
Make positive plays (efficiently)
Get scores (what are ways to score' - e.g. smash, cut shot, tips, blocks, serves to vulnerable areas)
Assist
Get stops - dig, block
Communicate
Avoid negative plays (the mental game)
Lower quality attacks (every pass cannot be attacked)
Mental and physical mistakes on defense
Lack of communication
Everyone will shank an occasional ball. Top players do it less.
Make players around you better
Leadership
Communication
Work out with teammates (skill building)
Strength and conditioning
Hustle is contagious
1. Prepare your plan.
2. Do the work.
3. Review your progress.
4. Repeat.
Specific Recommendations:
Find a mentor.
"Winners are trackers."
Use constraints. Seek personal bests setting standards and limitations such as time.
Track strength and conditioning.
Mindfulness to improve focus
Engage AI (ChatGPT, Claude.ai, or DeepSeek) for ideas
Lagniappe. "Change happens only when you’re willing to think independently, when you do what nobody else is doing, and risk looking like a fool because of it." - "Clear Thinking" by Shane Parrish
Winning is hard. That's why people place such a premium on winning.
A lot of great coaches don't talk about winning. Coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" emphasizes the building blocks to achieve competitive greatness. Coach Nick Saban prioritized "The Process," that which teams need to navigate. Here he discusses the importance of "Nothing."
The "Nothing" skills of commitment, discipline, attention to detail, focus, and toughness help players and teams develop the skill, strategy, physicality, and psychology needed for success.
Distill that? To avoid getting nothing, avoid doing nothing.
Why has MVB been successful in the past? Players sacrificed, embracing the grind to improve. Coach Scott Celli studies volleyball, watches volleyball, and reads about coaching and leadership as a lifelong learner.
CAPT T.E. Walsh, my training superviser in the Navy had a saying, "I am your mentor and your tormentor." He understood that we sink to the level of our training. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence."
Lagniappe. Train with only a few players. Be inclusive with rising frosh. They're humble and hungry. Just as last season's team had meaningful contributions from Elise, Ella, and Sadie, this year's team might have contributions from newcomers.
Not everyone can become a great player but everyone can choose to be a great teammate.
What kind of teammate do you want to become?
Jon Gordon has written many worthy books describing ways to become a better person. I encouraged everyone in our office to read "The Positive Dog," a.k.a. "PD." Here are a few that I've read (easy reads).
"The Positive Dog"
"Soup"
"The Hard Hat"
"Training Camp"
"You Win in the Locker Room First"
"The Energy Bus"
Lagniappe. Here are five top lessons from "The Positive Dog" via Claude.ai
Based on my search results, here are five top lessons from Jon Gordon's "The Positive Dog":
1. Feed the Positive Dog, Starve the Negative Dog
We all have two dogs inside of us. One dog is positive, happy, optimistic, and hopeful. The other dog is negative, mad, sad, pessimistic, and fearful. These two dogs often fight inside us, but guess who wins the fight? The one you feed the most. This central metaphor emphasizes that you become whichever mindset you consistently nurture.
2. Your Positivity Affects Everyone Around You
Being positive doesn't just make you better. It makes everyone around you better. AmazonJongordon The book teaches that positivity is contagious and has a ripple effect on your team, family, and community.
3. Take Daily Actions to Feed Your Positive Dog
Take a Thank You Walk, A Day of Gratitude, More Smiles and Laughter, Celebrate your Success of the Day, Spend time with Positive People, Share the Gift of Kindness are practical daily strategies the book recommends for maintaining positivity.
4. Use Appreciation and Recognition to Feed Others' Positive Dogs
Appreciation, recognition, and mentoring are great ways to feed the positive dog in others and over time you'll see that appreciation, recognition, encouragement, love, kindness, and mentoring increased the positivity across the team. The Positive Dog by Jon Gordon – Porchlight Book Company
5. Your Positivity Must Be Greater Than Your Negativity
To thrive in this world, your positivity has to be greater The Positive Dog by Jon Gordon – Porchlight Book Company than your negativity. The book emphasizes that while negative thoughts and experiences are inevitable, consciously choosing to cultivate more positive thoughts and actions is essential for personal growth and success.
The book presents these lessons through the story of Matt, a negative dog who learns to transform his life and environment by feeding his positive nature instead of his negative one.
Lagniappe 2. What are you reading today? I'm reading "Skin in the Game" by Nassim Taleb. People make different decisions when they have both reward and risk at stake. And for fiction, I've started Michael Connelly's "Dark Sacred Night," part of the 'Ballard' crime novel series. Connelly wrote the Harry Bosch books and the Lincoln Lawyer/Mickey Haller series.
All opinions expressed are solely mine. The blog is not an official publication of any Melrose organization.
Captaincy is more than a popularity contest for MVB. In addition to the support of your teammates and coaches, MVB captains need endorsement from their teachers and school leadership. There are no "knuckleheads."
Know that Sabine, Emme, and Anna will perform their role well.
What roles do captains fill?
Leadership. Model excellence at all times in all venues.
Communication. Comms come down and go up to coaches.
Reliability. Fill whatever roles are necessarily.
Representation. "Represent" when you help with set up and clean up, not only during pre-game and game action. You are an ambassador for the team in school and in the community.
Attitude. Be positive, energetic, and poised. "This is not your first rodeo."
Jeff Janssen is one of the authorities on captaincy.
Let's get a consult from AI (ChatGPT) from Janssen:
Jeff Janssen’s Team Captain’s Leadership Manual is a foundational guide for developing athlete-leaders in team sports. Grounded in the idea that leadership is influence, the book equips captains with the mindset, skills, and responsibilities necessary to become effective leaders who model excellence and elevate their teammates.
Core Concepts
Leadership Is a Skill
Janssen treats leadership as a trainable skill, not an innate trait. Captains are not just figureheads—they are active agents who can develop communication, credibility, and character.
The Six Types of Team Captains
Janssen outlines six leadership styles:
The Vocal Leader – energizes and communicates directly.
The Performance Leader – leads by example in practice and games.
The Locker Room Leader – maintains morale and team unity.
The Social Leader – influences culture outside the sport.
The Organizational Leader – handles team logistics and preparation.
The Servant Leader – focuses on serving teammates above self.
Great captains integrate several of these roles, knowing when and how to step up or support.
The Captain's Commitment Levels
Janssen stresses that captains must first commit to personal excellence before leading others. This includes:
Living the team’s values.
Being accountable and coachable.
Consistently working hard and staying positive.
From there, leaders build trust and influence teammates toward shared goals.
Communication and Conflict
The manual prepares captains to handle:
Leading by Example and Energy
Captains are cultural carriers. They must consistently:
Uphold team standards.
Bring energy in adversity.
Celebrate effort and hold teammates accountable.
The Leadership Ladder
Janssen uses a “Leadership Ladder” to help athletes grow from basic leadership (leading by example) to advanced levels (inspiring and developing others). This progression demystifies the leadership journey and shows that anyone willing to do the work can climb.
Practical Tools
The manual includes:
Self-assessments and reflection tools.
Team meeting outlines.
Weekly leadership challenges.
Exercises for co-captain alignment.
It’s designed to be actionable and coach-supported, so teams can bake leadership development into their season.
Bottom Line
Jeff Janssen’s Team Captain’s Leadership Manual is not just a motivational text—it’s a hands-on workbook for building leaders who:
Influence with purpose,
Model excellence daily,
And lift the culture of their teams.
What dysfunctions can't happen on a team?
Distractions. "Never be a distraction." Distractors disrupt the team internally or externally through actions that bring the team down.
Social media abuse. If you're on social media, lift people up. Don't give opponents motivation.
Never 'punch down'. Everyone matters. Coach Mike Krzyzewski likens a team to a fist. Punching with only 3 or 4 fingers is weakness.
Bad attitudes. Excel in your role. If not playing as much as you'd like, work harder and take responsibility. "You own your paycheck." Your performance earns minutes, roles, and recognition.
Negativity. "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses." When opportunity comes, take advantage of it.
Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra says, "Every team has a pecking order." If you look at team like the Celtics, guys like Tatum and Brown are at the top of the hill. An excellent player like Derrick White complements them and Al Horford was a senior voice. "Stars" may get a disproportionate amount of attention, credit when the team does well and criticism when they don't.
"Champions don't beat themselves. If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does...We're not going to fool people or outscheme them. We're just going to outplay them...When we get into a critical situation, we won't have to think. We'll play fast and fundamentally sound." - Chuck Noll, quote in The Leadership Playbook by Jamie Bechler
Translate to volleyball.
1) Don't beat yourself. Teams beat themselves with mental mistakes - lack of focus, lack of communication, ball watching not reaction, errors at the net, foot faults and rotation errors.
2) Do ordinary things better. Score more points on serve, block-kills, and smart attacks. Keep the ball up. Make good not always perfect passes.
3) Don't worry about trickery. Move some attackers around (e.g. slide attacks) and if you have the personnel, attack through the pipe. Serve intentionally to seams and sidelines. Keep the ball up on serve receive.
4) Play fast and fundamentally. There is always attrition. After the 2003 season, Melrose graduated its senior core, All-Scholastic Marianne Foley, Erin "Hammer" Hudd, setter Amanda Labella, and core outside hitter Denise Applegate. Youth can be served. Over the next two seasons, the team went 44-5 with two more sectional titles and a Finals appearance in 2005.
Work hard, improve, play together and the results take care of themselves.
MVB '25 Captains (L to R) Anna Burns, Sabine Wenzel, Emme Boyer
Coach Scott Celli and his staff wrapped up the MVB '25 Summer Camp amidst cooler temperatures and competitive play.
Coach Celli noted, "We'll be young" in the aftermath of graduating nine seniors from MVB '24.
The rising freshmen available gave another able accounting of themselves as players start ever younger. A number come with two to three years of competitive volleyball experience...and it shows. Coach Celli noted that many of the rising frosh come with backgrounds of academic excellence, high character, and group ambition having played in the Avidity system.
With eight returning players Melrose has a solid base of experienced players. With competitive JV players and promising newcomers, Coach Celli noted that he's excited for the upcoming season.
Former All-State, All-Scholastic, State Champion (2012) and Boston Herald Team of the Decade member Sarah (McGowan) Stadtler dropped by to say hello. She's in the area for a family event on a break from Infotech giant (my words) Palantir in NYC. She emphasized that in a managerial role she uses MVB values of discipline and high effort to help lead people in the business world.
Here's a quote from "Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy" by Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant
"After spending decades studying how people deal with setbacks, psychologist Martin Seligman found that three P’s can stunt recovery: (1) personalization—the belief that we are at fault; (2) pervasiveness—the belief that an event will affect all areas of our life; and (3) permanence—the belief that the aftershocks of the event will last forever."
Every athlete makes mistakes and misplays. Every coach wishes he had done something different with personnel, strategy, or game management.
Resilience, the ability to withstand or bounce back from adversity underlies durable success in school, relationships, and professionally.
In Performing Under Pressure the authors advise a "COTE of arms" with core values of:
Confidence
Optimism
Tenacity
Enthusiasm
Recognizing mistakes is important. Winners have the operational DNA to work through them.
Watching young players at volleyball camp, I'm reminded of cognitive biases and mental models.
Let's share one cognitive bias (anchoring) and two mental models (Sample Size and Circle of Competence).
Anchoring cognitive bias is the tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions, which can skew judgment and lead to poor choices.
Example: I see a rising freshman showing reproducible form and solid pace on her serve. As an observer, I could 'anchor' on that tidbit of information in the context of a zero-pressure environment. Perspective should be, "That's something to build upon."
Sample size means that the reliability of judgments depends on the volume of observations. For example, if something "never happened," how likely is it not to happen in the future? Mathematically, it's approximately 3/n where n is the number of observations.
Example: With a tiny sample size of watching young athletes with variable size and physical maturity, judgments are preliminary. Positive but early...
Circle of Competence is one's degree of 'domain expertise'. Time, effort, study, and experience allows us to expand our Circle.
Example: This is my 24th season watching Melrose Volleyball. Expertise is relative, much higher than before but still limited and contextual. Looking through some old blog posts, I saw that in 2010, I likened the roster situation to that of 2004 after the graduation of the four senior starters on the Sectional Champions. It's tempting to drill that well in 2025.
To improve our judgments, learn more about cognitive bias and mental models.
