There's a saying, "Nobody is coming to rescue you." On point 27 of the third set, Adriana and Alisa save the point.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Stats Are Up - Melrose vs Arlington
Attack:
Alisa (8), Adriana (8), Elise (7), Amelie (6)
Assists:
Sadie (24)
Serving: (Points)
Anna (14), Elise (14), Dani (10)
Team Serve Percent 85
Digs:
Anna (13), Dani (9)
Receives:
Adriana (12), Anna (11)
The Only Poll that Matters (It's Early)
The MIAA released its initial volleyball power rankings. Five ML clubs appear in the top ten.
The MIAA poll incorporates 'margin of victory' (set differential/matches) and strength of schedule in its rankings.
Ask "what's next?" Control what you can control - your attitude, choices, and effort.
More Highlights
Legendary basketball coach Pete Newell said that the coach's greatest responsibility is to help players "see the game."
In practice, "pass, set, hit" follows "vision, decision, execution." UNC soccer coach Anson Dorrance (22 NCAA titles) preached showing positive highlights.
Using the 'original' Pixellot footage, you have the option to slow the replay to study technique.
"Sundance" gets on top of a smash.
Elise understands the S's - short, sidelines, seams, or soft defender
Dani speaks softly and gets the job done.
"Gotta have it point." Alisa finishes.
Playing with force, Adriana scores.
Elise shows positional versatility and power.
Empowered (Use Your Platform)
Student-athletes are role models. What you think, do, and say matter.
The 'win-loss' record matters, but it's not the whole picture. Advocating for women's empowerment comes with the territory.
Always Do Your Best (the Fourth Agreement)
Every serve, attack, or dig won't be perfect in practice or in competition, whether it's high school or the Olympics.
On day one, Coach Ellis Lane laid out the priorities:
- Family
- Academics
- Basketball
As seniors, Karen and Paula (a.k.a. KP) had some sports success. And all six seniors on the basketball team made the Honor Roll. "How you do anything is how you do everything."
Take Care of Your Body
Lauren Fleshman, former NCAA and Nike runner, wrote "Good for a Girl," an important book for athletes and coaches. Girls are not boys with a different chromosome. She pushes for self-care for women athletes and truth-telling.
Prioritize enough sleep. Student-athletes should get a minimum of eight hours of sleep.
Eat right. Teens don't control everything in their diet. Adequate protein intake (1 - 1.5 grams/kilogram) is a target. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Hydration. "Dehydration" (volume depletion) shows up first as fatigue before thirst. Make the water bottle your companion and use it.
Recovery. After practice or competition, develop a recovery routine. That could include a thermal contrast shower, foam rolling, as well as hydration and diet.
Lead
Upperclassmen set the tone. Find opportunities to lead and track them. In your journal, express your private thoughts and how you responded to leadership opportunities.
Leaders control what they can control. There's an old saying that "you can't fool dogs, kids, and volleyball players." Everyone can lead though focus, hard work, and never being a distraction.
Be seen and heard.
Lagniappe. High contact point and trunk rotation both are important attack elements. When competition starts, focus on the game, not technical aspects. The great golfer or hitter can't think about their swing "in the box."
ML12 Standings
Just over half of the ML12 regular season stands completed. Winchester and Reading lead and then a tangled pack with Melrose, Burlington, and Belmont all at 4-2.
Melrose faces Belmont, Woburn, Wakefield, Stoneham, and Watertown in the second half of the ML12 campaign.
The MIAA releases its initial power rankings today for more clarity.
The Maxpreps.com site lists the Livestream games via the NFHS (subscription) network.
Monday, September 28, 2026
Connection
Exceptional teams connect with their fans. They deliver emotion and premium performance.
In 2003 nobody expected Melrose to sweep 22-0 Arlington Catholic, which had not lost a set all season. A topspin smash by Denise Applegate finished the Cougars. Melrose entered the sectional title business.
In 2009, Melrose upset Barnstable, the "brand name" in Massachusetts volleyball. A signature win catalyzed the start of a four-peat of sectional titles, ending with a State Championship.
Fans connect when they feel they become part of the story. "They" become "we." Teams earn energy from the fans and return it. The experience became infectious.
Great stories often capture unexpected success. Being 'too small', 'too young', or unknown sometimes helps.
Build a brand connection one fan at a time.
Rules Broken Down
Everyone needs rules. Interpretation helps.
First, from former Secretary of State General Colin Powell, his list of 13 Rules:
Let's explore Rule No. 1, "It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning."
Love your losses
"Losses are lessons." Postmortem analysis informs us of where we need to be better. This confirms General Hal Moore's rule, "There is always something more you can do." Some wins reflect triumphs of the spirit. Appreciate even the more pedestrian ones.
Deep dive
Track your results. Was the issue scoring or defending? We don't control points clearly won by opponents or gifted by their errors. If the error was not scoring, was it serving, attacking, or blocking? If it were serving, was it an error, location, or pace and movement?
Categorize problems
Coach Kevin Eastman suggests four possible solutions:
- Do it better.
- Do it harder.
- Change players.
- %$&# it ain't working (change strategy).
Sleep on it
Abraham Lincoln wrote "Hot letters" to generals or politicians whose actions frustrated him. At the bottom he wrote, "Never signed, never sent" and filed them. Emotion can cloud our judgment. "Hold fire" to let cooler heads prevail. Or as James Kerr wrote in Legacy, "Keep a blue head."
Thinking: Fast and Slow
Behavioral economist Danny Kahneman wrote Thinking: Fast and Slow. People have a rapid response thinking system to avoid immediate danger...so called "System 1" or "reflexive" thinking. And we have a deliberate process, "System 2" or "reflective" thinking. It's often better in the morning after we think about the problem.
Powell's Rules followed a lifetime of experience across many domains. He served as an Army General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State. Good leaders multiply experience as they surround themselves with great people.
Create your own rules and share the best ones.
Lagniappe. Coaches help you explore outside the comfort zone.
Tom Brady: “You need coaches that push you outside your comfort zone because that’s how you grow and that’s how you develop self confidence and self esteem. They push you to deal with failure.” pic.twitter.com/yGwDhNbzaa
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) April 19, 2026
Lagniappe 2. Another in the series of "women being seen and heard." Kara Lawson says that it's not going to get easier.
Game 8: Melrose 3 Arlington 0
Arlington created more than a few headaches for Melrose last season and did so again tonight as Melrose won 25-12, 27-25, and 25-22. When Melrose was challenged they made enough plays to win.
The win lifts Melrose to 6-2, 4-2 in ML12 play.
Melrose dominated early, cruising to an easy first set win.
In these two points, Elise Marchais showed her versatility with a pair of kills.
Towards the end of the frame, Melrose scores three consecutive points. First, Sabrina McArt with the smash, then a pair of Adriana Santoriello kills sandwiched around a diving miracle by DS Dani DiGiorgio. There was no hint that the Spy Ponders would put up more resistance.
The second set was "gritty not pretty" as Melrose inconsistency carried the set into extra points after a furious comeback.
At 25-all, Arlington makes an error then after three attacks by Amelie Johnson, Melrose finishes the set with an Alisa Dautovic kill.
The third set saw MVB play better but not their best ball.
Down 0-4, Amelie blasts a winner. She looks like "Disney" on the court- the happiest place on earth.
Underwater 5-7, Elise Marchais fires an ace.
Melrose held leads through much of the set. At 23-22, Arlington served wide and on the ensuing serve, Arlington was called out of rotation in an unfortunate conclusion to the match.
Melrose Notes:
Three up
Elise Marchais scored with versatility on attack and service, with three consecutive aces at one point.
Dani DiGiorgio made several diving digs to rescue points on the defensive side.
Gen Overlan excelled defensively and on serve, a steadying force in what was sometimes a gale.
Wednesday, Melrose travels to 8-0 Newburyport. Maxpreps.com ranks the Clippers number one in Division 3.
The Kid
All opinions expressed in the blog are my own. The blog is not an official publication of any City of Melrose organization.
The Kid was always around. She brought coffee. Ran errands. Worked. Didn't say much. Encouraged people. If she weren't around, they asked, "Where's The Kid?"
Once in a while, The Kid had a suggestion, "Have you thought about...?" Later people started asking her for opinions.
On every good team, the stars get most of the ink and the love. The Kid keeps showing up.
In 2022, Gia Vlajkovic was the alpha, with 338 kills. Ruth Breen had 639 assists. Anna Shoemaker had 115 kills. She was The Kid.
It takes awhile for the The Kid to emerge from the shadows. On exceptional teams, she always does.
Lagniappe. Polls and rankings serve entertainment purposes, except for the MIAA power rankings, determining seedings and playoff sites. The latest Maxpreps.com rankings are out.
A Lesson from Maya Angelou - "Be a Rainbow"
"Be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud." - Maya Angelou
Prepare to make a difference. The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is today.
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Building Your Blocking Skills
Think about sets in terms of individual points. Defense coordinates the front and back row with getting "hands on" essential.
Multiple subskills determine blocking:
- Anticipating the attack (reading)
- Footwork (get there)
- Block tough with height, vertical jump, timing
- Hand position (press the block) and block 'stiffness"
The blocker with good anticipation, timing, and vertical jump who presses the block can be more effective than a tall blocker who is late with poorer technique. MVB is improving their blocking. Excellent blockers radiate a desire to excel.
Sabrina is on a solo block in the middle and uses vertical and strength to earn a block-kill.
This drill emphasizes multiple points:
Lagniappe. Coach Jiri discusses general blocking principles.
Books That Help Explain Sports
You're a fan and maybe a parent and want to know more about sports. What literary avenue should you pursue?
"The Politics of Coaching" by Carl Pierson
The late Dr. Pierson wrote a magnificent book for coaches and sports parents. He explains how politics is inevitable and often damaging for high school sports programs.
I've seen it remotely as a local (not Melrose) politician tried to take down a coach who cut his son. And I've seen upperclass parents (not volleyball) try to undermine underclassmen who threatened their children's status and playing time. Pierson's book should be mandatory reading.
"Game Changer" by Dr. Fergus Connolly
Connolly, a Human Performance specialist, discusses his experiences with great coaches around the world and lays out the tetrad of skill, strategy, physicality, and psychology in fashioning elite athletes.
"Legacy" by James Kerr
Kerr profiles the world's most dominant sports team - the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby program. Their culture focuses not only on sport, but individual growth, and incorporates elements from the Maori.
"Good for a Girl, A Woman Running in a Man's World" by Lauren Fleshman
Sports and athletes do not arrive in a "one size fits all" mold. Some coaches and other adults remain trapped in Neanderthal perspective.
"Search Inside Yourself" by Chade-Meng Tan
SIY is a book about the science and practical applications of mindfulness in promoting high performance. I read it three times. Mindfulness improves attention, grades, behavior, sleep, blood pressure and mental health. And it's free, apolitical, and non-religious. So you're not stepping on anyone's toes.
The saying goes, "The journey is better than the inn." Neither children nor sports programs come with instruction manuals. Melrose parents tend to be sophisticated about the processes, yet all of us can benefit from understanding more about the pathways and pitfalls ahead.
Lagniappe. AI input re: "Good for a Girl"
Here are twelve key points from Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World (2023) that would resonate well with a coaching-and-leadership-focused sports blog audience — especially one covering a girls' program like the Lady Raiders:
- Sports were built around male bodies and male development timelines. Fleshman argues that athletic training norms and practices were shaped by male physiology, and that this systemic bias creates unsafe and unsustainable conditions for female athletes — a core thesis coaches of girls' teams should sit with.
- Puberty is treated as a threat instead of a normal part of development. Fleshman recalls that as puberty hit, boys pulled ahead in speed while girls, including herself, began feeling self-conscious about their changing bodies — a formative moment she returns to throughout the book.
- Early success can set girls up for a painful reckoning. As a kid, Fleshman easily outran her peers in gym-class mile runs and found running freeing and empowering, with her father telling her she could do anything — but that confidence collided with the realities of adolescence. booksthatslay
- Chasing an "ideal" competition weight can lead to disordered patterns. In pursuit of a perceived ideal racing weight, Fleshman engaged in harmful dieting practices — a cautionary thread for any coach managing body-image pressure on a team.
- Speaking up carries real career risk for female athletes. Fleshman describes how female athletes who speak out against unfair treatment often face professional consequences, which discourages others from advocating for change.
- Sponsors' marketing doesn't match how they treat athletes. She points out the contradiction between Nike's marketing of motherhood as a picture of strength and how the company actually treated athlete-mothers — a case study in the gap between brand image and institutional support.
- Menstrual health belongs in athletic development, not on the sidelines. The book calls for establishing real menstrual health protocols within sports programs, treating the topic as a performance and safety issue rather than something to avoid discussing.
- Representation in coaching and leadership matters. Fleshman advocates for increasing female representation in coaching and leadership roles as a structural fix, not just a symbolic one.
- It's part memoir, part manifesto. The book blends Fleshman's personal story of falling in love with running, being pushed to her physical limits, and enduring serious injuries with a broader argument for reforming how sports treat female athletes.
- Her advocacy extends beyond the page. Fleshman co-founded Oiselle, a feminist running apparel brand, and Picky Bars, a sports nutrition company — showing her push for change has been entrepreneurial as well as literary.
- It's resonating widely, not just with elite athletes. The book has become required reading for coaches in multiple programs and helped spark concrete reform conversations in women's sports, earning the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.
- The audience is broader than runners. Fleshman intends the book for female athletes, coaches, parents, and anyone invested in gender equity in sports or body-image issues — with coaches in particular gaining insight into adapting training for female physiology, and athletes finding validation in shared experiences of burnout and injury.
Practice
Kobe Bryant shares why most teams get practice wrong and what Phil Jackson taught him about preparation.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) September 26, 2026
"Practices are meant to be competitive. If your practices aren't more competitive than the games themselves, you're doing the wrong thing."
That's the standard. How you… pic.twitter.com/hz6N8znpZQ
I love practice. Without a window on practice, commentary on coaching plummets.
A few thoughts:
"Make practice hard so that games are easier."
"Communication in games starts from communication in practice."
"Separation begins by learning to play harder for longer."
"Compete for your teammates not with your teammates."
"Practice crafts the excellence appearing on game day."
Lagniappe. Former Alabama Coach Nick Saban, a polarizing figure, asks "are you investing your time or spending it?"
Bonus Recipe - Chocolate Trifle
Had I an imaginary restaurant, chocolate trifle would be a dessert option.
It's a multilayer dessert with chocolate cake (or brownies), chocolate pudding, and whipped cream. I alternated two layers of each.
Chocolate cake - Cake mix is fine. Note that when "complete" cake mixes were produced, households rebelled because they wanted more involvement. Ergo, the modern versions with mix, water, oil, and eggs.
Chocolate pudding - I chose two boxes of an "instant" chocolate pudding and substituted oat milk (1 1/2 cups per box instead of 2 cups of milk)
Whipped cream - use "heavy whipping cream" (high fat content), with 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon (a little extra!) of vanilla. Chill the mixing bowl (I used a household power blender) and whip until stiff peaks (but not butter).
Assemble the mix and allow to stand in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours and preferably overnight.
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Remember Your Coaches
Remember your coaches, what they did for you. You cannot know how it feels to play in grainy black and white in Boston Garden.
Coaches advance your story. They help you write your narrative and make memories. They teach. Education changes behavior. "We are what we repeatedly do."
After your parents, your coaches are your biggest fans.
Coaches take you places that you cannot go alone.
Coaches are culture warriors.
Coaches want you to succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
Coaches need you to play with force. "The meek shall inherit the earth," but don't succeed in sports.
Coaches remember indelible moments that you create.
- A Billerica player had perpetrated some atrocity upon one of our girls. I called a timeout. "Kiki" said, "Do you want me to take her out?" "Do you mean, like, for lunch?" "No, that is not how we play."
- Sometimes players "have a day." The player (13 years old) had been lights out in practice. She's making everything. Finally, she misses. An expletive shatters the silence, "$#*&." The gym erupts in laughter.
- Tryouts start in two minutes. I will start by sitting the girls on the baseline and asking for a volunteer. Hands fly. "That's not good enough. When you hear, "Vol..." be up like a rocket." Show enthusiasm. A tiny sixth grader, Naomi, comes up to me, "Coach, I am really excited to be here." She beat the system.
- We lost a tough game. Leonora tells the team, "I'm sorry. I was terrible. I lost the game." Bella puts her arm around her and says, "We win together and we lose together."
- "I am your mentor and your tormentor." - CAPT T.E. Walsh, my mentor from the Navy
Remember the coaches who help turn the impossible into reality.
Boston Garden, March 1973, with Coach Ellis Lane (right), and the late Coach Dick Kelley.
Lagniappe. Be seen and be heard. Become the heroine of your own story. Your job is to "live with force."
Giving Critical Feedback
The two "best" answers in Medicine were, "I don't know and I'll find out" and "that's a good idea, we should try that."
"Coaching is not criticism." How coaching "lands" isn't always the same as its intent.
I coached an athletic middle schooler who didn't go to Melrose. She was quick, unselfish, a willing passer, and a disruptive defender. Great! There was a problem. She listened to nothing I said.
Years later she had great success in high school. Her mother sent me a note, "She finally figured it out. Coaches are on her side."
To be your best, identify strengths and 'need areas'. Consolidate (harden) strengths and lessen weaknesses. The volleyball "Success Stools" shows generic areas that everyone can work on.
Common areas for gains:
- Practice focus (e.g. serving to specific areas)
- Sustained focus (play the whole set)
- Attacking with high contact point (reducing blocks)
- Attacking angles (Elise excels at using angles - Pythagoras would be proud)
- Attack diversity (score off smashes, hitting line, tips, rolls, cut shots) - Hannah Brickley had a big "bag" of attacks
- Getting "on top" of the ball on attack
- Setter body leaning "telegraphing" type of set
- Blocking straight up not "pressing the block"
Exceptional players want critical feedback...where can I improve and what specifically can I do to make that happen?
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater, has a reputation as both an excellent teacher and a harsh taskmaster. Save this link.
Friday, September 25, 2026
Saturday Double Bonus: Volleyball Character
"Character is job one."
Former Patriots consultant Mike Lombardi wrote in Gridiron Genius, "Moss displayed another Belichick staple: mental toughness, which the Patriots define as “doing what is best for the team when it might not be best for you.”In New England, Moss was a “program guy”: someone who works hard, is a supportive teammate, and cares deeply about winning. In other words, someone with football character."
Character and competence.
Competence reflects skill, volleyball IQ, and physicality. As Kevin Eastman says, "Success leaves footprints." Former Patriots assistant Ernie Adams ("Belichick's Belichick") had a sign on his desk, "Stamp out bad football."
Character shows up in all the intangibles seen on the court - communication, connection, discipline, effort, sacrifice, and teamwork.
College basketball coach Shaka Smart kept a sign on his desk - LOVE - because you have to love your teammates and the game.
How you do anything...
"How you do anything is how you do everything." Excel at home, in the classroom, and in your extracurriculars.
Commit to the Fourth Agreement - "Always do your best."
Image created by ChatGPT Plus
Compete
The court is the coach's laboratory. The entire ecosystem, MVB Culture, is yours. Compete for each other, not with each other.
Play with force - discipline, effort, and toughness.
NFL and NCAA champion coach Pete Carroll describes your attitude as "Win Forever."
Four time Super Bowl winner (coach and GM) Bill Walsh wrote, "The Score Takes Care of Itself." The precursor to that is knowing that "A champion behaves like a champion before being one."
Volleyball character reveals itself in your identity and performance. Student-athletes are 'billboards' that convey messages to coaches, teammates, and the community.
Lagniappe (AI Assist). Provide context. AI works as a partner, summarizing wide swaths of input across many platforms including the blog.
“Play with force” does not mean swing harder at everything. Force is focused power. Serve aggressively. Attack with purpose. Block with penetration. Get your feet to the ball. Play with urgency.
A ball slammed of bounds is not force; it is inefficient. Force means making the opponent uncomfortable - compromising time and space, creating difficult first contacts, attacking seams, leveraging angles, and turning free balls into pressure.
Teams playing with force create identity. They are early reading plays, loud, connected, and decisive. They anticipate and impose their will on the match. "The strength of the wolf is the pack."
Force appears in the feet, the voice, the platform, the serve, the block, and the decision. Call the ball early. Set with conviction. Attack with purpose. Cover with urgency. Force means pressure - pressure with the serve, pressure with the attack, pressure with pursuit, pressure with your presence. Force is not frenzy. It is artistry within the dogfight. Force is focused, controlled aggression.
Lagniappe 2. Women being heard series.
15 Coaching Truths
Every coach develops a philosophy, intentionally habitually. Mine is imperfect and still evolving, but these are the principles I work on.
1. Coaches are truth tellers.
Our responsibility is to tell players what they need to hear, not simply what they want to hear. Growth begins with honest feedback delivered with respect.
2. Coaches and players succeed together.
A coach depends on the performance of individual players and the team. The notion that a coach wants a player to fail rarely survives even a moment of honest reflection. When players improve, everyone wins.
3. Coaching is a privilege.
Brad Stevens said, "Coaches get more than we give." The opportunity to teach, challenge, and encourage young people is an honor. The greatest rewards often come years later when former players return with gratitude and stories about lessons that lasted.
4. Speak greatness.
There is a profound difference between saying, "You did well, but..." and "You did well, and..." One language closes the conversation. The other builds on success while inviting continued improvement.
5. Correct without discouraging.
John Wooden often placed correction between genuine praise - a "sandwich" of encouragement, instruction, and confidence. Players should leave a conversation believing they can become better.
6. Build with positives.
Research consistently shows that healthy relationships require many more positive interactions than negative ones. Coaching should challenge players, but should also create confidence, hope, and belief.
7. Coach with conviction.
Bob Knight famously observed, "If you listen to the fans in the stands, soon you will be up there sitting next to them." Coaches should listen thoughtfully to others, but decisions must ultimately rest on principle, preparation, and judgment.
8. Coaches do have favorites.
Not favorite people - favorite habits. We naturally value players who arrive early, work hard, compete relentlessly, accept coaching, and place the team first. Those behaviors are available to everyone.
9. Never underestimate encouragement.
Few moments are more satisfying than honestly telling a player, "Good job," "Thank you," or, on rare occasions, "You're one of the best I've ever coached." Authentic praise endures.
10. Trust determines opportunity.
Talent matters, but trust determines who is on the floor when the game matters most. Reliability, discipline, and good decisions earn opportunities.
11. Never be a child's last coach.
Every athlete should leave your program believing that sports enriched their life, regardless of playing time or wins and losses.
12. Accept that criticism is inevitable.
No coach will be universally admired. Leadership requires difficult decisions that cannot satisfy everyone. If you need unconditional approval, coaching is the wrong profession.
13. Remember the Prime Directive.
Parents naturally place the well-being, role, recognition, and playing time of their own child ahead of the needs of the team. Coaches must respectfully acknowledge that reality while remaining committed to what gives the entire team the best chance to succeed.
14. Protect everyone.
When difficult conversations are necessary, have another adult present whenever appropriate. Document important discussions and decisions. Transparency protects players, families, and coaches alike.
15. Ask the hard question.
"What does it feel like to be coached by me?"
Players deserve honesty, accountability, respect, and hope. Coaches should continually seek feedback, reflect on their methods, and strive to become better teachers and better people.
Coaching is ultimately about relationships. Wins matter. Championships matter. But years later, players rarely remember every score. They remember how sports challenged them, how coaches treated them, and whether their coach cared and helped them improve as a player and person.
Learn every day. Teach what you know. Leave every player better than you found them.
Lagniappe. Overcome adversity.
Lagniappe 2.
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