🏐 Jennifer Petrie's accountability + the best libero in the world.

About winning, and not winning.

April 23, 2023

Welcome to The VolleyBrains Weekly.  Email me back if you are the freak that actually went through the entirety of today's newsletter. hah

Here's what we've got this week

  • AVCA Coach of the Year Jennifer Petrie on culture

  • Ying: OODA framework to win

  • Yang: Bill Watterson on maybe not 'winning'.

  • Maestra: Monica De Genarro

Only watch the clips or read every single letter. YOU DO YOU. We appreciate you.❤️ 

Be prepared for when it doesn't click

We had a long and animated talk with San Diego's head coach, Jennifer Petrie. You can expect that up on volleybrains.com by next weekend.🔥

Here's a sneek peak.

About being accountable and being able to resolve issues when you get off track. (more in next week's Masterclass)

Last year, we really invested ourselves in trying to establish a strong culture.

And it started in January. You look at your volleyball season as a year-long process, right? A lot of people think, oh, you start in August, that's when your season starts. I'm like, no, this whole run starts in January. 

We really spent a lot of time and we devoted at least one hour a week out of our eight hours of training just to talk about what our culture's gonna look like, what our pillars are gonna look like.

The foundation of our program and how we're gonna establish trust, how we're gonna become resilient, how we're gonna be unified. 

So we spent a lot of time developing our pillars but you have to actually put those into action. We have to be accountable for what we're saying. 

We would get in small groups, we talk about what it looks like, what it doesn't look like and then how we're gonna resolve when we get off track. We can all say what we want, but what happens when it's not?

And how are we gonna move forward?

Jennifer Petrie

OODA Framework: how to win.

The Observe-Orient-Decide-Act ("OODA") Loop was developed by Colonel John Boyd, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist, as a decision-making tool for use in complex and high-stress situations.

Boyd realized that the key to winning a battle wasn't just about having the latest technology or the most firepower. It was about being able to quickly process information and make decisions faster than the enemy.

In other words, Boyd knew that if you can OODA faster than your opponent, you can outsmart them every time.

Although the formal process of the OODA Loop may feel slow and daunting initially, it ultimately becomes a tool for speed.

  • Observing the situation and mentally note key data points

  • Contextualize the data to create a picture of the current situation

  • Make a decision on how to act

  • Acting while assessing for any necessary adjustments

The OODA Loop became a popular business decision-making tool. Companies like Amazon, Toyota, and Apple incorporate the OODA Loop into their senior employees' decision-making toolkits.

Probably I wanted to make a point about time-outs, and quick decision-making. Use data and not just your gut feeling to make decisions while already assessing for necessary adjustments the moment a decision is made.

BUT we all know that we need reps for that.

Proud of myself, no Top Gun meme or reference was used.🫠

Want to dive deeper? (Our own sponsored post 😇)

Every coach we have talked to is a constant learner.

VolleyBrains.com is here to support you in your 'never-ending' process of becoming the best coach you can be.

Take a look over here if you want to further invest in your volleyball coaching development.✌️

Bill Watterson on maybe not 'winning'

There's a Yang to the previous Ying.

Our avid readers already know that I get a little allergic situation going on when it all gets a bit too much 'winning is everything' around here. 😅

I found this 'goody' last week.

Bill Watterson's speech at Kenyon College to the 1990 graduating class. Titled: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE REAL WORLD BY ONE WHO GLIMPSED IT AND FLED.

Who the bleep is Bill Watterson you should ask.

A few bullet points about Bill:

  • an American cartoonist and the creator of the popular comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," which ran from 1985 to 1995.

  • "Calvin and Hobbes" was known for its unique combination of humor, whimsy, and thought-provoking themes, and has since become a cultural touchstone.

  • Watterson deliberately turned down numerous opportunities for merchandising and licensing deals, which would have earned him hundreds of millions of dollars, in order to maintain creative control and protect the integrity of his work.

  • He is known for his reclusive nature and for shunning most public appearances and interviews, preferring to let his work speak for itself.

Read the commencement speech over here. 

Yes, I highlighted some pieces I enjoyed in there.

Master of the backcourt.

In the YouTube clip below we slapped together all the actions by arguably the best libero in the world Monika De Gennaro during a 2022 World Championship game.

Why 'all the actions'? Because it's useful to skip the highlight reels sometimes and understand how much goes into being a high-performing player.

Mistakes are part of the game, but a 'next action attitude' defines you as a player...

De Gennaro has heaps of that.

2 actions to really NOT miss = 1min42s and 3min45s

VolleyMetrics calls this last one 'a save'. She made it into 'a set'. 🔥🫡

If you like this newsletter, please forward it to other coaches and players. It only takes you 5 seconds. Can't thank you enough! ❤️ 

Thanks for your support.

That's a wrap. Have a great week!

Matias