Reflexes

In 1997 a friend of mine invited me to join a a co-ed volleyball team she was starting. I and most of my teammates had never played organized volleyball before, but we were all young, enthusiastic, athletic, and most importantly, competitive. As I recall, we lost our first match two games to one against marginal players who were collectively older than us. How did they beat us? It came down to reflexes. We were playing reflexively—when the ball came over, we tried to react. The problem with relying entirely on reflex is you tend to get out of position. The other team spaced the floor, watched each others' backs, and snapped back into place when they did get out of position.

That season was pretty rough. We certainly lost more than we won, but we did learn how to play. As a result, our next season was very successful. Part of the reason for it was acclimation to each other, the court, and the rules, but a large part was our ability and willingness to learn. We watched the good teams in our division, and we learned to play like they did. In doing so, we needed to rely less on reflexes, and lean more on each other.

Good Teammates

Our volleyball team has now accumulated six losses in six games, only one of which was even close. In reviewing the carnage I realize that our technique is bad, our motives are dubious, but the one, overriding factor in our ineptitude is a collective lack of teamwork.

Having played on several other sports teams in the past (some volleyball, some not) I've noticed that the most talented team does not always win, and contrary to what all the movies will tell you, it isn't always the team that "works the hardest" or "wants it the most". The teams that win are the teams that play well together.

At first, I wondered why a team comprised of six old farts could beat the pants off of a young, athletic team. They didn't move well, couldn't cover much ground; some had trouble just bending over. Physically, there was no contest. Soon enough I came to realize the old people didn't need to cover much ground. Where we, the young guns, were making spectacular plays to get the ball all over the court, they were keeping it simple. Each of them knew where the others could be expected to hit it. They were ready when it came their way. They talked to each other, encouraged each other. They congratulated each other on a job well done. They were more than a good team. They were good teammates.

The funny thing is, I've come across several teams that played this way. I've been on a few of them myself. As teammates we didn't always like each other, but we respected each other's abilities, we trusted each other. We knew each other. We started out calling for the ball on every chance, a good habit that kept us from running over each other, or worse, letting the ball drop untouched. Eventually, it became unnecessary, blindfolded, we could point out where anyone was.

I'm afraid this team will never play like that. I'm afraid we'll never get it. We don't call for the ball. We don't back each other up. We don't pass or set. We reach in front of our own teammates to hit it. We're afraid we'll make mistakes. When we do make mistakes, we feel the need to apologize. If we're going to win, we need to get away from these destructive habits. We just need to play together, as a unit. We need to be good teammates.

Let's Go, Mets!

How about those Mets? After an 0-5 start last year I think everyone could tell that it was going to be a long, agonizing season. Then after a 6 game winning streak, it suddenly looked like the team could do good things. So what do we make of the team's hot start this year? Although it might still be a little too early to start looking ahead to playoffs and pennants, there are a few trends which are decidedly encouraging:

1. The Mets lead the league with the fewest runs allowed (41 as of this post).
2. With their series victory over the Brewers, the Amazin's solidified their credibility by beating a division leader.
3. They've proven that they can win tight games as well as laughers.
4. The abilities of Carlos Delgado and/or David Wright to deliver in the clutch