Focus on winning the contest with yourself.

Coaches need to have the ability of tact - to teach the team to rub out mistakes rather than to rub them in.

Ethics is for people with full bellies.

Study hard, practice hard, play ferociously.

An advantage to volleyball is that you have a scoreboard to tell how you have done as a team. The thing is, in life there is no scoreboard, at least not one that you can see.

Play your heart out each game, so you can look your teammates in the eyes and ask, without saying it, 'I played full out, did you?'

It's hard for these athletes to stay healthy. They are constantly being bombarded with unhealthy advertising. Peer pressure can override the body's demand for health. Being healthy goes beyond 'not being sick' (where all lab reports indicate health), to feeling optimistic, energetic, strong and happy with their bodies. Teaching them to take charge of their bodies is a job of coaching. Help them gain discipline in conditioning, nutrition and attitude/emotional control.