Being left-handed has its advantages in volleyball. Few people know enough about your spike and serve to give you advice.

Profit by your own mistakes and profit by the mistakes of others. The referees were calling ball handling violations like they were getting commissions.

You cannot turn your winning attitude on when you think you 'need it.' You must work on it every day, every practice, every match - win or lose. Focus on playing to win, not playing to lose, for there is a season of difference between the two.

Make your mistakes with confidence. It is the only way you are going to learn anything. Never be afraid to do a skill, no matter how simple or hard it may seem someone has done it, and so can you, With enough committed practice and confidence.

Coaches and players at the start must think their way through problems where a more experienced person would react out of habit and memory. One must not gain this experience, however, without being careful of empty redundancy. Do not fall into the error of the artist who boasts of 20 years of experience at his craft while, in fact, all he has had is one year - 20 times.

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?'

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