After each tournament, I give out awards called the Coachies, in the spirit of Emmys, ESPYs, Grammys, etc. These are the positive events that I want to remember.

Straight Down Award: Amari for hitting the ball DOWN! You were hitting outside and the set was high. You timed it perfectly and hit OVER the blocker and DOWN. The guys working the table were all OOOOHHHH!

Einstein Award: Rishi for knowing that Rotation 3 Serve Receive was a problem. We worked together and found a solution that shored up one of our weaknesses. Keep asking questions. Keep searching for solutions.

y=mx+b Award: Hirday for serving down line to 1. The margin for error is about 10-12 inches. Your serves weren’t just placed well, but low and with pace. THEN to take it to the next level, you noticed that the defender was playing up and you attempted to serve cross court to 1. If it had gone in, they never would have gotten it.

Superman Award: Srivishal for hitting front row Opposite sets from the back row. The first time I had seen this executed effectively was watching Cody Kessel at Princeton University… fast forward 7 years… he’s playing professionally for the top team in Germany.

Plumber Award: Atharva for hitting a pipe to the 1-6 seam for a point. Thus living up to the promise of not hitting the net and not hitting it out that you had made to Rishi. Keep on playing deep defense and then demand the pipes!

BB Award: Andrew for serving BBs that clear the net by scant inches but have so much pace on them that they pepper the baseline. These serves are deceptively effective as they have “late life” and “get on” the passer faster than they realize.

Security Blanket Award: Keshav. So many times that ball was tipped, pounded or pushed and so many times the serves were high and deep. Calmly, you just passed them to give us a chance for a point. You are our security blanket. When we’re at risk, you step up and keep us safe.

Best Thor Imitation: Larson for jumping through the roof, calling down lightning and smiting the balls! I can’t wait for the day when you smite a freeball…

Bob, the Builder Award: it seems like everyone used Blocks to build Roofs. Your blocking game was so effective, that it -shut down- their outside attack in the finals. They just stopped hitting and looped it over into the court. That effective block gave us the opportunity to run our In System offense.

Harmony Award: Hrishkesh for making plays that aren’t flashy, that often gets overlooked but are crucial for earning points or stopping opposing runs. It is like the underlying harmony in a piece of music that allows the melody to shine.

Final Word: Wow. I’ve been doing this for a long time and very, very rarely have I come across a team such as yours. What you have is special and unusual. Sure other clubs may be stronger, but as a team, you’re just getting started.