The Details: For UW Volleyball, 'Let's Just Be Great Today'
December 03, 2015 | General, Volleyball
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Melanie Wade refused to look ahead. Washington's volleyball team was preparing for the first of two final Pac-12 matches with Senior Night looming.
But the senior middle blocker was only concerned with one thing – working to make sure the Huskies were focused on tightening up the little things before playing Utah on the road.
Her focus was to secure the present to ensure the future.
“In the end, the team that wins it (the national championship) is going to be the one that's still improving,” Wade said.
For a team ranked No. 1 in the nation, a group that has won 11 consecutive matches, it would be easy for Washington to let dreams of a national championship run wild.
Not this group. Not after everything the Huskies have worked through the past year. This program understands the danger of looking toward the future and, with six seniors, the next match is the only one worth focusing on.
“(That mindset) comes from some difficult times when there was a lot of uncertainty for us in the spring,” coach Keegan Cook said. “There were lots of questions about the future and what's going to happen.”
Back in January, former coach Jim McLaughlin announced he was leaving Washington to become the head coach at Notre Dame.
All of a sudden, a perennial power was thrust into a seismic shift. The Huskies were forced to ask, “What's next?”
“When you think that far ahead, it's really easy to have fearful thoughts or to get lost in the uncertainty of what's going to happen,” Cook said. “You just go crazy after a while.”
A tumultuous time was eased by the announcement that Cook, then an assistant, would take the reins. When the decision was made, Washington's staff and players focused on a shared message built around a simple concept: “Who knows?”
There is always going to be uncertainty. Nothing is guaranteed, so the Huskies agreed, “let's just be great today. Let's be great again tomorrow. Let's be great again the next day.”
Washington embraced the message. They understand that, “whatever happens will happen,” but by living in the moment, the Huskies have given themselves the best chance at a deep run through the postseason.
To ensure the program remains locked in the present, Cook has tried to make his players uncomfortable. Washington spent the season fixing flaws.
“Sometimes you don't want to learn, because you want to protect what you have and not take any risks, but our message has been, 'Hey, let's just keep learning, even if it costs us a match.'”
With just two losses so far this season, the Huskies have been able to win at a high level while fine-tuning weaknesses.
“They've done a great job,” Cook said. “You see it. Melanie embodies that. Players give a coach's words life. What we say doesn't mean anything unless the players buy in. Top to bottom, they've all bought in.”
There have been moments when players were thrust into “uncomfortable” practice situations.
“They've just handled it,” Cook said.
A mindset molded through uncertainty has the helped the Huskies into the tournament.
“Now the situation is as urgent as it gets,” Cook said. “The key for us is to just keep playing the game the way we've been playing it.”
Cook and Washington's seniors know the season will eventually come to an end. But they're not talking about it, because only one thing is certain, the Huskies play Denver at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
That is what matters now, because that is what's next.
“These kids are locked in,” Cook said.
