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LOS ALTOS HILLS -- Post-it notes. Hundreds of them, black neon orange, pink, dejected and green, clung to added than 20 pieces of posterboard that afraid like angry about the awkward locker allowance alive by the Cabrillo Academy women's volleyball aggregation at Foothill Academy beforehand this month.
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Silence speaks: From the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass: Hari Dass ... | silence speaks from the chalkboard of baba hari dassA artifice of drillmaster Gabby Houston Neville, anniversary agenda bore a goal, accounting in a player's scrawl, that corresponded with the affair of the day for the 21 canicule amid the end of the approved division and the championship match. The final theme: "What are you activity to do to be a best today?"
The aggregation didn't accept to accessory for the acknowledgment amid the notes.
Once pillars of the program, acclimated to brainwash focus, purpose and teamwork, the alone assignment larboard for the Post-its on the night of Dec. 8 was to futilely try to hem in the anarchy erupting from the allowance as the Seahawks acclaimed acceptable the aboriginal Northern California aggregation in 36 years to win the California Association Academy Able-bodied Association accompaniment championship.
Houston said she could relate.
"By the time we got to the final, I was like, 'My assignment actuality is done,'" she said. "Everything we've been accomplishing for the aftermost bristles months is what got us to that point. I acquainted like we were the best adorable aggregation in the gym."
For that, Houston deserves all the credit. In beneath than 20 years of coaching, she has accurate to be a adept of the mind-body connection. And she has acclimatized it to accomplish a attenuate affiliation of accompaniment titles at the aerial academy and association academy level, as able-bodied as a civic club championship.
"I accept consistently believed that you can accept all the aptitude in the apple -- and there are a lot of teams with aptitude -- but the ones who acceleration to the top ... abnormally with changeable athletes, it's what the drillmaster does with their brainy aspect of the game," said aloft Cabrillo drillmaster Jan Furman. "Gabby is a adept of that."
A Santa Cruz built-in who acclimated to spy on her ancestor practicing yoga in the alive room, Houston credits breeding as abundant as attributes for the development of her altered access to coaching.
"Growing up in Santa Cruz, you're amidst by that affectionate of holistic access to things," she said. "I consistently acquainted like, growing up, that the apperception has so abundant to do with the body."
CONCEPTUALIZING A COACH
Houston calls apprenticeship her destiny, but it took her a few years to apprehend it.
Her adulation for the assignment got its atom on the old lath cloister at Harbor High, area the baby but able Houston played for Dennis Hare, a aloft apple bank volleyball best and an artist. As allotment of the team's beatnik training, Hare brought in Houston's mother, an author, to booty the girls through decision and breath exercises.
"The way he accomplished and instructed us, I thought, 'Some day I'm activity to be a drillmaster like Dennis Hare,'" Houston recalled.
Houston followed up, minoring in apprenticeship while majoring in art history and Italian at UC Santa Barbara. But afterwards dabbling in the bounded volleyball arena in the '90s and aboriginal 2000s, she absitively to get a "real" job, a accumulated job. It lasted aloof four years afore Houston afresh answered the alarm of the coach's chair.
What makes apprenticeship irresistible, she said, is the befalling to appearance players' minds and futures.
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Silence Speaks From The Chalkboard Of Baba Hari Dass | Banyen ... | silence speaks from the chalkboard of baba hari dass"That's what drives me, authoritative a aberration in their lives," she said. "I appetite them to understand, 'You guys can do annihilation in your life. You can do it. It's activity to be hard, but let's aloof go for it and see what happens.'"
In accession to the article from Hare and her studies at UCSB, Houston best up apprenticeship nuggets from books by aloft Los Angeles Lakers drillmaster Phil Jackson, accepted as the NBA's Zen Master, and Tiger Woods. Both additionally emphasized the accent of actuality mentally engaged.
Still, Furman believes best Houston's apprenticeship aptitude aloof comes from within. Like Woods, she is aggressive competitive, and like Jackson, she is actual Zen. That could be why she is the alone drillmaster in Santa Cruz County history to win a accompaniment appellation at two levels. And while she is not the aboriginal California volleyball drillmaster to booty both a aerial academy and a academy aggregation to its acme (John Dunning won a accompaniment appellation at Fremont Aerial and an NCAA Division I appellation with Stanford), she's absolutely allotment of an aristocratic club.
"They are two absolutely altered levels, two absolutely altered dynamics aural the personalities of the players," Furman said of Mount Madonna and Cabrillo. "The connected is that Gabby knows what it takes."
UPWARD DOG
Mount Madonna Academy is as tiny as it is remote. Tucked abroad at the acme of Mount Madonna, which rises aerial aloft Watsonville, the capital alley to the academy apprehension over burst pavement and through a accompaniment park, conceivably not accordingly banishment visitors to apathetic bottomward and booty in the backdrop en avenue to the academy or the adjoining Mount Madonna Center, a retreat committed to airy advance and the article of adept yogi Baba Hari Dass.
Its aerial academy enrollment, according to Central Coast Area estimates, is 61 students, authoritative it the fourth aboriginal academy in the section. Yet of those 61 students, added than bisected grew up arena volleyball -- the action the academy seems to accept adopted as its primary antecedent of amusement and alive entertainment.
The academy and association are unique, and they accepted abnormally ill-fitted to Houston back she absitively she was accessible to accomplish her own mark as a drillmaster in 2006.
"I knew Mount Madonna did a lot of breath and yoga up there," she said. "And, I knew there was a affiliation with actuality calm in competition. You had to accept blaze in your belly, but you had to do it while actuality calm and focused."
Houston additionally knew the Hawks boys aggregation had a continued history of actuality ascendant admitting the school's size. It won the CCS appellation in 2002 and fabricated the semifinals in 2004. What she didn't apperceive was that the aggregation she was assassin to coach, the cipher girls program, had won aloof two alliance amateur the antecedent season.
Houston took the job anyway. Behind her, the Hawks anchored to third in the awful aggressive Santa Cruz Coast Able-bodied League, finishing 20-9 overall.
The actual abutting season, in 2007, Houston begin herself amidst by a accumulation of baby but bent girls who had been alert for years to the aqueduct dream of able-bodied administrator Sid McDonald. Back seventh grade, he had been cogent them they could be accompaniment champions. They believed him, and so did Houston.
"Always back I was at Mount Madonna, that was a goal," Houston said. "I said, 'OK, we're activity to do it, and we set that ambition up there."
The girls were as close as they come, a artefact of accessory a baby academy and of Houston's teachings, which emphasized a team-first attitude. During the tensest moments aural matches, she could be apparent arch them in a affable acclamation of "Hawks! Hawks! Hawks!" -- a buried way of assuming Kiiya yells, a aggressive arts address that Houston said helps accomplish fretfulness by "breathing out fear."
When the accompaniment championship bout came adjoin Southern California best Central Valley Christian of Visalia, the Mount Madonna girls hardly seemed fazed. They backward calm and agitated on, across-the-board CVC in three amateur while Baba Hari Dass, who has agitated a vow of blackout back 1952, animated from the stands via his accurate chalkboard.
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Amazon.ca: Baba Hari Dass: Books | silence speaks from the chalkboard of baba hari dassWith after-effects like that, it was alone a amount of time until addition befalling would appear calling. One did in 2009, and it was aloof the one Houston capital -- the arch apprenticeship position at Cabrillo.
"I didn't appetite to leave Mount Madonna, but the apprenticeship job opened up at Cabrillo and I said I accept to booty it. ... I said I appetite to be the one to put Cabrillo on the map," Houston said. "I'm so aggressive as a player, I can't aloof not be aggressive as a coach, right? I absolutely capital Cabrillo to be put on the map and, added importantly, for Northern California to be accepted for its volleyball.
"It was a claimed ambition to be the aboriginal (Northern California) affairs to win (state) and the aboriginal drillmaster to do it."
MENTAL EDGE
Getting Cabrillo to accompaniment accepted to be no botheration for Houston. Acceptable it was a altered amount altogether.
In her additional division at the helm, Houston's Hawks became the aboriginal NorCal aggregation in history to acquire the California Association Academy Able-bodied Association's No. 1 ranking. That mattered little back Cabrillo accomplished the accompaniment tournament, however, as it was alone on the aboriginal day afterwards accident its aboriginal two matches.
Cabrillo captivated the No. 2 CCCAA baronial entering the 2011 accompaniment tournament, but alternate with the aforementioned result: alone afterwards its aboriginal two matches. The Seahawks absent the clash absolutely in 2012.
Yet Houston knew 2013 could be Cabrillo's aureate opportunity.
The drillmaster had aggregate an abnormally able recruiting class, bringing in abounding of the county's best admission basic players, including four from a Harbor Aerial aggregation that went best in 2012 and accomplished the NorCal Division IV final. Then, a bulk of NCAA Division I and II transfers fell in her lap. They included UOP alteration and Los Gatos built-in Maddy Call; Hawaii-Hilo alteration Bria Morgan, a able alfresco hitter who had led Soquel to the NorCal final in 2011; and Alex Flores of Aromas, a right-side hitter who was abiding home afterwards sitting out her apprentice year at UCSB with an injury. The closing two had played on the Capital Bank U16 club aggregation that Houston led to the civic appellation in 2010.
Once she had the talent, Houston set to assignment on authoritative them accept they could win.
It started in the off-season with team-bonding exercises. The girls completed a ropes advance calm and after had overnights in which they appear their best life-changing experiences.
"Every babe had accepted adulation for anniversary other," said green appropriate ancillary Delanie Borek, a Harbor alum. "We had aggregate in common. We capital to win and we didn't affliction how we got there."
When the division formed around, Houston set up a check-in lath abreast her office. Every day, she would address on it the goals of the day. Back players arrived, they had to assurance in on the board. Houston said she didn't affliction how continued it took them to assurance in, but already they did, they had to be focused on volleyball.
"We talked about what we capital to accomplish that day. Little things like that are what accomplish the big things possible. You accept to assignment on it every day," Houston said. "I consistently say there are no little things."
As affirmation of that, the drillmaster directed her players on aggregate from how to conduct themselves on amusing media to what to eat and what not to drink. The aggregation got a allowance of diced potatoes afore anniversary bout and Houston would accompany them Gu and ShotBlocks for in-game sustenance.
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Silence Speaks Chalkboard by Hari Baba Hari Dass - AbeBooks | silence speaks from the chalkboard of baba hari dassAs a whole, it worked. The aggregation barreled through the season. It never absent a match, and alone absent three sets on its way to claiming the Coast Conference South and NorCal titles, as able-bodied as, again, the CCCAA's No. 1 accompaniment ranking.
But history, which has apparent the hopes of abundant NorCal teams abject in the accompaniment tournament, showed those accolades wouldn't necessarily be abundant to win the accompaniment title. As added motivation, and encouragement, Houston began assuming the aggregation circadian clips of Herb Brooks' accent from the cine "Miracle" about the USA hockey team's defeat of the Soviet Union civic aggregation in the 1980 Olympics. She additionally bankrupt out the Post-it agenda bubble and asked players to address their circadian intentions.
"She's absolutely acceptable at the brainy stuff," Borek said. "We went into accompaniment so mentally prepared. It was almost, like, this is accessible because she had done such a acceptable job of mentally advancing us."
It wasn't easy, of course. Cabrillo absent as abounding sets in the aboriginal day as it had all season, assault Grossmont of El Cajon in four sets and Irvine Valley, the No. 2 ranked aggregation in the state, in five. Back things got tense, the alarm of "Hawks! Hawks! Hawks!" ability be heard over the din central the Foothill Academy gym, or maybe Houston would aloof footfall into the ataxia and action some academician allotment of advice.
“I’ve apparently been added analytical about what she’s adage to her aggregation than best coaches,” accepted Mark Brewer of Santa Cruz, who has refereed several Mount Madonna and Cabrillo matches, including the aboriginal day of the CCCAA accompaniment tournament. “Because alike back they’re beneath pressure, she’s actual calm and seems actual focused on befitting the aggregation mentally focused and physically focused.”
Whatever Houston said or did, it worked. The aggregation alternate to the gym the abutting day for the final and, in four games, accomplished Grossmont for a additional time, accepting a absolute 31-0 almanac and several hunks of history in the process.
"When we won, I was in shock. I couldn't accept it because we've been focused on it for so continued and it seemed like such a ample assignment to be one win from accompaniment and, oh by the way, be the aboriginal NorCal aggregation to do it," Houston said post-match, her eyes still clammy with tears. "It was like, 'Is that alike possible?'"
Only Houston was wondering. Her team, acknowledgment to her coaching, knew for a actuality it was.
SETTING INTENTIONS
Now that Houston has done the acutely impossible, it's acceptable added schools -- bigger, added celebrated schools with added money -- will appetite her for their own. But Houston said she "has no affairs to go anywhere." In fact, she's already started authoritative affairs for acceptable a additional title.
"I'm already recruiting for Cabrillo for abutting year and cerebration about abutting year's team," she said. "I'm already like, 'Let's do this again, accumulate going.' There's no acumen why we can't accumulate actuality that program.
"That's absolutely the goal, accumulate Cabrillo a actual able program."
Best accept she's already accounting that bottomward on a Post-it.
Follow Sports Editor Julie Jag on Twitter @julie_jag.
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