By: Paul Arrington, M.D.

So why, if positive reinforcement is so great, does punishment seem to be more effective? To answer this we need to understand the statistical phenomenon called, “Regression to the Mean.” In any sequence of events in which there is some degree of randomness, any extraordinary event (good or bad) is most likely to be followed by a rather more ordinary event. This is seen graphically below: Continue Reading

At the University of Minnesota, Mike Hebert introduced me to the works of Dr. Paul Arrington. Dr. Arrington is a humble man from Hawaii that has been around volleyball for many years.  He has coached juniors for over 25 years in Hawaii, much of his work has been published by the AVCA, he is quoted in countless books, and he is now an Assistant Coach at Dartmouth University.  He chose Dartmouth because he prefers to live in a small town.

Dr. Arrington spends countless hours studying and researching top programs.  He compiles a wealth of data to come to factual conclusions that often proves or disproves common volleyball theory.  Dr. Mike Hebert believes Dr. Arrington’s work is consistent with the late, great Dr. Jim Coleman, one of the early revolutionary strategists of volleyball.  That’s a lot of volleyball doctors Continue Reading