When Frank Zaccari’s professional career brought his family to Seattle, his personal interest in women’s volleyball sought an opportunity for him to get involved in the University of Washington program: the Huskies. In “From the Ashes,” Frank Zaccari discusses in great detail the sequence of events that lead to the success of University of Washington volleyball, as outlined in the subtitle The Rise of the University of Washington Volleyball Program.
Frank Zaccari was not your typical spectator in what is a spectator sport. From the early days of taking her daughters to the local women’s volleyball competition, she realized the dichotomy of skill levels between the institutions involved in the sport. He describes the lack of match of having a PAC-10 team, which is the best volleyball conference in the world, against a mother varsity team, was analogous to taking lambs to the slaughterhouse. What makes a team so superior? This question brought Frank Zaccari’s professional problem-solving techniques, used so successfully in business, to life as an advocate for the sport.
Cleverly and with a minutia of detail geared specifically to the UW women’s volleyball team, Zaccari begins his sketch of philosophies designed to ultimately lead the UW team to the championships. One of his theories, titled The Hedgehog Theory, is when the use of new or different tactics results in continued failure, due to the problem not being addressed, as shown below:
“The fox is a cunning creature, capable of imitating a large number of complex strategies for sneaking attacks against the hedgehog … The hedgehog is a more scruffy creature … he spends his days looking for lunch and taking care of his home. The fox plots and plans a complex series of daily attacks, while the hedgehog focuses solely on what is important to him. When the fox jumps up to attack, the hedgehog simply rolls into a perfect ball. It becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox is forced to retreat and continues to plan and plot his next failure. “
Frank Zaccari points out that it all starts with having the right leader. One capable of articulating his vision, inspiring the group, having great wisdom to select the right people for the right tasks, and always staying focused on the “goal.” This is true in sports, life, and business.
“From the Ashes” is written for a niche audience, particularly focused on the college women’s volleyball competition. In fact, a generous donation will be made from book sales to the UW volleyball program. The book is full of details about the players, coaches, and competition history of UW events and other teams, so in my opinion, the general public can find this book of parallel interest only if one he is a sports fanatic. However, for those involved in college sports, From the Ashes becomes required reading and you can apply the topics, strategies, and tips to your own life; I truly believe that you will find that they will help you on your journey to success. As the legendary coach of Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers football team and Phil Jackson of the LA Lakers basketball team subscribed to the principles presented in “From the Ashes,” Frank Zaccari contains many words of history, reason, and motivation. in his inspirational book. To all UW women’s volleyball players, we yelled, “PUNTA! HUSKIES!”
