The Power of the Assist

In team sports, "me, me, me" won't cut it. A small-town Iowa athlete reminds us what guides the mind and heart of a champion.

March Madness is over, the NCAA championship is in the books, and I’m still stuck on sports. It’s not because I’m an athlete (never have been, never will be) or a devoted fan. I am someone who’s always looking to gain a competitive edge, on the hunt for useful insights, so I can up my game and help others along the way.

There’s nothing like sports to provide powerful metaphors for life. While it’s easy to focus on the superstars in any big game, a talented volleyball player at our local high school got me thinking about teamwork in a different way.

Norah Riedesel is an 18-year-old senior at South Central Calhoun (SCC) High School here in my hometown of Lake City. This fall, she reached a major milestone of 1,500 career assists. Her accomplishment reminded me of a morning last July when I was in Ames for Iowa Swine Day. (Stick with me—you’d be amazed at what you can learn at farm meetings.)

Here’s Norah Riedesel (setting the ball) during a high school volleyball game.

The keynote speaker, Ross Bernstein, presented “The Champion’s Code: Building Relationships Through Life Lessons from the Sports World to the Business World.” One of his stories revolved around his youth in southern Minnesota and his passion for hockey. He mentioned his favorite player, Wayne Gretzky, who racked up 894 regular-season goals and 1,963 assists during his storied career. “When you make a goal, you make one person happy. But an assist makes two people happy,” Bernstein said. “Wayne understood the power of the assist.”

That wisdom popped back into my head when I decided I should reach out to Norah. “Here’s someone who really understands the power of the assist,” I thought.

We win or lose together

Norah told me she started playing volleyball in 4th grade. She played right back (a defensive position) during her freshman and sophomore years of high school and became a setter during her junior and senior years.

“There are a lot of things that go into setting,” Norah explained. “The biggest skill you need is the ability to make quick decisions on the spot. The first thing I think about is the other team’s defense. Every team has their weakness, so it’s important to get the ball to hitters who can put the ball in that weak spot.”

Assists are an integral element of teamwork, she added. “The phrase ‘bump, set, spike’ didn’t come from nowhere. Without a good pass, there’s probably not a good set. Without a good set, hitters aren’t in the position to score.”

That’s exactly the mindset that led Norah and her fellow SCC Titans to the regional final game last fall. Had they won, they would have competed in the state volleyball tournament.

While Norah’s high school volleyball career has ended, the power of the assist is a lesson that will serve her well in life. (She’s headed to college to earn her doctor of physical therapy degree and specialize in sports physical therapy.)

Success beyond sports

Norah is a real-life example of how the power of the assist reflects the talent and heart of a person. The assist combines skill and intention. It embodies your willingness to intentionally give up a chance for personal gain to create the possibility for a teammate to shine.

The assist doesn’t just exist in sports. Ever heard of Reggie Young? This American guitarist (1936-2019) was a leading session musician who performed on various recordings back in the day. His power of the assist made countless artists, including Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Merle Haggard, sound even better.

Norah Riedesel (front row, third from right) is shown here in the South Central Calhoun High School gym in Lake City with her teammates and coaches.

The power of the assist also influences the arts. Think of the director who guides the actors in a movie or theater production to excellence. In the publishing world, there’s the detail-oriented editor who polishes writers’ prose to make these stories more clear, concise and compelling.

The power of the assist is a big responsibility, as Norah reminded me, but it can unleash exceptional results. Even better, it’s a mindset that anyone can cultivate. What will your next great assist look like?

BONUS CONTENT

If you’re really into volleyball or want to learn more about how a star athlete sees the world, here’s a more in-depth interview I did with Norah.

Q: What do you enjoy about volleyball?

A: One of the biggest things is I was lucky enough to play with some of my best friends from 4th grade to my senior year. This made us super close. We were able to make an endless amount of memories together. I also love the team aspect of the game.

Q: What’s your take on the importance of teamwork?
A: Volleyball is a sport where you either work together as a team or lose. Not one single athlete can make a volleyball team. As a setter, my main job was to get the ball to hitters in order for them to score. I also spent some time in the back row, so then my job was to get the ball up for someone else. Many people think these positions receive no glory, and it all goes to the hitters. I disagree. There’s nothing more rewarding than helping your teammates succeed. Along with that, our team would cheer me on, as a setter, more than anything when I would get a kill or get a tough set up to a hitter for a kill.

Q: Being a setter is all about the power of the assist. What have you learned about the strategic mindset required for success?

A: The first thing I think about is the other team’s defense. Every team has their weakness when it comes to defense, so it’s important to get the ball to hitters who can put the ball in that weak spot. Sticking to the opposing team’s defense, I also would pay attention to their blockers. Some teams will have their blockers sit on your strongest hitters to try and stop them from scoring. In this situation, I would try to get my other hitters some early kills so the blockers weren’t able to sit on one hitter. It’s even better if you can get your outside and rightside hitters scoring at the same time, because then the other teams middle blocker has to make a decision early on who to block. This can cause them to be late and not be able to get a strong block up against your hitter.

Q: There’s a quote that says, “Assists are the embodiment of teamwork. They help us capitalize on the talents of teammates, rather than selfishly advancing our individual position and status. They create uncommon results.” What about this quote resonates with you?

A: I especially love the last sentence about “uncommon results.” Good teamwork can take teams farther than teams with a bunch of good players who can’t work together to achieve a goal. Look at the SCC volleyball team’s success this past year. It was due to our communication, resiliency and the idea that we win or lose together—as a team. These are all the things our coach (Emma Schleisman) really wanted to instill in us when she became the head volleyball coach.

Q: Talking about teamwork is one thing. How did your coach have the SCC volleyball team train to work more effectively as a team?

A: We did a lot of drills that required everyone to do something. For example, we had a drill called “out-of-system” that we did almost every day. This started with the setter or right back passing up a ball, the libero (a defensive player who plays in the back row and specializes in digging) or left back giving a high ball to the pins, and then the hitters swinging on that ball. We would have a set amount we needed to get. If we didn’t, everyone had a consequence. We also had a drill where the varsity team would line up, and every player would have to serve the ball in-bounds aggressively. If someone missed, at any point in the line, we would have to run and then restart. We’d have to do this until we went through everyone without any missed serves. In the moment, this was extremely frustrating. However, I truly think this made our team more resilient and closer. All of these things not only improved our skills as players, but also our ability to work together to reach a goal.

Q: What are your plans after you graduate from SCC?

A: I plan to attend Iowa State University and major in kinesiology pre-health and possibly minor in nutrition. I plan to get more education to earn my Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. I’m interested in specializing in sports physical therapy.

Q: Anything else you'd like to add about the power of the assist?

A: The power of the assist is a big responsibility. It’s not about making yourself look good, but making your team succeed. This requires a certain mindset. For some people, it can be hard to give some of the glory to someone else. However, this is what makes someone a better athlete and even better teammate.

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