Mind over matter: Blue Devils looking to bring right mental focus to pursuit of postseason success

QUINCY — From her time playing college volleyball, Kate Brown understands the mental battles student-athletes go through.

“I was terrible with mental toughness,” Brown said. “I would get so mad at myself. It wasn’t necessarily at my team, it was at me for not doing the things I know how to do.”

That personal experience and the mental struggles Brown noticed with her own team were motivating factors for the Quincy High School volleyball coach to have her players read “Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence.”

“We struggled with that aspect over the last three years,” Brown said. “I did a book in college with my coach and it really helped me. When (QHS assistant coach Kailey) Reckers and I were talking in the offseason, we were like ‘I think this is something we really need to work on,’ so I gave the seniors three different books to choose from, and they chose (Mind Gym).”

“Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence” by sports psychology consultant Gary Mack features lessons, anecdotes and exercises that illuminate the role an athlete’s mind plays in their performance on the field or court.

“One of my favorite things (the players) did with one of the exercises is they had to get a notecard and they had to imagine what their best game looked like,” Brown said. “Then they had to think about what things were in that best game skill-wise that I do and then they had to take each one of those skills and say, ‘What helped me achieve that skill?’ Like ‘Did I keep my elbow high?’ ‘Did I keep my platform out in front and shoulders forward?’ ‘Did I keep the ball up high on my serve?’ Little things like that. They have that in their locker that they’re supposed to look at every day. 

“I’ve definitely noticed a difference since we started the book.”

Senior middle and outside hitter Ayanna Douglas has noticed a difference, too.

“It’s helped us all be mentally in the game and mentally focused during practice,” Douglas said. “It helps us find our place, like how we get to the postseason, how we get to all these tough situations and win. It’s helpful to have a book that continues to help me be a stronger person and captain to all my teammates.”

The Blue Devils hope to use this book as a catalyst toward further improvement in Brown’s fourth season. The Blue Devils have increased their win total in each season with Brown at the helm. The 2023 season culminated in a 21-14 record and a first-round postseason loss to Edwardsville in the Class 4A Alton Regional.

“It definitely hurt,” Brown said of that loss. “We just could not come together that last game, like we just couldn’t figure it out as a team. This year, I’ve think we’ve started fitting the puzzle pieces together to figure out what problems we had that caused it.”

The book is a crucial piece to that puzzle.

“Last year, we were very individualistic and not coming together as a team at all,” senior opposite Lydia Peters said. “There was a lot of arguing on the court in that playoff game. We just weren’t winning together.”

With that loss behind them and, in Brown’s words, a “monumental year” ahead of them, the Blue Devils return plenty of firepower to reach the playoffs once again. Douglas’ versatility will give QHS a great deal of freedom.

“She has been mostly a middle for us,” Brown said of Douglas. “We tried pushing her to the outside to get her the ball more. She’s a very strong hitter, so we were able to make that happen this year. We pushed her to the outside and we’re hoping to be able to have her play all the way around so we have her utilize the back row and swing back there as well. We’ve been working a lot on her defense over the summer so she can do that.”

That versatility is something Douglas believes will serve her well in finding a college home.

“College coaches love the idea of playing anywhere, so I am open to learning new things and being wherever I can best help the team,” Douglas said. “I’ll play wherever. It’s like, ‘Yep, put me in coach!’”

At just 5-foot-6, Douglas is admittedly not the tallest front row player, but her athleticism makes up for what she lacks in stature.

“I can jump and I know my abilities,” Douglas said. “I can block a 6-foot middle and be like, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’”

Peters and Alyssa Farlow on the right side add strength to the attack as well as an imposing block.

“They’re just connecting with their setters, and their block is just massive for those outside hitters that they’re going to be coming up against,” Brown said.

Kaley Summers on the outside and Madison Loos in the middle will finish off plenty of assists from senior setter Elise Damon.

The Blue Devils begin their season Aug. 29 at Chatham Glenwood.

“Having these freshmen all the way through, they always say four to five years when you start a new program, and we’re getting into that wave of establishing a culture and making it a legacy for everybody,” Brown said.

It all starts with a strong mindset.

“We have to look forward and only forward,” Douglas said.