MVP: More than just stats

As autumn settles in, athletes must prepare to do well during their athletic season. With that in mind, it is important for these players to know what their coaches expect from potential MVPs.
Head Coach Lyle Takeshita
Girls Varsity Volleyball
“To me you have to have leadership, quality and skill. So you have your on-court performance, your teammates’ performance and off-the-court performance. All of that goes together equally, so it’s hard for me to say ‘well this is the most important part of being our team MVP.’ Usually it’s somewhat easy to choose because that person or those people stand out as leaders, as contributors, and as skillful players— everything that goes into being the most valuable person.”
Head Coach Davo Gharagyozyan
Boys Varsity Water Polo
“We have to look into the stat book to see who’s been helping us out the most. You also have to see how they’re holding themselves outside of the pool. You’ve got to be able to score goals, have leadership and be somebody we can rely on. Last year we had two co-MVPs because it was a very small margin between those two. It comes out at the end of the season once we have all the stats and we know who’s who.”
Coach Nathan Slaymaker
Girls Varsity Tennis
“The tennis MVP is mostly objective, and is based on each player’s personal record. The player’s records accurately measure their skills. If there are two players with similar records, I look for the player that has been a leader all year in his or her attitude, perseverance, and hard work.”
Coach Riley Saxon
Varsity Football
“As a coach, I have always taken the approach that players vote for the MVP and all other team awards. Allowing the players to choose gives more value to the award as opposed to a coach just simply choosing who he thinks was best.”
Coach Mike Tomasulo
Cross Country
“One of the things that makes it a lot easier, like a lot of sports is that we have times. Personally, the person running the faster time would be the most valued player. It could change, but more often than not it doesn’t. When it comes to helping the team out the most, it comes down to the time. You have to wait until the end of the season to see.”