Seattle Times: McLaughlin keeps the focus simple (Jerry Brewer)

[Photo by Dean Rutz, The Seattle Times]

Seattle Times sports columnist Jerry Brewer has an in-depth feature this morning: Washington volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin keeps the focus simple: Improvement.

The story focuses on the McLaughlin's decision earlier this season to switch to a two-setter offense. Among Jerry's observations:

"Spend a half season examining one of Seattle's greatest, and most unlikely, winning teams, and sometimes you don't know whether you're learning about volleyball or physics. This giant is peerless, a creation of superior intellect and talent to go with chemistry, brutal honesty and a disdain for ambiguity."

"The Huskies have built an enviable tradition, but they don't live off tradition. In some ways, McLaughlin rebukes the very thing he has created. Why? Because tradition can stunt growth."

Jim McLaughlin is "the most cerebral coach you'll ever meet and possibly the best, too."

"The coach presents a long list of things, broken into three categories: Completely Control, Mostly Control and Have No Control. Interestingly, under the Have No Control section, he includes winning."