Not everyone is born with great leadership skills. What does it take to become someone who can lead a sports team? It is both an honor and a great responsibility to play the role of a team captain of a sports team and as CAA we believe there are a few qualities that come with being a successful leader. It is essential to maintain the abilities to be committed, a positive thinker, a good communicator, a decision-maker, trustworthy, an organizer and a mentor to their team. Once you have established all these characteristics then you are on the path to being not just a good role model, but a great leader for those around you!
Do you have what it takes to lead your team and be a future captain?
A leader is persistent and helps their teammates achieve their goals.
A leader acknowledges every single person on their team and makes everyone feel valued.
A leader holds their teammates accountable.
A leader needs to be self-aware and able to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.
Being a positive thinker and having a positive attitude is extremely important.
A leader needs to have good sportsmanship and be able to learn from a loss and work together as a team to improve. The road to success is paved with failure.
Being a student-athlete, leaders need to be able to prioritize and stay organized on and off the field.
Strong leaders recognize that in order for their team to function in a positive manner, they cannot rule with an iron fist. With this being said, it is important to communicate with your team and your coach. When the captain listens, they are encouraging their teammates to speak up and learn from their feedback. More notably, listening encourages respect and when team members know that their opinions are valued and taken into consideration, they will more likely return the courtesy to their captain; it fundamentally keeps the team a sense of balance. When there are decisions to make, whether big or small, captains should consider everyone’s opinion and come up with a decision afterwards – a decision that is for the benefit of the entire team (think of the team as a whole!)
At CAA we would love to hear what you think defines a great leader. Tweet us at @azcaa_athletics. Here’s an inspirational quote to get you thinking. Famous football player and coach, Knute Rockne said, “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”