BEING A TEAM CAPTAIN

Talent is important. But the single most important ingredient after you get the talent is internal leadership. It's not the coaches as much as one single person or people on the team who set higher standards than that team wold normally set for itself. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Men's Basketball Three-time National Championship Coach

The quality of your team leaders can make or break your season. Kay Yow, N.C. State Women's Basketball Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame On every team, there is a core group that sets the tone for everyone else. If the tone is positive, you have half the battle won. If it is negative, you are beaten before you ever walk on the field. Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers Four-Time Super Bowl Winning Coach

The leadership role you play for your team often has more impact on your team's success than what you bring to the team as an athlete. What this means is that the contributions you will make as a captain will be just as important, if not more important, than what you will bring with your physical talent and ability.
Effective leadership is about a concept called The Power Of One. All it takes is one person who is committed, focused, and on a mission to spark an entire team into believing in themselves, working hard, fighting through adversity, playing with unity, and achieving some very special things. YOU COULD BE THAT PERSON. Please take a moment to write down your answers to the following questions/statements.

What is leadership?

List the names or initials of three to five leaders whom you respect the most: 1.______________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________ 3.______________________________________________________________ 4.______________________________________________________________ 5.______________________________________________________________ After listing the leaders who you respect, take a moment to think about what makes them so effective as leaders. What kind of people are they? How do they treat you? How do they communicate with you? How do they handle difficult situations? What motivates them? List the 8-10 characteristics that describe these effective leaders: 1.______________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 4._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 5._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 6._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 7._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 8._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 9._____________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.____________________________________________________________________________________________

By examining the characteristics of leaders whom we respect in our lives, we begin to see some of the major qualities it takes to be an effective leader. By recognizing why we respect them so much, we also learn what it will take for us to be an effective leader. {Similarly, much can be learned by reflecting on poor leaders and their characteristics as well.}

Now list what it is like to be led by effective leaders. How do you perform when you work with these leaders and how do you feel about yourself? 1.___________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.___________________________________________________________________________________________ 5.___________________________________________________________________________________________

The ultimate goal of leadership is to make those around you better. Leadership is not really about you. Instead, true leadership is about your teammates and what you can do to get them to consistently play to their potential and make smart choices. It is setting them up for success and being as happy for them when they succeed as when you do yourself. Instead of being jealous of their success, celebrate it with them. In actuality, when you help your teammates succeed, everyone succeeds.

TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM CAPTAIN: 1) Need to communicate with your coach often 2) There must be complete trust

TWO KINDS OF LEADERS Coaches and athletes often talk about two kinds of leaders: Leaders by Example or Vocal Leaders. What comes to mind when you think about these two kinds of leaders? Which comes to mind when you think about these two kinds of leaders? Which of the two best describes your leadership style? As you'll discover, both types of leaders are important for every team and each has certain characteristics associated with it. Leaders by Example Leaders by Example lead not by what they say but more in how they conduct themselves. These are the athletes who consistently work hard in every drill, play with pride, keep their cool in pressure situations, and do the right thing on and off the court. Leading by Example involves four main characteristics: commitment, confidence, composure, and character.

Commitment

self-motivated and self-disciplined one of the hardest workers on the team cares passionately about the team's success competitive

Confidence believes in self on and off the court wants to perform in pressure situations mentally and emotionally resilient following mistakes

Composure able to keep emotions in check controls negative emotions

Character

does the right thing on and off the court responsible, accountable, reliable honest with coaches and teammates/trustworthy treats people with respect

Vocal Leaders Vocal Leaders display the same commitment, confidence, composure, and character of Leaders by Example, but they go a critical step further in that they are willing to step outside of themselves by verbally encouraging, motivating, challenging, and holding their teammates accountable. They have excellent communication and listening skills. Characteristics of Vocal Leaders

Commitment Confidence Composure Character Encourager

Servant puts needs of team ahead of their own

willingly does the grunt work takes the younger athletes under their wing listens and supports teammates

Confidence Builder builds the confidence of teammates

understands each teammate helps teammates feel good about themselves reaches out to struggling teammates and provides support and encouragement

Refocuser helps teammates stay mentally tough when faced with adversity
emotionally intelligent to sense mood of team refocuses teammates when they are down and distracted communicates a sense of optimism and hope

Team Builder unifies team around a common goal

establishes and focuses team on a common goal helps teammates understand, accept, and feel appreciated for their roles brings team together and builds team chemistry

Enforcer courage to confront holds self and teammates accountable to high standards/demanding constructively confronts undisciplined teammates handles conflict in a firm, fair, direct, and consistent manner

People think it's an easy thing to be a leader. It's not. You have to earn the respect of your teammates. You have to be willing to challenge them as well as support them. And you have to prove you are willing to do whatever it takes. Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
Risks of being a leader: *You won't always be liked. As a leader, you will be put in situations to do and say some things that won't always be popular with all of your teammates. Your job is not to be the most popular person on the team. Your job is to do what is necessary and what is right. That's the only way you'll gain respect. *Some teammates might be jealous of you. They might feel that they deserved to be captain and are upset because they weren't selected. Understand that there may be some teammates who resent you and your leadership role. *You must deal with conflict. Various conflicts will crop up between teammates and coaches over the course of the season and you will need to manage and minimize them.

Leadership is not a position that someone gives you; it is ultimately a privilege that you must earn and maintain. Some athletes think that being name captain gives them the right to lead. They think that people will automatically listen to them and respect them because they hold the title of position of captain. Being a captain is so much more than just a title you hold. It is a sacred trust you must cultivate, cherish, and preserve. No one is going to respect you because of your title they will respect you

because of how you conduct yourself and the respect you show them.

To be a great leader is to make everyone better. That's the greatest gift of all. To elevate the people around you, to get them to maximize their potential, to get them to reach their dreams....Ultimately, leaders are judged by the success of the people they lead. Rick Pitino, Louisville Men's Basketball Coach

TEAM LEADERSHIP SELF EVALUATION Using a scale from one to five rate yourserlf on the following 24 questions. 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Undecided, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree

Commitment 1. I am one of the hardest works on the team 2. I care passionately about the team's success 3. I am a competitive person who wants to win Confidence 4. I believe in myself as a person and my ability to lead 5. I want to perform in pressure situations 6. I bounce back quickly following mistakes and errors Composure 7. I stay calm and composed in pressure situations 8. I stay focused when faced with distractions, obstacles, and adversity 9. I keep my anger and frustration under control Character 10. I consistently do the right thing on and off the court 11. I am honest and trustworthy 12. I treat my teammates, coaches, and others with respect LEADER BY EXAMPLE TOTAL (add questions 1-12)

SD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

D 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

U 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

A 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

AS 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Encourager Servant 13. I reach out to teammates when they need help 14. I take the time to listen to my teammates Encourager Confidence Builder 15. I regularly encourage my teammates to do their best 16. I regularly compliment my teammates when they succeed Encourager Refocuser 17. I communicate optimism and hope when the team is struggling 18. I know what to say to my teammates when they are struggling Encourager Team Builder 19. I have developed an effective relationship w/each of my teammates 20. I am a team player who seeks to unify the team Enforcer 21. I 22. I 23. I 24. I hold my teammates accountable for following team rules/standards constructively confront my teammates when necessary am willing to address and minimize conflicts between teammates am firm, fair, and direct when dealing with conflicts and problems

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

VOCAL LEADER TOTAL (add questions 1-24)