Coaching & Sport:Fall Activity Ideas
By: Deborah Jo Cadorette, Clemson University, South Carolina

Captain's Council developing student leaders within the athletic program

Does your school provide leadership training for team captains? Do your captains understand the responsibilities of their position? Are your captains comfortable communicating with peers as the team captain? The 2008 AAHPERD National Conference offered an informative presentation by a panel of Athletic Directors who were voted 2008 High School Athletic Directors of the Year throughout the nation. Each presented important issues & solutions that are working in their athletic programs. One of the issues presented had to do with preparing team captains to do their job effectively.

Diane Shuck, CMAA, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Air Academy High School, Colorado Springs, Colorado, presented the program she initiated for her high school team captains called "Captain’s Council - a guide to the development of student leaders within your athletic programs." This is a brief description of her program taken from her presentation and the booklet Diane provided for attendees. She welcomes you to contact her at the email address provided in this article if you have any questions.

Diane was exposed to the information that inspired this program at a workshop presented by Craig Hillier, the author of Playing Beyond the Scoreboard. She knew immediately that she wanted to create a program that would develop leadership skills for athletic team captains at the high school level. "I shared my idea with the coaches at our annual summer barbecue, provided each coach with a copy of the book "Playing Beyond the Scoreboard," and told all coaches they would be asked to play a role in the process," said Shuck. "I was amazed at the overwhelming support from all of my staff. They were excited to see where this was going, and what benefits they would receive from my efforts."

As Athletic Director, Shuck’s plan was to meet once a week with elected team captains during each season. Their sport seasons are about 10 weeks long in Colorado which provided a realistic opportunity for each Captains Council to meet eight times during their season (fall, winter or spring). Captains received a letter congratulating them and inviting them to participate in series of Captains Council meetings. Shuck provided the lesson plans for the meetings, which included reading the book Playing Beyond the Scoreboard, discussion of leadership topics, and dialogue & interaction with peers. Over the eight weeks there was an evaluation of their team and their respective program. They met during lunch (45 min), with lunch provided (which has since been modified to allow for more time). What was shared in the meetings was under an absolute confidentiality policy.

The following is a list of topics captains can expect to discuss. It is included in the letter they receive inviting them to join the Captain’s Council:

• Myths of leadership
• Eight commitments a team leader must make
• Understanding four different leadership styles and identifying your personal style
• Elements of team chemistry
• Setting the tone for your season (where you are going)
• Sportsmanship issues
• Dealing with conflict

Captains are asked to respond with an acceptance, or decline to participate by a given deadline. A few of Shucks’ comments in conclusion on the value of the program, “With every meeting, the discussions grow deeper, and I feel better about the leaders of our teams. Even the strongest leaders in our teams need guidance as they don’t always know how to deal with situations. It was the highlight of my week. All of the evaluations speak the same words - incredible, a great experience, good book, more time, longer than eight weeks…. The benefits are priceless." Details about content and positive results are available by contacting Diane Shuck @ diane.shuck@asd20.org.

It’s a Wrap!

Let’s close with reviewing some leadership styles found to be extremely effective in the workplace. These same leadership styles can be used effectively by coaches in leading their coaching staff & athletes. Four basic leadership styles and their descriptions are taken from that wonderful little book "Leadership and the One Minute Manager" (Blanchard, Zigarmi, D & Zigarmi, P. 1985) and appear in the chart below .

Review the leadership styles above. A third column was created for each style based on my philosophy, and the leadership behaviors I believe a majority of athletes are capable of learning & demonstrating at these levels. Consider the level you are coaching and the athletes participating in your program. Are you using a style of leadership that is fostering growth, or do you consistently use the same leadership style regardless of the level of athlete you are coaching? Ideally, coaches should reinforce critical thinking skills in athletes, and allow them to make decisions on the field a majority of time. It is a coach’s responsibility to teach athletes to execute decision making during competition with as little coaching as possible from the sidelines. Diverse levels of athletic experience and maturity among athletes exist on the same team at various levels, and will summon a need for creative combinations of situational leadership (coaching) styles (1-4).

Blanchard, Ken, Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D., (1985) Leadership and the One Minute Manager. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.

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