Journal 24, Week 8

Topic of my choice: Coaching Seniors to be Leaders

I have a very unique team makeup compared to most sports. My more talented players are sophomores this season and we lack talented players as juniors and seniors. However, two of my seniors that play for me I feel will be tremendous leaders one day. Both have personalities that the other players are drawn to and the younger players clearly respect and look up to them. They were voted captains at the beginning of the season and have served that job well. I entrust to them some responsibilities that are meant to empower them while at the same time showing the younger players that the captains are in charge. Some of the decisions that I have them make are:

- which uniforms to wear for matches (purple or white)
- what music do we listen to at practice and on the bus
- what is our pre-match ritual or chant

I also use them as a communication tool. I text these two players any updates on rainy days that impact our practice or matches I do this so it shows them that I am counting on them to make sure everyone hears from them, and not just me. I want to be the authority figure of the team, but it is important to me that there is a line of communication that flows through the leaders.

I try to go out of my way to thank these two for the efforts, regardless of how minimal the effort was. I hope that these two have gained from the season what it feels like to make decisions that impact their peers so that they are empowered to do that in the future. Combining this confidence with their natural intelligence is going to give them a big advantage in life.