FALL ACTIVITY IDEAS
By Deborah Cadorette, Clemson University Athletic Leadership Program Coordinator

Shaping Athletic Team Captains with Training
What type of training do you provide for team captains? Do your captains understand your coaching philosophy and the responsibilities of their position? Are your captains comfortable communicating with their peers as the team captain? It is essential that team captains be respectful at all times, demonstrate positive communication skills and understand the responsibilities of their leadership position to the team.

Diane Shuck, CMAA, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Air Academy High School, Colorado Springs, Colorado has designed a 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. The following is presented from a past article at the request of several coaches who read the article several years ago. It is taken from the presentation and booklet Diane delivered for attendees at the 2008 National Convention.

Diane attended a workshop presented by Craig Hillier, the author of Playing Beyond the Scoreboard (study guide). 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 a 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 accept, or decline to participate, by a given deadline. A few of Shuck's comments 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 at diane.shuck@asd20.org.

Athletic Leadership in Education

The role of the athletic coach in middle and high school includes encouraging athletes to reach their potential in academics. If coaches provide rigorous expectations of athletes in practice by encouraging decision making and critical thinking, it may prove to be helpful in the classroom. Athletes have a passion for their sport which motivates their performance. Coaches can use this passion to motivate thinking and decision making in practice that may carry over into the classroom.

Coaches have various leadership styles. The following leadership styles are found to be extremely effective in the workplace, and can be used effectively by coaches in leading their coaching staff & athletes. Four basic leadership styles, with 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.¹

A third column was created for each style based on my philosophy and leadership beliefs. I believe a majority of athletes are capable of learning and modeling these leadership behaviors. Consider the level athletes in your program. Do you vary your leadership objectives accordingly for each level? Coaches may want to provide opportunities for athletes to demonstrate critical thinking by allowing athletes to make decisions during practice games and competition as often as possible. 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).

¹Blanchard, Ken, Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D., (1985) Leadership and the One Minute Manager. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.

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