Team Captain Ideas

As a team captain, you are in a position of leadership. If your coaches chose you as a captain, they trust you to lead the team in the correct direction, but if a team vote is held and you are elected a captain, then your teammates are holding you up as an example of how to do things to succeed. You might not like being in the spotlight, but as a captain, every action you take is magnified by others.

  1. Team Building

    • Team chemistry is not a measurable trait, but the importance of chemistry is echoed by coaches at every level. As a captain, it is your job to build this team chemistry in several ways. Hosting team functions is a simple way to develop chemistry. Team dinners can be held on a rotating basis at the homes of the captains. On a smaller level, you can invite other players who play your position over to eat and study game film. Team chemistry is just another way of saying that team members enjoy being around each other. A team that suffers from infighting will turn on each other in stressful game situations.

    Vocal Leadership

    • Captains usually have to talk. Even players who are quiet by nature must force themselves to be vocally involved in leading the team. The most ferocious leaders in sports history, such as Dan Marino and Troy Aikman, never hesitated to vocally confront an underperforming teammate. Others offer quiet words of encouragement and advice to teammates in a one-on-one situation rather than raising their voice for all to hear. Captains should feed off of each other. A strong group of captains assumes leadership roles that fit their individual personalities.

    Leading by Example

    • The Dallas Cowboys of the early 1990s were led by Aikman, their vocal perfectionist at quarterback, Michael Irvin, who could be loud and angry at teammates one minute and a teammate's biggest cheerleader the next, and Emmitt Smith, who rarely uttered a word on the sidelines. Smith, like some captains, did not have to talk to lead. Some captains inspire teammates with their play alone. These captains are the first ones to arrive in the morning and the last ones to leave the weight room in the evening. While you are in the batting cages before or after practice, it can be tempting to play around, but a captain who leads by example focuses on his hitting, and that focus spreads throughout the entire cage.

    Performance Counts

    • While captains have been selected who were backups or part-time players, it is important that captains perform when the time comes. If you are the last one to finish in team conditioning drills, it will be difficult for you to motivate your teammates. You cannot lead if you are in the back. If you perform well when you are called on, your teammates' trust in you will grow. Star players are chosen as captains because their performance inspires teammates to perform well also.