“A leader is best when people barely know he
exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it
ourselves.”
-Lao Tzu
Kenneth asked me
to write this post. There is a lot of relevant literature which have undoubtedly
shaped my opinions about captaining & leadership in general so feel free to
read or revisit:
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Staying organized
A well organized
team is a happy team. A team that doesn’t know where or when their practices are
or who’s on the roster gets frustrated and struggles with attendance. Clear and
constant communication with the entire roster crucial. This includes, but is
not limited to:
·
Being clear &
transparent about expectations and consequences
·
Letting everyone
know as far in advance of practices, tournaments, and meetings
·
Being clear with
players about their roster status
·
Submitting bid
fees and arranging travel & lodging on time
·
Having one clear
voice as a captain/coaching group
·
Planning thoroughly
for practice and tournaments. Kevin was huge for this in the 2017-2018 season.
·
Making lots and
lots of spreadsheets
Ghost Train, a
team with many logistical woes, is a good team. Ghost Train, soon to enter
Select Flight, would be an even better team if we could get our shit together
more than 24 hours before a tournament.
Setting the tone
Kevin talked about
the power of body language this season and I wholeheartedly agree. The
leadership communicates with the team via their words and their actions, all
the way to down to how you carry yourself on the sideline. If you’re a coach or
captain you can’t be seen pouting when we get broken. Your attitude is like a
fire, it will spread easily.
Setting the right
tone does wonders for creating good team culture & motivating players. Creating
team buy-in is a multifaceted issue but a big part is creating energy at
practice, and I think that in-practice intensity feels the most genuine &
compelling when you can clearly see that the leadership is buying what they’re
selling. If the captains are going to demand the best from their team, they
need to meet or exceed the expectations set for their team:
·
They’re at every
practice and pod
·
They’re a devoted
thrower
·
They have high
energy at tournaments and high focus during practice
·
They’re engaged
in drills, cutting hard, and not being sloppy with low-percentage shots.
As NUT steadily
grows a program and graduates from a ~10 hour a week team to a ~15 hour a week
team, the captains should be at the helm of the increased time commitment.
Pass the ball
Spreading
responsibility is almost always a good thing. Identifying younger players who
are enthusiastic about taking on more responsibility within the team an
important task, especially in college where you be required to pass the torch
down at the end of your tenure. Getting Micah and George involved in the
leadership team was a big deal for NUT last year. Their involvement made it
possible to manage the rising cost of our season and eased our logistical workload.
Change is bad
This is a one
liner I use frequently, enough that Keith noticed. Captains face resistance anytime
anything changes. The classic example of this is NUT 2015 that didn’t want to
go to Easterns.
In my experience,
most if not all decisions provoked a non-zero amount of grumbling. Someone
doesn’t like the new jersey designs, and someone else thinks it’s silly to log
throws. Another guy questions the wisdom of implementing a new offense. Dealing
with this and sticking to your guns is part of the job. Ed said it best: “At
times, this is a thankless job.”
Talking in the huddle
Talking in the
huddle is overrated. Every year during the NUT email thread there’s comments
about how candidate X would “probably would have a great huddle presence.” I
think usually this means that this candidate is a good public speaker, or has a
big personality. I don’t think that either of these things matter so much.
a.
There’s probably
someone else who can do the talking
b.
If you can’t
articulate your thoughts well in person, just send an email
That being said,
talking in the huddle is also hard is shit and I am envious of anyone that can
do it well. I never knew what to say in the huddle. When I actually opened my
mouth, I tended to misspeak and I suspect that nobody knew what I was saying. In
general, we deferred to Kevin in the huddle for much of the season - long huddles
are very bad and I never felt like I had anything to add after Kevin had
finished.
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Captaining NUT
was far and away one of the greatest things I did in college. I got at least
two gray hairs in the process, but being able to serve the team in an increased
capacity was immensely satisfying. I will likely throw my hat in the ring again
if I have the opportunity.
