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that might not be so obvious to everyone in the program.
Players who are invested in the nuts and bolts of the
training environment in real, tactile ways become leaders
who are an extension of the coaching staff. By " doing
chores, " players develop responsibility, selflessness and
communication.
We all want practices to go smoothly, and sometimes
small tasks like having all the cones in place before
practice make things easier. However, our players are
the ones missing out on opportunities to practice a
higher level of responsibility and selflessness. And don't
make the mistake of only letting rookies, freshmen or
benchwarmers undertake these minor tasks.
Self-governance
Self-governance and leadership should be
synonymous. However, even the most collaborative
player-driven coaches can be so well organized and
meticulous that players miss out on chances to truly
govern themselves.
A great captain is one that squashes issues before the
coach catches wind of any problems. But before players
can be identified as captain material, they need chances
to hone the skill of recognizing issues they can tackle on
their own, and what issues they need to bring to a coach.
Future captains need chances to govern themselves in a
variety of different ways. In practice, this means letting
players manage their own substitutions, leading warmups,
making their teams or taking attendance. This helps
them develop initiative, assertiveness, self-awareness and
decision-making skills.
There are countless other ways to encourage strong
communication, selflessness and accountability in
student-athletes. The idea is to be intentional about why
you're structuring your practice a certain way, and how
the players can use each opportunity to grow as leaders.
Using these strategies has led to a more egalitarian
team culture, and this culture helps to catalyze player
development. These tactics have helped me identify and
empower underclassmen leaders. Each year, the team
has elected a captain from the junior class. By creating
space for voices in addition to our captains, coaches
or seniors, the underclassmen feel empowered to stepup.
Additionally, I've found that this investment in the
program creates seniors who not only lead but also
perform at a high level.
Kirsten Koester is the head women's soccer coach and
assistant women's basketball coach at Grinnell College
in Iowa.
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