Michael Keegan | March 5th, 2021
This year, my personal experience as a captain of the swim team has been dynamic. There have been moments of intense imposter syndrome, and times when I feel pure confidence. Especially while submerged in the Pandemic, it seems as though there have been many difficulties to overcome. As a result, in the midst of my own season, I decided to interview other Greenhills Sports Captains about their experiences thus far. Hopefully, their answers will demystify captainship and provide a helpful template to Greenhills leaders of the future.
Regarding your specific team, what is usually the captain’s role?
(Makayla Harris - Basketball): “The basketball captain's generally make sure all the players are in the loop in terms of practice schedule. During practice, captains are sort of expected to make sure everyone is running drills correctly and with 100% effort. Also, if there's ever any ~beef~ on the team, generally players come to the captains first. They also hype the team up before and during games. We're sort of responsible for making sure our team is playing like a team and that we all build chemistry.”
(Will Stephens - Cross Country): “On cross-country, captains work with the team and coaches to keep everything flowing smoothly. Their role can range from explaining workouts, sharing advice, organizing activities, encouraging team members, and more.”
What do you think are the most important traits of a sports captain?
(Bhaavna Yalavarthi - Volleyball and Track & Field): “I think the most important traits of a sports captain are being empathetic and disciplined. It's so important to be able to understand what your teammates are going through to help them succeed, but discipline is also important to ensure you are pushing your team to be the best they can be.”
(Nathan Koh - Cross Country): “I think the most important traits of a sports captain are being personable, outgoing, knowledgeable, compassionate, strong, aware, good at connecting with people and inspiring.”
(Will Stephens - Cross Country): “I think it's important for a captain to have the right balance of authority and compassion. Yes, Captains are leaders and typically have a louder voice than other teammates, but to do their job effectively they have to be relatable to everyone else on the team. Showing you genuinely care goes the furthest when it comes to motivating someone to do something.”
Did you want to be the captain of your sport? Why or why not?
(Andrew Leuciuc - Basketball): “Yes, I thought I was ready to be a leader and that I could bring good, positive energy to practices.”
(Finn Feldeisen - Tennis and Lacrosse): “I definitely wanted to be a captain. Growing up around these teams, I always imagine myself leading them as a captain. Now of course there are ways to lead without being a captain, but having that formal leadership meant a lot to me. Luckily I was able to inherit these programs and build on the foundation that had been built.”
During your season, who did you go to for advice about being a captain? Why?
(Sydney Cha - Field Hockey and Track & Field): “My co-captain and I worked very well together and would often just go to each other for advice. We also had good communication with our coach, which helped a lot. Overall, though, I think the biggest thing was that I've talked to many previous captains in other years, which really showed me what it was like to lead a team. Even if I didn't directly contact them during the past season for advice, I could always think back to what they had done.”
(Nathan Koh - Cross Country): “During my season, I went to previous captains for advice as well as our coaches. I thought that because they have experience leading they would have useful advice. Many times throughout my season I felt myself being stuck and not knowing what to do. Whether that was knowing what advice to give, being able to hype up the team, or being able to connect more with the team I felt like I struggled a lot. There were things I felt were definitely easier than others. I asked for a lot of advice during my season.”
(Sabeen Malik - Golf): “I didn't really go to anyone for advice, because for the past two years watching the old captains, I had a pretty good idea for what the position entailed. If I did have a question, I would usually go to my coach, but that didn't happen very often. Because we are a small team (only 6 players including myself), it was easy to manage everything.”
What did you personally find most difficult about being a captain this year?
(Nathan Koh - Cross Country): “This year I felt it extremely difficult for me personally to connect with new teammates and be outgoing. For cross country, we have never had so many new people on the team and struggled to find our sense of team. I also found it difficult because of our team environment had many “cliques" and may have felt alienating to newcomers. I felt like I had a large responsibility to create the welcoming environment and became frustrated when I felt like my efforts weren’t really achieving my goal.”
(Andrew Leuciuc - Basketball): “I was upset we couldn't do some practices over the summer. They're a good way to build chemistry between new guys prior to the season officially starting.”
What lessons did you learn during your tenure as captain?
(Makayla Harris - Basketball): “Being a captain is difficult sometimes, and that's okay. I learned that people learn to expect certain things out of their captains that they might not have expected out of you if you weren't one. I've also learned how to speak up a lot more if I really disagree with something we're doing, which is something I probably wouldn't have done if I wasn't. I've also learned what it means to really have to take care of your family because we spend so much time with our teams that they essentially become our home away from home and we want to take care of them and make sure they're always successful.”
(Finn Feldeisen - Tennis and Lacrosse): “I learned a ton of different lessons while being a captain of two sports, but perhaps the most prevalent was the importance of creating unique bonds with each player. That leads into knowing each player well and how to push them to be their best. I think all other lessons are truly based in this simple one of creating a bond with each teammate.”
(Sabeen Malik - Golf): “Being captain, I learned a lot about what leadership really meant. I didn't realize how much people will look to you for help or even comforting words. Golf being such a difficult sport mentally, I realized that sometimes the best thing I could do for my teammates is make them laugh or tell them it'll all be fine. I never thought being captain would mostly just be helping my teammates feel better, but I'm glad it was, because I learned a lot about what it means to be a good teammate, captain, and friend.”
Do you think you are more or less likely to seek future leadership positions after being captain? Why?
(Andrew Leuciuc - Basketball): More likely. I've enjoyed taking on my role as a leader and I'm very happy with how our season's been going so far.
(Sydney Cha - Field Hockey and Track & Field): “I think I'm definitely more likely to look for other leadership opportunities! I loved being able to organize team events and I had so much fun just talking to everyone. My experience also pushed back a lot of doubts I had about being a capable and effective leader, so I'd be more confident of myself going into future positions.”
(Will Stephens - Cross Country): “Personally, I think I'm more likely to seek future leadership positions after being a captain. While I'm happy with how my time went as a captain, I'm definitely not done being a leader, and I look forward to what comes next.”
What problems and difficulties did COVID-19 add to being a captain this year?
(Bhaavna Yalavarthi - Volleyball and Track & Field): “It was definitely difficult to get a sense of consistency and rhythm going with COVID, since there is so much uncertainty and the competition timeline is always changing. I also found it hard to try and make team chemistry better since traditional team bonding activities like team dinners aren't really possible this year.”
(Finn Feldeisen - Tennis and Lacrosse): “The largest problem COVID presented was simply how to craft a family from a team when the opportunities outside of practice were so limited. My co-captains and I decided to focus intensely on the time that we were guaranteed, and intentionally created an environment where we were getting better through practice while also coming closer as a team.”
(Sabeen Malik - Golf): “Golf season wasn't particularly affected by COVID-19. In fact, it was quite better, because many schools opted out of their season, so there was less competition at regionals. Besides all the normal safety guidelines, the season was relatively the same as the past. Being one of the few schools in our division who didn't have any issues with COVID-19, I think it's safe to say the season was very minimally affected by it, aside from having an end of year banquet.”
If you had to give advice to a future sports captain, what would tell them?
(Sydney Cha - Field Hockey and Track & Field): “I would tell them don't be afraid to give it your all! Your team looks to you to set the tone every single day, so take pride in the team you lead and always lift them up. Stay organized and responsible. Be a strong leader but also a big supporter of every single team member. Mostly importantly, have fun and stay dedicated because being a captain means loving the sport you're in and the team you're in it with.”
(Bhaavna Yalavarthi - Volleyball and Track & Field): “I would tell them to always be a listening ear for their team, and also that it's not always about winning, but improving as a team every time you step onto the court, field, etc. I also would want to emphasize that it can be stressful being in a leadership role, but there's no need to hold yourself to an impossible standard of perfection; you were chosen for a reason, so lead with confidence.”
(Makayla Harris - Basketball): “I would say to start being a leader from day one. Whether your leadership means being the best player on the team, putting in extra time outside of practice, or being someone your teammates can always come to, there's numerous ways to lead through actions and by example. There's a lot of things that go into being a captain, being a leader the most obvious one. There's always someone who's going to look up to you, so always try to put your best self on display. And if you're having a bad day, show them that it's okay to not always feel great, but your teammates will always make you feel better if you were kind and empathetic to them when they weren't having the best day. “