Leadership...everywhere.

Leadership is like gravity. You know it's there, you know it exists, but how do you define it?" Former San Francisco 49er Tight End, Dr. Jamie Williams

We had an interesting week that culminated with a discussion about players and leadership.  We have the weekend off to rest and recover from the first two weeks of training.  While the athletes had to volunteer at  Volleyball Canada hugely successful Super Spike event, the coaches took time to review the direction of the team and to talk about the leadership on the team. 

Time for my rant... I personally believe that there is too many needs on the team for one or two captains to handle the load.  (Especially on a three week trip with a large games at the end of it.)  We have seen all kinds of people show different leadership abilities in these two weeks.  The interesting thing about leadership is that it needs to be a reflection of our values and culture.  As a team we are moving closer towards these values but we are still in a situation where we haven't found our identity yet.  I feel that we all are trying to bring our old team's ideals into the FISU team.  We have players and coaches from so many different programs that all have their own twist on what the culture of the team should be.  As a group we are trying to fit our own ideas into our team instead of allowing this team to have their own identity.  Which makes sense because it is comfortable for us and it adds a sense of simplicity, but the question is... Is it the best for this team?

Too often we just select captains and say here you go, good luck and let us know how things are going.  I am a firm believer that people are not born with this innate ability to lead, that it is taught.  Great leaders usually have the opportunity to be around other leaders and see how they do things, whether it was a family member, coaches, teachers or teammates.  I think leadership needs to start with the individual and then manifest itself into the team in general. For this reason I like leadership teams, I think a team needs at least 4 people to help it move through the course of the year. 

 I think you need your on court leader, formal team captain.  This person knows the rules and often is in a position where they can be in contact with everyone.  I think it is hard for a middle to be the floor captain when they are off for three rotations.  Then you have a lead by example captain,  some one you can point too as a person who emulates what you want.  In hockey they call them the core value player. This can be any player from any position.  In our last practice on friday we titled it the "get through practice"  It was a difficult practice where they needed to get through each drill. The length of the drill was determined by the individual group in the drill.   An example was the team making 70 serves in a row, and if it wasn't difficult enough we wouldn't count it.  To emphasize the purpose of the day at the end of every drill the team was allowed to award points to any players who they felt lived up or went beyond our core values. I privately awarded a point at the end of practice to a player who jumped into a tough defensive drill when another player's hand injury  removed her from the drill to get some needed treatment.  The athlete  didn't hesitate, she jumped right in and the drill didn't lose flow. The next tyoe of leader on a team is the team mom, the organizer, the person who checks in to make sure everyone is fitting in and included in the team concept. We have seen a lot of different people take on this role so far this summer.  It is true I am going to see the final Harry Potter!  A group of the athletes organized this event. They sent a link to the movie so we could buy our tickets online without really having to think about it. The next leader was one that we discovered a few years ago, the leader of the reserves.  A person who can speak on behalf of the bench players in meetings, but more importantly a person who can help keep the bench players focussed on the goal.  It is tough sometimes to be a star on your university team and then arrive at the national team and not play very much once the competition rolls around.  So this person would help remind players that is an incredible experience and keep them on board. It is more powerful coming from them because they are in the same situation.  The Rudy of the team.

The A team players have been great at explaining how things work on the top program in our country and we have adopted some of their own traditions.  But each year team needs will change, so with this we need to find our own identity too.  Add the pressure of five players who will not make the trip and it leads to some frustration amongst the players. I feel this is because we are all bringing our old teams experiences and assumptions into the team leadership ring.  So far everyone on the team has been great with each other, but we need to continue to build on positive and what we have done so far.

I also think that leadership on teams begins with the team self talk.  We often teach players individual self talk, you are what you think, but the same can be said for teams.  If we spend our days discussing all the flaws in the team we become a flawed team.  If we spend our days talking about how great each person is, we become great. This is a big challenge over the course of a university season, everyone is a critic and a coach. Successful teams find ways to limit the negative talk and reframe it to positive talk.  This is a skill that needs to be taught.

So the discussion will continue, sooner than later we are required to choose the formal captain to represent us at the games.  Tomorrow is the movie then a team meeting that will help set our final two weeks before we leave.  I can't wait to see how it ends.