Creating Leaders

Having a great leader on the court is a necessity if a team is going to be successful. The leader has to be the one who can bring the team together when adversity hits. The leader must be a calming factor on the court--the one teammates look to for information and for direction. In order for teammates to listen to a team member, that member has to be respected. She doesn't need to be feared which is vastly different than respected, but she absolutely must have the attention of her peers.

There is no doubt this is a difficult position for a young person. She has to have the self confidence to tell her friends what is not acceptable. She has to stand up to them even if it means they become angry with her. She has to do this in such a way as to not appear snobbish or full of ego.

A leader has to be a leader 24 hours a day on and off the court. Her behavior is always examined by others. There is no time out for a leader. In order for others to follow, she must set an impeccable example giving 100% every day whether she feels good or not. She doesn't necessarily have to be the best player but she must be the most focused, the one willing to go the extra mile, and the one who gives it her all even when nobody is watching.

No doubt being a leader is a tough assignment which is why the coaching staff has to work developing leadership qualities. Over the years, we have tried different avenues of approach. We have met with the leaders on a weekly basis going through a leadership manual together. We have met with them individually discussing the character and integrity of leaders. We have had them attend leadership workshops. This year we have decided on a different avenue of teaching. It is a more action-oriented approach.

We begin the first day of conditioning by calling out the leaders (Veronica Carman, Jen DeMeyer, Jihan Williams, and Katy Arick) in front of their peers. We then proceeded to make them do some planks (a stationary push-up position) and boats (an abdominal exercise where you make the body in a v-position) for one minute time periods. This was some serious pain but we made it extra fun by doing the exercises in the rain on a track which means the surface was rough, wet and slightly uncomfortable. We made certain that every player could hear why they were being reprimanded which was for some basketballs left out in the locker room. We explained that leadership had to be taken seriously and as leaders they were responsible for the behavior of the team.

If we had stopped there, the lesson probably wouldn't have been taken very seriously. We continued for the next three days with other small but valuable lessons creating challenging exercises for the leaders. Amazingly, the leaders began to become more vocal. They began to take their responsibilities as leaders with more clarity. The team began to listen to them and to honor what they had to say.

We have continued to offer some "advice" for our leaders the past six and a half weeks. We have witnessed incredible growth from our young ladies. Last week I heard from Veronica Carman an amazing summary of what it meant to be a leader. When she was giving her book report, she said that being a leader was not a privilege but a responsibility--that leadership didn't mean doing less work but more work. She talked about how important it was to gain respect and that respect was not given; it was earned.

As I listened to her, I felt chill bumps racing along my spine. Somebody on the team was ready to lead. It meant that we were not going to flounder in times of stress, we were going to come together.

To our leaders and to their continued growth, I say "IHHOAGE!"

****Some of the readers have asked what IHHOAGE means. I would love to tell you but then I would have to silence you.