South Africa's basketball community

Day 24: Be the captain you want to see

By on September 24, 2010 in Resources

This article is part of the series “30 days to being a better basketball player“.

Not all captains are leaders.

Not all leaders are captains.

And you don’t have to be a captain to be a leader.

"You're never too old for a good game of follow the leader" by Jean-François Chénier, via flickr

Being a good team captain comes with many responsibilities and demands. It takes courage and strength to be a good one. You have to know how to be a good loser; and a better winner. You have to be able to pick your teammates up even when you’re down. You have to be a good leader.

Now the important bit – you can be a good leader on your team without being the appointed captain.

To do so you have to make a decision to be a leader, regardless of whether you have the ‘status’ of captain or not. If you’re fortunate enough to have a team captain who is a good leader, count yourself lucky. And if you’re not, don’t worry about it – you can still lead by example.

Final Four Most Outstanding Player Kyle Singler displays some of these leadership characteristics:

  • Be part of a leadership culture
  • Be under authority
  • Be a continual learner
  • Be sacrificial
  • Be loyal
  • Be low-maintenance
  • Never be satisfied

These are key areas but not the only ones. By taking responsibility, utilising your strengths and leading in the ways that you can, you’ll be contributing more to the team than just your playing abilities.

P.S. For coaches, you might want to read through this – “How to develop leadership on a basketball team”. It contains some useful practical tips for helping players become good leaders.

Tags: , , , ,

Subscribe

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe now to receive more just like it.

Comments are closed.

Top