team leadership

I have a curriculum that I wrote that I use in a 7 to 10 session leaderships class for the top 10-15 athletes in our program. I start it around April 1 and finish right at the start of camp.

I would be willing to trade.

My email is ssnodgrass@union.k12.in.us
The leadership info is in power point and publisher.

Michael Farzley

This is a topic that is fun for me to talk about. As the Athletic Director at my school, I have run a leadership class for our athletes on campus. The great thing about being at a small school is that I can reach each and every athlete. The program isn't designed to only reach those that are team captains, etc, but includes EVERY student-athlete that we have on campus. I work with each individual team and run through the curriculum, which changes each year based upon previous input that is collected from each subsequent year. There is a Fros/Soph curriculum as well as a Junior/Senior curriculum. While both have different topics covered and real life situations addressed, the underlying message is the same:



Each student-athlete has the opportunity to be a leader whether they are a team captain or not!



The program is developed on the premise that there are MANY ways to be a leader. We focus on what being a leader means, looks like, and entails. We also focus on what leadership MEANS.



This is an important part of our program as part of our mission of the school is to develop ethically sound leaders on a global scale.



I meet with each team once a month and then we bring in guest speakers and group leaders to address all of our athletes. Small groups of 15 are also put into what we call 'family groups' and are represented by athletes from different sports across campus.



It's been a terrific program that has not only been meaningful in the development of leaders on campus, but has also created an athletic program as a whole that is tightly bonded and has created a built-in respect amongst athletes across the board.

Leadership Academy



Purpose:



1. Raise awareness of the importance of quality leadership

2. Increase Leadership skills of players

3. Share the leadership workload

4. Develop the character of players



Value



Coaches often pin success on superb leadership; therefore, teams should not wait for leadership to cycle in on its own. Instead, like developing technique, strength, or speed, coaches should implement a plan for teaching and developing leadership skills in their players. Since captains and leaders spend much more time interacting with teammates than coaches, they can significantly impact the performance of a team. Thus, strong leadership will increase team production. Moreover, many competitions will create stressful situations for athletes. Building emotional and mental resiliency in athletes will help them to perform at their best despite high pressure situations. Finally, developing character and leadership in the school and in the community will improve the quality of life for all. Students, recognizing the virtue of high character, will be more apt to make ethical choices. Teachers will be better able to focus on teaching rather than behavior management, and coaches can worry less about losing players for conduct violations.





Meeting Schedules



The Leadership Academy will meet every two weeks for dinner, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, at various players and coaches' houses. The meeting day will vary in order to work around basketball, hockey and track practices / competitions. Meetings will begin the second week of January and last until the last week in May. At these meetings, participants will discuss readings from Jeff Janssen's Team Captain's Leadership Manual, and also identify leadership and character weaknesses that the team should improve. From May to August, the Leadership group will meet once a month to discuss team issues or progress toward goals. During the season, they will meet once a week to discuss team moral, personnel issues, and logistical matters.



Curriculum



Week 1



The group will explore the concepts of leadership. By defining leadership, discussing the risks and rewards of leadership positions, and reflecting on effective and ineffective leaders in the past, the group will establish a context from which to build new skills. In addition, players will self-evaluate their leadership as indicated by their commitment, confidence, composure, and character, as well as their ability to function as a servant, confidence builder, refocused, team-builder and enforcer.



Week 2



The group will examine ways to motivate themselves. Participants will evaluate their own commitment level based on Janssen's “Commitment Continuum” (Janssen, 29), as well as asses every teammate’s commitment level. The group will discuss why they placed each player at that place on the continuum and brainstorm ways to motivate players at the “resistant-reluctant-existent” (Janssen, 29) level.



Week 3



The group will explore the concept of confidence. Participants will look at confidence's relationship with sense of self and the want to perform under pressure. We will discuss the four sources of confidence: preparation, strengths, past success, and praise, and also discuss ways to be resilient to events that threaten confidence.



Week 4



The group will learn to how maintain composure in pressure situations. Using a “traffic light analogy” (Janssen, 52), players will learn to recognize emotional states. In addition, we will discuss refocusing strategies like slowing the pace of play, controlling the controllable, and focusing on the present, the positive, and the process.



Week 5



The group will explore the concept of character. By discussing the importance of exhibiting character in the sport, in the classroom, in social life, and in the community, participants will raise their awareness of how their character establishes their credibility as leaders.



Week 6



The group will examine ways to function as servant leaders. In order to prevent leaders from becoming overbearing, we will discuss how helping younger players, preventing hazing, and completing day to day work creates a healthier team dynamic.



Week 7



The group will explore ways in which they can build the confidence of their teammates. Each squad leader will complete a “mental game assessment” (Janssen, 91) form on the players in their squad. As a group, we will discuss strategies for increasing the confidence and mental resilience of players. For example, leaders can let them know what to expect, remind them of their strengths, remind them of past successes, establish perspective, and encourage their teammates (Janssen, 93-94).



Week 8



The group will learn ways to refocus their teammates when faces with adversity. In essence, we will revisit the concepts from week 4, and discuss ways to teach others how to refocus.



Week 9



This week will focus in strategies for team building. We will revisit the team's vision and mission statement, “clarify the commitments and standards” (Janssen, 112) necessary to achieve this vision, and discuss ways to help teammates accept their roles. In addition, we will brainstorm and create a teambuilding calendar to schedule events like am intersquad basketball tournament, a softball game, Hume Lake retreat, and team BBQ's.



Week 10



This week will cover strategies for serving as the enforcer. We will address the reality that conflict is inevitable and that leaders must be prepared to handle it effectively. We will discuss approaches like encouraging first, then reminding and refocusing, then drawing the line, and, finally, involving the coach (Jansses, 126-127).