Captain Attributes

Players,

For those interested in interviewing for the Varsity Captain position, please review the following document to see if you truly have team captain qualities.  The coaches will be using this document and asking situational questions to determine the best candidates for team captains.

The opportunity of becoming team captain has the potential to be the most challenging and rewarding role for a player.

Even today, with leadership roles and responsibilities shared amongst the players, the skipper’s role remains central to the team’s performance.

Not only must captains be competent in her playing abilities, she should have a natural inclination to inspire confidence in her peers, evaluate the game plan and change it if circumstances dictate. She will need to handle pressure, make tactical decisions, and communicate effectively with the referee as well as the team.

Not only is the captain a player, she is a leader, communicator, key decision maker, and important link between team and coach.

1. Each captain is different

The first thing to remember is that there is no one set of characteristics possessed by effective captains. Very different personalities can be successful captains.

2. Mentally strong

The mental part of the job is arguably the hardest part. A captain must be able to accept constructive criticism, remain focused, and aware of the big picture while under intense pressure during a game.  Ability to make the best decision that she can make the correct decisions at the right time. To cope with this requires considerable mental fortitude.

3. Excellent communicator

The captain will need to encourage and manage on-field communication between all the players and act as a liaison between players and the coaching staff. She is a leader that can communicate to the coaches on the team's behalf, concise and to the point.

4. Emotionally disciplined

“Fire in the belly but ice in the brain.”

This is important for three main reasons:

         a) As a role model, the example set by the captain must meet every expectation she has of the players. For example, if the captain becomes angry with the referee and constantly questions their decisions, she cannot expect her players to accept refereeing decisions themselves.

         b) If the captain loses self-control and vents her anger or frustration (whether against an opponent, teammate or the referee), she will have lost the ability to make rational decisions. Her own performance will suffer; a loss of emotional control will affect timing, co-ordination and the ability to “read” the game as awareness becomes more narrowly focused.

         c) A loss of emotional control will be seen as a sign of weakness by the opposition, boosting their confidence whilst undermining that of the team. This does not mean that your captain becomes an emotionless robot, devoid of passion.

5. Knows the players

The first thing you have to remember as captain is while soccer is very much a team game you are dealing with individuals who are all different in attitudes, temperament and experience. Thus you have to find out each person’s strengths and weaknesses… The captain will have to find out which players best respond to the carrot and which to the stick.

The captain should have the ability to deal with each player as an individual. Consequently, she will know what motivates different players and how they prefer to prepare themselves mentally for a game (not all players respond to being shouted at, but require someone to listen!).

She should observe players both on and off the field in order to learn how best to deal with them.

The captain needs to know which players are best left alone, which require a quiet reminder of expectations and which need a more forceful articulation of what is required.

The captain that takes time to get to know her teammates, and not just players, will ultimately achieve far more respect and effort from her peers.

6. Self-confident

A self-confident captain inspires confidence in others. It also helps her maintain her own performance.

This is easy when things are going well, it is harder, but arguably even more important, to do so when the going gets tough. The captain needs to make sure she gives the impression of confidence in these circumstances.

Looking and acting confident will, sooner or later, lead to being confident overall.