Youth Sport Leadership Development: Leveraging the Sports Captaincy Experience

Abstract

Leadership has been identified as an important but underdeveloped life skill among youth athletes. This article discusses a recent effort to develop leadership by taking a formal educational approach to the sport captaincy experience. More specifically, the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports has partnered with the Michigan High School Athletic Association to create the MHSAA Captain's Leadership Training Program. The program's design, structure, and content are discussed as well as our biggest successes, challenges, and future directions. Implications for sport consultants, coaches, and other practitioners are provided.

Athlete leadership in sport teams: Current understanding and future directions

“…This captaincy leadership development programme included a clinic (development group) and separate selfstudy team captain's guide. A core reflection on this programme by Gould and Voelker (2010) highlighted the importance in also developing a coach supervision programme ATHLETE LEADERSHIP IN SPORT TEAMS 21 alongside the captain development programme. There are also a small number of examples in the literature of structured approaches to develop leadership skills in adult performancefocused athletes.…”

“…Blanton, Sturges and Gould (2014) developed a youth leadership club in which US high school athletes shared leadership principles. Gould and Voelker (2010) developed a captaincy development programme for high school captains adopting a workshop-based approach. This captaincy leadership development programme included a clinic (development group) and separate selfstudy team captain's guide.…”

Top-down or shared leadership? Examining differences in athlete leadership behaviours based on leadership status in sport

“…In particular, knowing which athletes (i.e., roles) are displaying specific leadership behaviours would allow practitioners to develop leadership training programs tailored specifically for an entire sport team. Currently, much of the leadership training athletes receive is catered toward the formal leader (Gould & Voelker, 2010). However, informal leaders also act as a primary source of leadership to many athletes , and thus should be provided opportunities to enhance their leadership skills.…”

The Student-Athlete Leadership Academy: Ten years of interscholastic sport leadership training

“…Attendees typically leave the event with enthusiasm and intentions to work on their leadership skills, but follow-up is dependent upon the individual's continued interest and the school's willingness to sustain training. Other outreach programs have cited similar challenges involving accountability and indicate a need for comprehensive follow-up in order to promote maximal impact (e.g., Gould & Voelker, 2010). Supplemental online training or regional workshops with 3-4 schools may reduce cost and increase access for student-athletes over the entire academic year.…”

“…often involve bringing in a guest expert from outside of the community to facilitate leadership training at a particular school. Others are focused on a single institution (e.g., Blanton, Sturges, & Gould, 2014) or are offered by sport psychology graduate students and faculty (e.g., Gould & Voelker, 2010). Some communities may not be able to afford the services of outside experts and others may not have local sport psychology programs to provide the infrastructure for continuous leadership training.…”