Thanks Coach Frantz for the great input on leadership and how to foster it. As we know its often talked about and hard to actually implement. Great topic to read start to finish!
As strength and conditioning coaches, we have a unique opportunity to influence collegiate-level student athletes. Our positive impact can be even more significant for athletes in the college environment than in other settings (i.e., high school, professional, and private). Our frequency of engagement with them and their developmental stage places us in a unique position to move these athletes toward independence and grow into future leaders of the world.
Our main job responsibility is to improve individual sport performance. In most collegiate sports, however, team performance determines championship outcomes. Therefore, although it is imperative to push for individual athlete’s physical improvements, focusing on the team’s success can set them apart from competitors.
When you hear interviews of teams or athletes after they’ve won a championship, and they are asked What was it about this team that contributed to this win?, one thing athletes never say is that it was because they bench pressed the most or because they were a team that hit more PRs than any other team. Most often, they say it was great leadership and teamwork – they had everyone on the same page, worked toward the same goal, and all “pulled” in the same direction.
As strength & conditioning coaches, we need to train intangible Leadership and Teamwork skills just as much as we train tangible skills like bench, squat, and clean. We get to work with athletes during a time when the need for leadership and teamwork is most crucial: in the off-season. Think about your fall sports, once the teams’ seasons are over and they come back for off-season training in January, they do not have any seniors or last season’s leaders to lean on and they do not have next year’s freshmen yet. The returning team is down to its ‘bare bones’. For this reason, strength & conditioning coaches need to start fostering leadership and teamwork during off-season training.
Here are some recommended steps to address this task:
1. MEET WITH SPORT COACHING STAFF AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL STUDENT-ATHLETE LEADERS
· Must-haves: Capability, Respect, Positive Influence, and a Team-first Mentality
2. MEET WITH NEW POTENTIAL STUDENT-ATHLETE LEADERS/CAPTAINS
· Discuss reasons why the coaches identified them as potential leaders and review expectations of this role (i.e., serving as a liaison between the team and coaching staff, having a positive and consistent influence on others, and holding themselves and others accountable for their actions).
· Instill ownership of the program. Explain that becoming a great leader requires forming a partnership with teammates, the other leaders and the coaches. The success of the program and team relies on the leaders’ ability to personally invest and get their teammates to invest and commit to working towards the SAME GOAL EVERY DAY.
3. PROVIDE/CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW LEADERS TO LEAD
· There are many ways that this can be accomplished. Start by giving instructions of a specific and often complicated workout to the new leader and making them the only ones who can relay the information to their teammates.
· If the team is successful in completing the workout, it is often a testament to good leadership or teamwork. If the team is unsuccessful, however, the failure must fall to the leader, regardless of fault. In this case the leader must do extra work, unbeknownst to the rest of the team.
· This approach accomplishes two things: 1) the team gets to see and hear from a new leader for the first time and 2) the leader is in a situation to relay information effectively to others with an added level of pressure to succeed.
4. DEBRIEF WITH NEW LEADERS
· Regardless of the outcome, setting aside time to debrief and evaluate the situation with leaders is crucial. This is the time and opportunity when they (and you) learn the most.
· This is also an important time for you as the coach to listen to their experience, provide feedback, and as a group make any adjustments and improvements for next time.
5. REPEAT THE PROCESS
· Continue to provide opportunities for your new leaders to learn and improve and for the team to work together and take direction.
FINAL THOUGHTS
· Fostering leadership and teamwork starts with you, as a strength and conditioning coach. You must embody and possess your own leadership skills to set the table for great leadership development, provide opportunities for teams to ‘pull in the same direction,’ and create a championship culture.
· Lastly, many thanks to all the great leaders and mentors like Rick Court, from whom I have had the chance to learn. I would not be where I am today without your knowledge and expertise that I now embody, and pass on to college athletes, the next future leaders.
Holly Frantz
University of Maryland
Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports