Why Sports Makes You A Leader in Life
Playing sport can develop life long leadership skills, but its important to know what type of sporting organization will best develop this
Team sports help to build leadership skills in individuals and these skills can then be transferred to other areas of life too.
Sure, being an individual athlete allows you to develop in ways that are different and in ways more pressurized than being in a team sport, but in a team, you have to be responsible for other players around you as well.
And being a captain of a team builds the greatest amount of personal skills that can be used in other areas of life as you are responsible for communicating and motivating others as well as yourself.
Sports such as football, hockey, basketball, and baseball demand that a captain is present and aware on the field of play and ready and willing to lead when the chips are down.
In American football, the quarterback is often the captain of the team. Tactically they are the manager on the field and have a list of plays in their mind. And every throw that they make has been orchestrated with an attacking plan.
And that’s how they try to dictate the play for their team.
In soccer, the captain can be in any position on the field. Sometimes it’s a goalkeeper as often goalkeepers can play a longer career well into their forties whereas outfielders rarely play that long. But it can also be because they are secure in their handling. Similarly, defensive players can be strong in the tackle and dictate the play from the back while midfielders or forwards can push on and score goals.
Traditionally the captain is someone who can raise the spirits of the team and this can be done from a variety of positions.
In hockey, captains are usually the most experienced players.
A basketball team captain usually liaises between the coach and the team. They can also communicate to the referee between plays on the team’s behalf.
However, in baseball, the culture of having a team captain has died but there are a handful of teams who still have them.
In all of these team sports, the captains are expected to not only play a part in the tactical part of the game but to verbally communicate with their players and their coaches for the betterment of the team’s performance.
An example of a great captain in the NFL is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers inspires his team as he has a great presence. The other players on his team are more confident when he is there because he is consistent in his play.
But, Rodgers will also shake the hand of new players into his team and be the first to let them know who he is. And he is big enough to take the blame when things go wrong.
Steven Gerrard is a great leader in soccer. When he played for Liverpool in the 2005 European Champions League final he inspired his team when they were 3–0 at halftime by scoring the first comeback goal and then he saluted to the crowd to encourage the players. He also transferred this attitude into becoming a successful manager with Rangers FC.
In hockey, the Mark Messier Leadership Award is presented to a great leader in the game. Messier was known to be a humble leader who could get others to work together as a team.
Unusually, in the 1992 Olympic Games USA, who had what was known as the ‘dream team’ had two captains. Then both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson led the team to gold showing that dual team leadership is also possible in sport.
And the thing that all of these sports and leaders have in common is they led their teams to victory.
And in sport, ultimately, that’s what people want to see- a winner.
But that’s not to say that team sport does not develop leaders who are not the named captain of the team, because it does. If you are playing sport as a younger person you may not be the captain, but then again, you may not be nearly physically, psychologically, or socially developed enough to become a great captain at that time in your life.
But you can learn from others and from your experiences in sport to lead both in sport and in life.
And even if you`re not the named captain of an adult sports team it doesn’t stop you from being the true leader of the team.
When Liverpool won the English Premier League for the first time in the 2019–2020 season Jordan Henderson was their captain. And he was a good leader. But although they were favorites for many people to defend their title in style the following season things didn’t go to plan as, arguably their most influential player Virgil Van Dyke got badly injured.
And this ended Liverpool’s dominance of the league as they fell from the top of the table right down to the fourth spot and got hammered 4–1 by their close rivals Manchester City.
As Van Dyke had been such a powerful leader in both defense and the dressing room his personality and stature were missed throughout the team as they turned out to be a pale version of themselves for most of the following season.
So it’s not about having the captain’s armband on your sleeve but about closing that circle around your team and being the leader that makes others want to win.
And after sport, the circle of life will come no matter what, but it’s the one who leads themselves and others into living their best life that will be appreciated more than the true leader will ever know.
