The leader is the most crucial figure in any project or event. That is a person who establishes inner and outer communication and ensures that the desired goal is reached. The leader largely affects each team member’s life in addition to the lives of others who gain from the product generated by a particular team under him. The leader of a sport team can and has to positively influence the team by motivating them and helping the develop leadership skills.
The leader has to motivate the team even in times of crisis. This year my varsity volleyball team is experiencing a lack of skill and time for training. However, I am committed to leading the team regardless of the situation. I applied my past experience of captainship and knowledge about volleyball to design training programs for every player and team. This activity comes with hardships because the team this year is different. Nonetheless, having the responsibility of being a leader motivates me to cheer the team up and finish the season gracefully. The leader must not give up before the team because the leader has to have more excellent vision. Therefore, I am doing my best to inspire my teammates and pass the knowledge and experience to lead them to significant sports achievements.
A good leader ensures the team’s well-being and winning, and helps other athletes become leaders. The paper by Cotterill and Fransen (2021) emphasizes different styles of leadership in sports, almost all of which contribute to developing the leadership skills of every team member. In my experience, such an attitude has a broader positive impact, since every member might become a good leader in another team and thus improve the whole sports community.
To sum up, leaders in sports positively influence the team and broader community. This was supported by the author’s personal experience playing for a volleyball team and showcasing leadership there. In addition, some researchers concluded that leaders in sports could grow other leaders and thus positively impact sports in general. Therefore, training leadership to promote sports and create healthy societies is essential.
Reference
Cotterill, S. T., & Fransen, K. (2021). Leadership development in sports teams. In Z. Zenko & L. Jones (Eds.), Essentials of exercise and sport psychology: An open access textbook (pp. 588–612). Society for Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology.