As you walk into your end of the season sports banquet, you are filled with nerves. You’ve worked hard all season, tried to make connections with teammates, and pray that your year(s) on the team have proven to your teammates that you are captain material. Finally, the coaches begin to announce who will lead the team next season. One name is called, then another. Your heart drops thinking you didn’t make the cut. Then, last but not least, your name is called. You jump up in excitement. The only question is, now what?
“Going from being a player to being a captain is a huge shift in role, and there’s really no handbook for how to go about it,” girls’ soccer captain Julianne Guarraia said. For most fall sports, being appointed captain means running summer practices, handling communication between the team and coaches, and stepping into a role that requires a lot of responsibility and organization. For a lot of new captains, it can be difficult to navigate.
“We get voted in by the rest of the team, so you kind of get thrown into it. When it comes to summer stuff, if numbers are low, you kind of feel responsible. Everything is kind of on you, especially in the summer, because coaches aren’t always involved. For example, making the lineup for summer league games and deciding on subs,” Guarraia said.
Cheer captain Anna Prevost agrees that the shift in role from player to captain is vast.
“Being an athlete on the team, my main focus was my individual performance and what I needed to work on to make myself better. As a captain I had to shift from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ mindset. I am now responsible for the whole team’s performance and morale. I need to learn how to balance authority and friendship and also act as a bridge between coaches and athletes. It’s different knowing I have to act in the right manner on and off the mat because all my teammates look up to me as both a senior and as a captain,” Prevost said.
Although there may not be a handbook on how to step into the role, many captains feel as though years of watching
upperclassmen helps them make the transition more seamless.
“My brother was a captain so I learned a lot from him and the other captains. This new role comes with a lot of new responsibility. I am looked up to as a leader now, but I know I can use my experience from the past years as I was growing with the team to fulfill my position,” boys’ soccer captain Xavier Stefanski said.
On most sports teams, being captain is reserved for seniors who’ve spent four years on the team learning from previous captains and gaining experience. This year, alongside senior Callan Keefe, juniors Mia Lloyd and Sophia Gibson were elected field hockey captains. Navigating the shift in role from player to captain is an adjustment for all players, but as juniors, it can be tough to navigate that shift as younger players relative to the seniors. Like Stefanski, Lloyd and Gibson had older sisters on the team that they both feel have helped prepare them for their new roles.
“Gracie (my sister) was a phenomenal leader and I look up to her in so many ways… Amongst other things she taught me that perseverance always pays off,” Lloyd said.
While the girls may be younger relative to some of the older players,
both girls have been playing since elementary school, unlike most other players on the team, therefore helping them feel prepared for their role.
Figuring out how to shift from being a teammate to a captain is not an easy adjustment. Players are elected into the position with no exact blueprint on how to handle the new responsibilities, but by learning from older players and previous captains the shift is made more seamless.
“Handling the shift was definitely a change, but something I’ve looked forward to since I was a freshman. Scheduling captains’ practices and getting people to show up and put in hard work as well as making sure I’m doing my job efficiently can be stressful, but I know me and all of the other captains are super excited to lead the team,” football captain Jacob Garro said.
