Athletic Leadership

Sports management is a really broad field, therefore I decided to focus on my minor and one of my major interests of this field: coaching. In this paper I will be explaining my personal five building blocks that make up a well-rounded coaching philosophy and coach. Those blocks are; leadership, organization, attitude, respect, and resiliency. Each of these five aspects are equally important and balance each other out. Leadership, the action of leading a group of athletes towards a goal. Organization, being able to organize a team and have a plan in order to help the team achieve goals. Attitude, it is very important for a coach to have a winning and positive attitude that is contagious to the players. Respect, there has to be a good

Sport’s are an aspect of life that affect societies across the globe. Athletics affect everyone's life, whether that be playing the sport, watching games, or hearing about a sporting event. There is a big difference between playing an individual sport and players relying on their own athletic abilities versus a team sport when members of the team rely on their teammates to complete each individual's specific responsibility to reach the team's goal. Team sports bring people together in countless ways, and they teach many life skills for the athletes that participate in them. Some of these skills include communication, teamwork, discipline, work ethic, dedication, leadership, and numerous more that will help them in their personal and work

Playing sports is a great way to develop leadership skills. I’ve played softball since I could walk. It has been my passion ever since I started. Being the captain of my team for 2 years has taught me how to be a great problem solver, to be confident in myself, and to be a very hard worker. Leaders should be the first person you think of to go to for advice on a problem you’re having. Being a leader I have to do the right thing all the time not only when it is convenient because everyone is watching me. No matter what the situation people turn to me to help guide the team as a whole, on and off the field. If I make an error everyone sees how I react and they use that as an example for how they should act and have good sportsmanship. I have

Being a leader on a sports team meant that I had to be physically and mentally strong in situations where others might be weak. Physically, I had to be an example on my team by never quitting and never giving up when things were tough. That way when my teammates seen me pushing through physically adverse situations they have someone to follow

I started out as a student-athlete in which I depicted great leadership skills and positive role model qualities such as diligence, enthusiasm, and passion for the sport. Hence, after my first year of college, I was named the team captain. I worked closely with the coaches, helped to resolve team conflicts, established the tone for practice, and modeled responsibility, decision-making, and a strong work ethic. I also promoted a positive attitude and team interactions, and encouraged and supported all of my teammates. Throughout my experience as team captain, I showed mental toughness by remaining confident and focus, and respond to individual and team mistakes in an appropriate manner.

At their finest, coaches perfect their player’s flaws to push them to their potential ability, improve their skills, and create determination within the team. They can expand the importance of such a sport to intensify motivation and the value of good sportsmanship for the sake of not only their reputation, but the outcome that comes from it. Coaches must not lag when it comes to hardships that comes about; they must stay connected. The closer the connection between a player and a coach the better they are moving forward and continuing on the love of the sport and job.

Sports make people come close together like family,” because of the opportunity to train, try, win, or lose together.”( The Mental Benefits of Sports, Kathryn Watson, para. 8) Winning and losing as a team is very important to learn how to do. Everyone has to work as a group in something of their life and no one wants to work with a sore loser or winner. Leadership qualities can, “range from being a good character, to respecting others, to being task oriented can be accomplished in both team and individual sports,” because of that “team mindset” ability.(What Do Youth Sports Teach Our Children Really? Suzanne Pish, Michigan State University, para. 6) The “team mindset” is a key thing to strengthen leadership qualities. Leaders are what makes up teams or groups of people or student athletes. Something to improve leadership is, “encouraging and inspiring team members to attain their own personal goals and reach their potential can help you become a better leader.”(Goals to Increase Leadership Skills for Personal Development, Laura Jerpi, para.5) Also, students that are more task oriented or who have better interpersonal skills tend to be healthier than an average human being. Leadership is an significant title to be able to claim. Having the title can get people a long way in

Team Cohesion in the sport setting is the most important factor for group effectiveness, being influenced largely by leadership people. Homogenous attitudes and goals, personal sacrifice, and training and instructing coaching tactics are positively linked to team cohesion, and therefore performance. Cohesion is a dynamic and multidimensial process, and these methods could change depending on initial levels. By examining two scenarios of teams having significantly different levels of cohesion, it can be determined how these tactics are used in contrasting contexts. It was concluded the same tactics were used regardless of initial team cohesiveness, and performance was improved in both cases. A single coach administered these methods, but a case study revealed that multiple team leaders can change the different factors enhancing cohesion and still gets the same performance enhancements. Thus, cohesion does not have to rely on a single leader but multiple figures can have a combined effect.

The Student-Athlete Leadership Team is a program that was designed in order to develop the leadership skills of our student-athletes and will be facilitated by North Atlanta High School’s own Andre Regan. The student-athletes are nominated by their respective head coaches, most of which are team captains. The basics of the Citizen Leader Framework are leading self, leading with others, and changing your world are the core of the leadership model created by Andre Regan and so many other coaches nationwide. Discussion topics will include accountability, self-awareness, resiliency, communication, collaboration, and empathy with and for teammates and coaches, in hopes that the Student-Athlete can help their team on and off the playing field.

For starters, I believe that student athletes should be a leader to their peers and in their community through attitude and hustle. This seems like it would be normal for someone that is seen as the face of their school, but often times these two things can come low on some athletes list of priorities. In school, instead of being the typical “jock” personality, student athletes should be the ones that portray a positive and caring attitude towards their peers. On the field/court, student athletes should always give their all. Many like to give up if they aren’t playing well, or if they aren’t playing at all, but this only brings the overall morale of the team down tremendously. Whether it is making plays or supporting teammates, everyone on a team has a role no matter if they are on the field or on the bench. Every single player has a part in success and one negative attitude can be the one to overtake an entire team.

Finally, outside influence plays a key role in determining athletic success. Athletes must be motivated to push away negative influences, peer pressure and what others want. It’s important to have a good coach who cares about the athlete’s success and hones his skills. Coaches can mold an athlete’s physical and mental maturity and play a critical role in helping develop the athlete while putting them in a better position to handle success.

This study had five main variables. First, the “inclusion climate,” or how unified the students felt their team was. This was measured by three questions on a 1 to 6 scale. Next was “willingness to cheat,” or the perceived readiness of fellow teammates to be dishonest, which was measured by a 1 to 5 scale question. Also measured was the “college choice satisfaction,” or how content the students felt about their choice of college. This was measured by three questions on a 1 to 7 scale. Next was “ethical leadership,” or whether the student felt that the coach was running the team with positive morals. It was measured by six questions on a 1 to 5 scale. Last was “abusive coaching behavior,” or how the students felt about their coach’s amount of abuse or lack thereof. This was assessed with three questions on a 1 to 5 scale. The perceived ethical climate of the school (measured via three 1 to 5 scale items), as well as the gender of the team, how much media attention the team

The coach tirelessly pursues personal education, formally and informally, both in the performance related sciences and in liberal arts. He sees the journey to coaching excellence as a never ending story; seen not only in terms of a chosen sport and coaching theory and practice, but in understanding how to successfully live a balanced and full life, while facing tougher and tougher challenges in the chosen field of endeavour.

Borland, J. F., Kane, G. M., & Burton, L. J. (n.d.). Sport leadership in the 21st century.

A good sports leader will take the time to evaluate their own performance or other participants. Evaluating their own performance helps them to see their