Leadership Development

Leadership Development:

As strength and conditioning coach, you come across all different kinds of student athletes.  Not only must you be a leader to these athletes, but you must help facilitate and promote leaders amongst the athletes themselves.

In the weight room the leaders almost always stick out immediately.  These are the athletes who are never late, always give it their all and never complain.  These are the athletes who are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed and accomplish their goals.  They work hard and are often enthusiastic about getting a little extra conditioning above and beyond that which is required for them.  These athletes are leaders because of their dedication. 

Although these are qualities of a leader, an athlete may possess these qualities and still not be a leader.  If an athlete is dedicated and determined, but they do not encourage and help the other athletes, they will not be a leader.  The silent and determined athlete does great for themselves, but is not leading the rest of the team.  I see many athletes like this.  These athletes seem influenced by the true leaders and may have the potential to become true leaders in the future.  They are usually in a stage of self discovery and self determination.  Once these athletes accomplish their individual goals, they will branch out and become leaders.

There are often athletes on a team who are disliked by the others.  These are the athletes who do not care about practice and conditioning.  They do not possess the dedication that the other athletes have.  These athletes are often very talented, but they do not put in the work to really maximize their potential.  Often times these athletes think they are too good for practice.  Although these athletes may be the greatest skill wise, they will never be leaders due to their lack of determination. 

As a strength coach it is important to educate the athletes on the purposes of all the different exercises.  If the athlete knows that the exercises have a clear purpose in their physical goals they will encourage other athletes to do these things.  Aside from educating the athletes, it is important to get to know each athlete as an individual.  Once you make a connection with the athlete, you are able to coach them in a more effective manner and help them realize your goals for them.  Once an athlete knows that you are there to help them realize their goals they will listen to you and encourage other athletes to do the same.  They will begin making sure that other athletes give you their respect and they will encourage other athletes to be on time.   

Competition is something else that motivates athletes and helps leaders shine.  At FAU we give weekly points, with the end goal of a prize of some sort.  These weekly points motivate the athletes to come together and put in the little extra to get points.  The leaders of each team motivate the other athletes and keep everyone in check.  Creating situations for leaders to shine really helps a team.

As a coach I think that it is important to pay close attention to the team dynamics and give the leaders as much opportunity as possible to help others.  Doing these things, and approaching each athlete in an individualized manner will really help promote a positive team dynamic.