Leadership by Chelsea Stevenson

Leaders come in all different forms. There are so many ways to express leadership, whether it is by a verbal actions or simply doing things the team can and should follow.

Showing leadership can mean cheering your team on during practice when a play goes wrong, cheering for them while doing the ladder, or simply saying “good shot” when someone shoots. Simple actions like that gets everyone moving and being verbal together.

Not every team has that one person to get everyone motivated to speak, but there are always players who show leadership by their actions. Getting dressed for practice and coming out to shoot makes everyone else want to hurry and get out there too. It makes the team ready to get things going and let’s the coaches know the team is serious! Or having a player simply listen to the coaches corrections and fixing the mistakes they pointed out helps everyone. Always be supportive of your team, even the younger players. Everybody makes mistakes and it is always good to be a positive role model.

It is better to have good leadership in some form at practice than it is to have no connection and feel like the practice is dragging on with no energy. Plus, that could involve having to run for a “not so focused” practice.

And while the players are stuck in quarantine there are ways to still be a leader. Grab and ball and just practice shooting up to yourself, or going outside and shooting for 45 minutes a day. A little time each day can go a long way. Motivating friends to get outside is leadership. Posting a picture of yourself on snapchat showing you’re outside shooting is leadership because it may make other players want to go out as well.

It is so much better being a leader and not a follower. Do what is expected and it will make the coaches and other players much happier. And it will lead to a fun season!