College coach Christy Johnson-Lynch discusses how to foster leadership on a team where there isn't a clear leader to do so. Creating a leadership infrastructure depends on the players you have on the team, whether they're younger or older players, whether they're natural leaders, and whether they're willing to take responsibility for the season.
Below are several techniques for fostering leadership.
- Assign different leadership roles based on several players' personalities and abilities.
- Consider a mentor program - where a senior player takes a freshman player under her wing to help positively influence the newcomers and teaching team culture.
- Ultimately, it is up to the coach to determine the energy of the program. In off-seasons or growing seasons, a coach must take more initiative and be willing to lead the team in ways they otherwise wouldn't. Lead by example, and the team will follow suit.
