Creek sports have begun, and as onlookers we don’t know about every detail there is behind the scenes. Over the course of their sport’s season, captains have to put in more work than most; between balancing classes, the team, and their extra responsibilities in organizing the team, it can be more difficult to be a captain than what most people think.
Not everyone wants to take the role of captains due to the extra work.
“It’s sometimes hard because the goal is to make everyone pretty happy but sometimes not everyone is gonna be happy, so I think people try not to be captains,” girls’ volleyball senior captain Ava Ross said.
Captains are often in control of warm ups, giving the team the team spirit as well as making sure that the team will not lose hope after a major loss after a game; they not only have to lift and deal with their own burden of emotions but also deal with the team’s emotions from a loss or from low energy after school.
“[I have to] not only help lift myself up during stressful situations but lift up others on the team. I also have learned how to problem solve,” Ross said.
Creek captains are given higher expectations from coaches and team members, and often, they are chosen by their personality. Captains are supposed to be the ones who set the tone for the team in a positive manner, and they are supposed to keep the team in line but also the coaches in line as well.
“Who will put in, who will do more work than anyone else?” girls’ flag football coach David Knoeckel said.
Coaches expect captains to have characteristics of trustworthiness, altruistic, and good communication skills. “[Captains need] to be someone that encourages the team, has good communication with the coaches and the team, someone who can lead with playing and can lead with words. Someone that will help others get better,” Knoeckel said.
Being a student and captain at Creek is not easy, you have to bear responsibilities as a student and the expectations as a captain. “I struggle a lot with managing my stress of being a Creek student, making sure my grades are good enough for me to play, because if you have bad grades you risk letting your team down if not being able to be there for them,” Ross said.
Even with struggles captains must find solutions to their problems. “[Captains] need a greater perspective, we need to understand what these problems are and what those stressors are, and we need to take it one step at a time,” boys’ soccer captain Noah Eisenberg said.
Despite difficulty balancing their commitments, most captains believe that it’s important to work with their teams, even through small actions. “To make great leaps and great progress, you need to have little steps,” Eisenberg said.
