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Post by mariner42 on May 5, 2017 17:53:53 GMT -6
For those of you who have the kids select captains, how do you head off/proactively prevent them choosing talented players who aren't actually leaders?
Say you've got Allen and Blake. Allen is your star WR who has started as a sophomore and junior and regularly takes over games, but isn't reliable in the offseason, doesn't make people around him better, kind of a d!ck to people at times. Blake is a second string guard who might as well be a coach in practice, never takes a rep off, hasn't missed a day in 3 years, every one loves him, etc.
How do you describe the team captain position to where Blake is a choice and Allen isn't? Or am I crazy for thinking that leaders don't have to be stars?
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Post by fantom on May 5, 2017 17:58:47 GMT -6
We don't have the kids pick the captains.
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Post by 19delta on May 5, 2017 18:15:14 GMT -6
I used to be one of those guys who thought that picking captains was a huge deal and I stressed out over it as a result.
Now that I am a little older, I don't feel that way anymore. On any team, there are going to be guys who are natural leaders. The other players are going to follow those guys regardless of whether or not they have the title.
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Post by spos21ram on May 5, 2017 18:29:11 GMT -6
This is our process and it works well. Anyone that wants to be a captain needs to a apply. Very similar to applying for a job. They have to write a cover letter stating why they want to be a captain and what it means to be a captain/leader. From there the coaches and players vote and rank the applicants 1 through however many applied.
We had 9 apply this year so when we voted and ranked them 1 through 9. We combined the coaches voted and the players. Lower the score the better. We picked the too 4 because there was a drop off from 4 to 5.
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Post by bigmoot on May 5, 2017 18:44:03 GMT -6
you can let the players vote to see what they think but you can make the decision
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Post by hunhdisciple on May 5, 2017 18:51:30 GMT -6
I've never seen players make the incorrect decisions in captain choosing.
We have had great athletes who have won us games and are also crappy off season kids. The other kids know that when they were doing more, their friends weren't. Those kids have always gotten very few votes.
I think you let the kids vote, and then keep your finger on the scale when doing the results.
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Post by **** on May 5, 2017 18:52:17 GMT -6
Kids vote.
Only the people that showed up 90% + in the summer are eligible to be a captain.
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Post by mrjvi on May 5, 2017 19:00:17 GMT -6
We don't have captains. Haven't for about 6 years. I emphasize leaders but no official captains. I do have "spokesmen" who are the guys who talk to the press and stand with officials on penalties. I pick them so we don't sound like idiots in the paper.
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Post by spos21ram on May 5, 2017 19:33:24 GMT -6
We don't have captains. Haven't for about 6 years. I emphasize leaders but no official captains. I do have "spokesmen" who are the guys who talk to the press and stand with officials on penalties. I pick them so we don't sound like idiots in the paper. Kind of off topic, but what do you mean you pick the players that talk to the press. What if a non spokesman has a great game and the newspaper writer wants to talk to him? You say no?
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Post by wingtol on May 5, 2017 19:37:22 GMT -6
I've never seen players make the incorrect decisions in captain choosing. We have had great athletes who have won us games and are also crappy off season kids. The other kids know that when they were doing more, their friends weren't. Those kids have always gotten very few votes. I think you let the kids vote, and then keep your finger on the scale when doing the results. This has been my experience as well. Like we always say amongst the coaches it's a dictatorship not a democracy and we count the votes so....
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Post by spos21ram on May 5, 2017 19:44:48 GMT -6
If you always go by "do what's best for the team", it helps to justify fudging the votes if that's what needs to be done.
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Post by mrjvi on May 6, 2017 4:54:47 GMT -6
If kids have a great game of course they talk to them but often the reporters ask me who can talk about the upcoming game or a pre-season review.
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Post by Coach Bennett on May 6, 2017 6:00:27 GMT -6
We've done it just about every way possible. Last year, we chose two captains as coaches and let the kids choose the other two after framing what being a captain means and should embody.
There have been years where we've had our teams choose all four, seasons where we chose all four. Depends on the team.
Regardless of how your team gets their captains, we make it very clear our expectations for leadership and likewise how quickly the "C" can be removed; works well for the superstar who was voted in but that you're skeptical about.
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Post by 19delta on May 6, 2017 7:29:34 GMT -6
This is our process and it works well. Anyone that wants to be a captain needs to a apply. Very similar to applying for a job. They have to write a cover letter stating why they want to be a captain and what it means to be a captain/leader. From there the coaches and players vote and rank the applicants 1 through however many applied. We had 9 apply this year so when we voted and ranked them 1 through 9. We combined the coaches voted and the players. Lower the score the better. We picked the too 4 because there was a drop off from 4 to 5. I like this. The kids have to put in some effort and it makes them think about why they want to be a recognised leader. Do you ever get applications from kids and you are like, "WTF is this idiot thinking?" Or does the effort involved in the application process weed those kids out? What about parents? Do they ever complain if their little precious snowflake applies but doesn't get chosen?
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Post by spos21ram on May 6, 2017 7:46:16 GMT -6
This is our process and it works well. Anyone that wants to be a captain needs to a apply. Very similar to applying for a job. They have to write a cover letter stating why they want to be a captain and what it means to be a captain/leader. From there the coaches and players vote and rank the applicants 1 through however many applied. We had 9 apply this year so when we voted and ranked them 1 through 9. We combined the coaches voted and the players. Lower the score the better. We picked the too 4 because there was a drop off from 4 to 5. I like this. The kids have to put in some effort and it makes them think about why they want to be a recognised leader. Do you ever get applications from kids and you are like, "WTF is this idiot thinking?" Or does the effort involved in the application process weed those kids out? What about parents? Do they ever complain if their little precious snowflake applies but doesn't get chosen? We got a new HC last season so it was the first time I've been involved in this type of process. We got 1 or 2 seniors apply that definitely weren't captain material, but they took the process seriously. I forgot to mention we also hold a short interview for each candidate as well.
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Post by funkfriss on May 6, 2017 8:05:14 GMT -6
You can pick the captains, but you can't pick the leaders.
Find the ones who the kids follow and teach them how to lead the right way. Not saying they're all going to be great, but you'd be amazed what kids will do with the responsibility you put on them.
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Post by 53 on May 6, 2017 14:34:33 GMT -6
Find your ass kickers and work on them. That's who the kids are going to follow.
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Post by tothehouse on May 6, 2017 15:15:01 GMT -6
Our kids have been wrong at least once every year the last 3 years...including this year.
Kids picking is fine. Coach should ultimately decide.
And I also think the coach needs to set VERY CLEAR expectations of what captains do and how the rest of the team treats them, etc.
If not...have game captains then.
As far as the original situation. If the first guy is a jag off about why he isn't a captain over the other dude...then it's obvious he shouldn't be a captain.
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Post by adawg2302 on May 6, 2017 15:49:31 GMT -6
We have players vote for 2 captains that are captains the entire year. Players know ahead of time that coaches can "veto" their top choice(s) if they do not agree. HC does not tell the team "We vetoed your choice; you all are idiots." He just announces them as if the team voted for them. A coaches veto has happened two times in the last 10 years. Needless to say, those weren't very successful years.
We also have 1 "Captain of the Week" as voted on by the coaches each week. Goes to a player who had a great game, week of practice, scout teamer, etc...We do our best to not have any "Captain of the Week" unless we have no other options. We have doubled up a handful of times the past 10 years.
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Post by funkfriss on May 6, 2017 16:52:51 GMT -6
Find your ass kickers and work on them. That's who the kids are going to follow. Wish this was always true
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Post by doublewing on May 6, 2017 17:09:01 GMT -6
what we do with the captains is have them divide up the summer participants into 4 teams. the captain is in charge of his group and each team competes in a variety of categories. this allows our captains a chance to lead and for the staff to see how they actually do. it's sort of along the lines with what the SEALS do with their boat crews. we work along the premise that their are no bad teams, just bad leaders.
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Post by silkyice on May 6, 2017 17:19:34 GMT -6
The kids will follow the leader. It doesn't matter if he is the captain or not.
Perfect world - best player - hardest worker - best kid - leader - captain
But that doesn't always happen.
Doesn't mean that captain doesn't matter or that we shouldn't try help develop leaders/captains or help the kids pick the best captain.
It just means that a title or who we think should lead doesn't make someone the actual leader.
The leader is the leader. Period.
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Post by newhope on May 8, 2017 11:33:51 GMT -6
I make it clear the kind of player we're looking for in a captain. I make it clear what we don't want. I sometimes change the number they get to vote for so that I can pick the others myself. I will at least let them vote on several. I may come back after letting them vote on 3 and say "there were so many that got votes I've decided it would be fair to split it up and have a different group each week".....but bottom line to the entire process: I COUNT THE VOTES and if you're a bad choice, you didn't get enough votes.
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Post by 3rdandlong on May 8, 2017 11:38:51 GMT -6
As coaches, we have veto power. We don't tell the kids that we veto them, but we do.
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Post by rosey65 on May 9, 2017 9:22:29 GMT -6
We dont have team captains. We push all seniors to be leaders, and to take ownership of the team. Some years, we put things on all seniors. Some years, we target a few responsible ones and place the ownership (not punishment) on them. Every senior gets at least once to be a "captain" during the pregame coin toss.
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pistola
Sophomore Member
Posts: 193
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Post by pistola on May 10, 2017 9:55:09 GMT -6
4 captains.. coaches pick 3 based on the week of practice (who showed up, who worked hard) can be anyone on the team.. players get to choose the 4th.. if they screw that up.. then who cares it's who they wanted and it's for only one week.
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Post by eaglemountie on May 10, 2017 10:01:47 GMT -6
Unfortunately, Allen is more than likely considered a leader by his peers whether he chooses to be or acts like one or not.
I think it would be in your best interest to try and embrace Allen as a leader and teach him or at least try to teach him how to be a leader and deliver the message that the team will go only as far as he will take them.
The kids, right or wrong, consider him to be a leader in their eyes for a reason. You've given them the ownership of that responsibility of picking a team captain, it is up to you to mold him as one.
(Then next year make sure off-season attendance is a requirement for being selected a captain!)
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Post by funkfriss on May 10, 2017 10:23:27 GMT -6
Let me throw this out there. What are you looking to get out of a captain?
Do you expect him to be a leader who the entire team will follow?
Is he one of the guys who gets the letter "C" on his chest, stands in the front of warm-up lines, and calls Heads and Tails?
If you want your captain to be a leader that will be followed then I sincerely believe you as a coach can not choose your captains. I remember a kid when I was in HS who the coaches loved, but most of us thought was an arrogant pu$$y. There was no way in He!! anybody was going to follow him no matter how much our coaches shoved him down our throats.
You can certainly use those kids as examples though. Let's say Andy is the kid you love, but kids won't follow and Billy is a kid you're not a big fan of but gets respect from the team. Approach Billy and show him how hard Andy works and say, "Imagine if we took your influence on the team and combined it with Andy's work ethic. How hard do you think the rest of the team would work if YOU tried to outwork Andy every day?"
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Post by joker31 on May 10, 2017 10:46:13 GMT -6
For those of you who have the kids select captains, how do you head off/proactively prevent them choosing talented players who aren't actually leaders? Say you've got Allen and Blake. Allen is your star WR who has started as a sophomore and junior and regularly takes over games, but isn't reliable in the offseason, doesn't make people around him better, kind of a d!ck to people at times. Blake is a second string guard who might as well be a coach in practice, never takes a rep off, hasn't missed a day in 3 years, every one loves him, etc. How do you describe the team captain position to where Blake is a choice and Allen isn't? Or am I crazy for thinking that leaders don't have to be stars? Kids vote, but our head coach has the power to veto. That said, we are asking the kids to be captains of the FOOTBALL team, not offseason team. So the kid needs to be a good player for them to be a captain, not necessarily the best but has to be a good football player. Generally our kids have been good about picking the correct leaders. There's a couple of slam dunks, then some who are really close. Our kids have to pick 3, we tally up the points and select our 4 captains. Two other things we do, we have "game captains" for each game. This would be for the guys that were ranked 5th and 6th in captain voting, plus guys like Blake. We also have our players pick the top "playmakers", guys who they believe they want the ball in their hands. Shows which guys the players have faith in and just in case we're not seeing something. Also Top 3
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Post by theyoungballcoach on May 10, 2017 11:55:47 GMT -6
For those of you who have the kids select captains, how do you head off/proactively prevent them choosing talented players who aren't actually leaders? Say you've got Allen and Blake. Allen is your star WR who has started as a sophomore and junior and regularly takes over games, but isn't reliable in the offseason, doesn't make people around him better, kind of a d!ck to people at times. Blake is a second string guard who might as well be a coach in practice, never takes a rep off, hasn't missed a day in 3 years, every one loves him, etc. How do you describe the team captain position to where Blake is a choice and Allen isn't? Or am I crazy for thinking that leaders don't have to be stars? I don't think you can make Blake a captain. I think captains need to command respect. I understand you were using some hyperbole there, but if he isn't going to play, he can't lead. Also, sometimes really good players who are d!cks grow up a ton when they simultaneously become a senior and a captain. Those two things can change a kid. Either way, I like using the votes to see what the kids are thinking. Then we pick who we actually want. If there's a kid who we want to be a captain, but he's not a top 10 vote getter, we cross him off our list. Conversely, sometimes there is a great kid who we never would have considered, who might be in the top 5.
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