The purpose of the Leadership Council is to give athletes a leadership role and influence over aspects of the football program. The members of the Leadership Council will also serve as the “captains” of the football team.
Leadership Council member requirements and responsibilities:
Fully support the purpose statement and core values of the football program.
Maintain high academic standards.
Be a leader and active participant in off-season training strength training.
Attend Leadership Council/Captains meetings.
Set a positive example for the team in terms of "attitude" and "effort" (the two values that all athletes have complete control over). Give a consistent effort and display a positive attitude every day.
Communicate effectively with players and coaches.
Work toward developing team cohesion/unity. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is valuable.
Have the ability to confront problems and find solutions with anyone on the team; be a problem solver.
Organize non-mandatory activities and summer "captain’s practices" where all players are welcome.
Be willing to make individual sacrifices for the betterment of the team.
Attempt through positive peer pressure to recruit new players into the program.
Why have a Leadership Council?
-As the title suggests, the Leadership Council is intended to help athletes become better leaders on and off the field.
-The Leadership Council empowers athletes.
-The council provides a place for the athletes to voice their concerns and ideas.
-The players will develop a better understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior, along with what would be appropriate consequences for such behavior.
-It will help build amongst the team and coaches better relationships, trust, leadership, communication, and ownership and accountability throughout the program. Creating more team cohesion.
-Positive peer pressure will become the norm. Blaming and finger pointing are replaced with mutual monitoring and reinforcement of policies and procedures.
-Conflicts and distractions do not linger in the program because the leadership council can address them and determine the best way to solve the issue.
-Players have the opportunity to provide input on the football program, creating a greater sense of involvement amongst players.
-Players and coaches will develop a greater sense of trust and "buy in" with the program.
*Those involved in the Leadership Council will not be the only members on the team that are trained in leadership. Leadership is an essential trait under character development and will be taught to all athletes in the program. The members of the council will be in a unique position to guide the program, but that does not make them the only leaders. We want to create a program wide culture of leadership.