Teams that have the most success have strong leaders. Growing up I remember my dad always asking my sister and I what we were going to do in order to get our team going and rally them together after a loss or going into Championship Sunday. He emphasized that we needed to be the ones to get it started. You can’t wait for someone else to get people psyched because everyone is waiting for the next person to get people going. You have to take ownership to be the one to lead the way. My older sister was always so great at this. Growing up, I remember my sister keeping me up late working on new cheers and ways to get our team excited and pumped up. Her cheers, motivational talks, team prayers and ability to unite a group of people helped our house league team beat the undefeated Diamondbacks team for the championship and led our high school team to win a state championship. Her attitude single-handedly lifted our team above the competition no matter if she was a starter on the team or a backup. It was infectious. Not all of us are gifted with the natural ability to lead. I believe leadership is a muscle. The more it is practiced, the stronger it becomes. Here are 6 things that are necessary in order to become a leader.

Be LOUD-
This can actually be the most difficult part of leadership for most people. I practice being loud with my catchers and some of them actually get tears in their eyes out of fear when I have them belt out something in a drill. After a while of working on being loud, it becomes more natural and they gain more confidence. Loudness must be practiced. I would try practicing being loud in the shower. Get comfortable with what you are saying. Rehearse a motivating speech, practice your favorite cheers, creatively think of new cheers and try little things to increase your confidence like answering questions when the coach asks one. Be ok with getting the question wrong. The more you work on getting yourself out there, the easier it will become.

Lead by EXAMPLE-
I cannot emphasize this enough. Every repetition of every part of practice needs to be done well. If you start slacking off on the dynamic stretching at the beginning of practice, then the next person will too. I remember doing sprints and some of our fastest senior runners would be in the middle of the pack. They were just taking the easy way out instead of pushing themselves. When the leaders do this, it gives everyone else an excuse to be fine with taking it easy. When the leader pushes herself, everyone else pushes themselves because they realize that is the standard. Also, be an example off the field. The more the leaders consistently make positive decisions throughout the course of their careers (not just when they are leaders) and abstain from inappropriate behavior, the more likely their other teammates will follow suit.

Be FIRST, Leave LAST-
Be 15 minutes early to everything. My coach used to coin this time, “Rappl Time” (His name was Coach Mike Rappl). He used to say, “To be early is on time, to be on time is late and to be late is unacceptable.” Due to this fact I used to get to practices and games 30 minutes before the intended time, just to be safe. Being the first one there shows that this is important to you. It shows that you are making the sacrifice that this is your priority. Staying late and expecting to be the last one to leave shows your coach respect. It shows that you’re there to help clean up, be sure everyone has their things and that you want it to last. I prided myself on being the last one to leave the field. Now that my playing days are over I think of it as extending my career just a little bit longer every day and that makes me smile.

Stay THANKFUL -

Never become to proud for your own good. Be appreciative of the time that your coaches are taking to help you out. No softball coach makes a killing unless you’re the coach of Oklahoma. Coaches take a good amount of time away from their families and spend quality time to help you. Regardless of whether or not your coach is the best coach you ever had, continue to stay thankful. When the team becomes too entitled and expects special treatment, that is when problems arise.

Stay HUMBLE-

You can always learn something from someone else. Refrain from thinking that you know more than a coach about a particular sport. That type of thinking harvests bad attitudes. I have had every kind of coach throughout my playing career and I can say that there is always something to learn from each coach. Be respectful and stay humble knowing that you can learn something new from each person. Stay a student of the game and you will continue to flourish no matter what.

Do the EXTRA work-

Find time to invite your teammates to do work outside of practices and games. Do work individually while no one is watching. Try to figure out new things and learn about softball on your own. Explore YouTube and social media to find different philosophies. Gain role models by watching other softball teams play whether on TV or in your area. Put in the extra work and others on your team will want to follow suit. No one wants to be the one left behind when everyone else is working hard. Putting in extra work becomes contagious and before you know it, everyone will be wanting more reps and extending their potential.