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Do You Know How to Coach Leadership Ability?

  • February 1, 2025
  • Leadership
Coaches

Dr. Deborah Gilboa headshot.You may assume that student-athletes simply develop leadership ability by participating in sports, and it’s true that statistics suggest participation in youth sport is one of the top predictors of leadership capability. In fact, 94 percent of female CEOs were student-athletes.

However, while youth sport is a great way for teens to develop leadership skills, it’s not an automatic skill transfer. Coaches have a responsibility to help athletes develop those leadership skills, and here, board-certified family physician and TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, shares the best ways to coach leadership ability.

 

Tip: Help athletes define leadership

Before you can ask or expect student-athletes to exhibit strong leadership, you will need to help them define what exactly leadership means. As a longtime coach, you may assume that athletes know what leadership looks like, or that athletes can easily take what they’re learning about being leaders in a team sport and use it in other areas of their lives. But Gilboa explains that most young athletes aren’t naturally making connections between their actions and the concept of ‘being a leader.’

She adds that if we’ve never asked an athlete to articulate what leadership looks like, it’s unlikely that they’ll make those connections. So, begin each season by asking athletes what leadership means to them, and constantly revisit those values throughout the season.

 

Tip: Ask athletes what they learned

We know that sport teaches athletes life lessons—but often, those lessons are missed until years later. “It’s a rare student who’s truly a lateral thinker, someone who can listen to a speech that a coach gives and connect it to a problem outside of their athletic life,” says Gilboa. “It’s hard for them to take a strategy from sport and apply it somewhere else. So as a coach, ask your athletes leading questions.”

You can simply ask athletes what they learned after games and practices and follow that up by asking where else in their lives that lesson might be useful. You may need to push them to consider lessons beyond sport skills and game tactics by asking about things like teamwork and decision-making.

 

Tip: Let athletes handle conflict

Leadership doesn’t just mean leading warmup drills or doing the team pep talk. In fact, the skill of leadership is the most valuable when things aren’t going well or there is conflict. And that is arguably the hardest time for someone to step into the role of being a leader. “It’s really worthwhile to consider letting athletes lead when things aren’t going great,” says Gilboa. “A lot of the most important leadership that happens on a team is when athletes are the ones to call out bad behavior. Yet this is when the coach is most likely to step in.”

Obviously, as the coach, you need to judge when it’s necessary for you to step in during a team conflict. But, if possible, give your athletes the opportunity to be the first to speak up and take charge.

 

Tip: Treat every athlete as though they can lead

Female coach sitting on field with young girl soccer team.“It’s easy to make an assumption that a kid who’s loud is going to both want to be a leader and be a good one,” says Gilboa. “It can be really frustrating, especially to the other kids on the team, when we make that assumption because others typically know if that person’s not a great leader and they just got singled out as the leader for being loud.”

“We tend to associate leadership with extroversion, but those aren’t the same traits,” Gilboa explains. “In fact, some of the best leaders are those who are quieter, who lead from behind rather than being the figurehead of an organization.”

Athletes who are less outgoing may be more capable of leading than you assume, so operate as though any athlete on the team can take on leadership roles. You have the opportunity as the coach to help athletes find the leadership opportunities that best align with their strengths.

 

Tip: Make opportunities for different types of leadership

Many coaches use leading warmup drills or pre-game pep talks as opportunities for athletes to lead the team. That’s a good start, but it’s not the only way to encourage leadership. Gilboa suggests adding opportunities for the ‘quiet leaders’ to stand out on the team. Options like having every athlete bring a new play or drill to the team huddle every Monday allows the athletes who may not be the loudest to be part of decision-making for the team.

“Look for any place where you can be creative about letting students make decisions,” she adds. “But that means you have to be okay with any of the choices they pick, so don’t give them a choice you’re not okay with!”

 

Tip: Name and frame leadership

As a coach, you can help athletes spot moments of leadership, whether you’re pointing it out explicitly by telling the athlete that they did great rallying the team when they were down, or by asking pointed questions, like ‘What did you learn from leading warmup drills that you could take to your job at the movie theatre?’

 

Tip: Keep having the conversation

Let your athletes know that you are trying to help them develop leadership capabilities and remind them of that throughout the season. “There can be a constant dialogue about what the athletes are learning through their sport,” says Gilboa. “You want to help athletes recognize that sport teaches us these values like leadership, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation, while also helping athletes find ways to bring what they’re learning in sport to other areas of their lives.”

______________________

Takeaway

As a coach, you can encourage every athlete to take on leadership roles on your team. Start by defining what leadership can look like, and continue the conversation throughout the season, encouraging athletes to make connections between leadership moments on the field to opportunities outside of sport. Help all athletes find leadership roles that suit their strengths, call out moments of leadership, and don’t assume that the loudest players are the only leaders on the team.

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Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

A Good Sport Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Izy Isaksen, Team USA, Modern Pentathlon, Olympian, US Army Sergeant, and True Sport Ambassador. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport. There are three things I’d like you to know. First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser. And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character.

I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

I’m Edwin Moses, and the lessons I’ve learned through sport have challenged me, guided me, and shaped my life forever. What kind of coach do you want to be?

THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.