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IMPACT OF ATHLETICS ON LEADERSHIP.
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Examines how athletics help to develop leadership qualities.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines how athletics help to develop leadership qualities. Importance of issue. Social context. Focus on team sports as illustrating relationship between leader & those he leads. Vital role of the coach. Importance of rules. Gives examples of specific coaches (Phil Jackson, Vince Lombardi) & players (Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal) with leadership qualities.
Paper Introduction:
This study will examine how athletics helps to develop leadership qualities. This issue is important because of the emphasis on sports in modern society, and, therefore, both young and older athletes learn many lessons about life and behavior from sports. It is also crucial to differentiate between the emphasis on winning that is so prevalent at every level of sports today, and the leadership which transcends victory or defeat. By "leadership," this study will refer to those qualities which drive an individual to excel himself or herself, but which also drives that individual to help and inspire others to reach their potential as well in a team-oriented, cooperative atmosphere. An excellent player will always want to excel, but an effective leader must practice and instill in others on the team the desire to excel as a team, not merely as a group of individuals. In
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. He or she can and mustdevelop his or her own talents and skills, but the essence of leadership isa healthy and encouraging relationship with other players and other humanbeings working together for a common goal. A leader, in other words, is a person whodemonstrates how to live a good life as a good person as well as a goodcitizen, in the sense of social responsibility. Charles Barkley is one example of such a leader on thecourt who argues that athletes should not be social leaders or role models,but that parents should be such leaders and role models for the young.David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs declared that Barkley was a leaderand role model for the young "whether he wanted to be or not. In the eyes of your players, your credibility will also increase if they are confident of your knowledge of the rules (American 63). . If it is all rightfor Knight to do it, then why is it not all right for a player to do it? . . The coaches of Nikolishin's current team, the Capitals, believethat that "same sense of pride and leadership has helped" him "play apivotal role in the team's . Developing leadership, according to famed UCLA coach John Wooden, isthe equivalent of building character. "Revved Raider." Los Angeles Times. An excellent player will always wantto excel, but an effective leader must practice and instill in others onthe team the desire to excel as a team, not merely as a group ofindividuals. Works CitedAmerican Sport Education Program. Kurek reports on the Carteret Sports Leadership program in MoreheadCity, North Carolina, which educates high school athletes on the importanceof being leaders and role models. The Wizard of Westwood. They decided to not leave such an opportunity merely tocoaches, but to expand it off the field as well: The program [takes] sophomore and junior athletes through a series of hands-on programming that helps the athletes understand the unique spotlight they are in and the responsibility of being a good role model. It is also crucial todifferentiate between the emphasis on winning that is so prevalent at everylevel of sports today, and the leadership which transcends victory ordefeat. Without an authoritative coach whom the players trust and believe inas leader, it is less likely that a leader will emerge from the team, andmore likely that the players will be lost even if they are talented andknow the basics of the game. Champaign,IL: Human Kinetics, 1996.Chapin, Dwight, and Jeff Prugh. success." [He] does things that often get overlooked but are essential to winning. He leads by example. "Professional Athletes: Cultural Icons or SocialAnomalies?" USA Today. It is a goodbet that Jackson will also nurture the leadership qualities of Kobe Bryant.In fact, Jackson has been teasing Bryant with the possibility of making himcaptain, knowing that Bryant must grow into that role. In this writer's view, Knight isnot a leader because he teaches, by example, that it is acceptable to abuseothers in order to win. "Capitals Give Nikolishin 'A' ForLeadership." The Washington Post. He won over his teammates with his will. The same is true of the athlete at every level of sports, especiallythe athlete who excels at his sport and therefore draws even more attentionand admiration. One might bemoan the factthat sports are so important in society, that athletes are seen as leadersand role models while parents are too often ignored or held in contempt byyoungsters. This study will examine how athletics helps to develop leadershipqualities. A leader can make mistakes, but he must learn and grow fromthose mistakes, and be willing to change. Toughness Training for Life. . New York: Dutton, 1993.Norwood, Robyn. Even individualswho are talented and who have learned the fundamentals of the game will notbe able to translate that knowledge or those skills into victory if theyremain individuals and do not develop these qualities of leadership whichwill enable them to help the coach shape the players into a team workingtogether toward shared goals. "Believe it, athletes are role models." The Sporting News.Jan 13, 1997. "So you tell me I've got to change," says Knight,"Why do I need to change?" (Norwood D1). Athletes can develop leadership qualities as late as theirprofessional careers, as the development of Kobe Bryant demonstrates, butthey can also resist or deny such leadership potential, off the court ifnot on the court. Examples proving this claim are numerous. It is the responsibility of the athlete first to his team,and then to the greater society, to develop his character in a teamsetting, so that others might emulate him or her. . It was simplya matter of choice: Was he going to be a good one or a bad one?" (Sailes56). Oct 12, 1999. Thisknowledge is important not only for the sake of winning games, which canturn on a small rule or apparently insignificant play, but also for thesake of building character and playing fair (American 69-72). The same guidelines leading the coach also guide a player-leader: If you do your homework and communicate the rules well to your team, your players won't be caught unaware in games. A team is a hierarchy whichextends down from the top of the organization, including those who hire thecoach, the coach, the captain, and the other players. This issue is important because of the emphasis on sports inmodern society, and, therefore, both young and older athletes learn manylessons about life and behavior from sports. . He has a lot of respect from his teammates. The program teaches youth that even at ayoung age they have a responsibility, on and off the field or court, tolive according to higher values, because many other youngsters admire themfor being athletes. The coach must teach the basics, but he or sheis must instill in the players confidence that they can do their best andthat rewards will flow naturally from that effort. Sept, 2 1. The team was full of veteranswho were almost twice as old as Nikolishin. D1.Loehr, James. . La Canfora writes of the quiet leadership skills of NHL hockey starAndrei Nikolishin, who at 19 years old became the captain of theprestigious Russian team, the Moscow Dynamo. The program is an eight-month leadership developmentsystem for athletes in high school, where community leaders are "raisingrole-model athletes." In other words, recognizing that athletes, for betteror worse, are seen as leaders and role models, these leaders took advantageof that fact. . They meet inspiring leaders in various fields and are matched with mentors whose friendship provides another bridge for transitioning from school to work (Kurek 7-8). The role of the coach in developing leadership in players, and thenature of leadership itself, is brought into question by the case of BobbyKnight, former coach at Indian University and now at Texas Tech afterhaving been ousted from Indiana. This program is encouraging because it seeks to expand the leadershipand its positive consequences into the community, beyond the confines ofthe sport, where, unfortunately, too often the motto of "win at any cost"prevails. . The role of the coach is vital in instilling leadership in hisplayers, just as the leader of the team instills a sense of teamwork in hisfellow players. Character is the essence of not onlya good person but a good player, and good players comprise a good team.These "character fundamentals" include industriousness, friendship,loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm, self-control, alertness, initiative,intentness, conditioning, skill, team spirit, poise, confidence,competitiveness, ambition, adaptability, faith, patience, reliability,integrity, honesty, and sincerity (Chapin and Prugh 15). For better or worse, this societyis one in which athletes are leaders and role models, and athletes andtheir coaches and mentors must accept this and use it for the good of all. . [They] participate in police ride-alongs and mock city-council meetings; they solve community problems and tutor and coach elementary students. However, it would be better to accept the fact of sports' greatimportance, and to exploit that importance for the good of society throughsuch programs as the one described by Kurek. He was fired for, among other things, physicallyabusing two students. The question of what constitutes leadership in athletics, and itssignificance to both those involved in sport, as well as to the society asa whole, must be answered in human and social terms, not merely in terms ofwhat takes place on the athletic field or court. This holds true forthe little league team up to the most professional team. In other words, a sport is first and foremost an activity controlledby rules. Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi recognized that he was teachingleadership and character to his players as well as skills and techniques.Among these traits of leadership were confidence and will. Boston:Houghton Mifflin, 1973.Kurek, Mary. Considering Bobby Knight in this context, he would not be a goodleader. "Toughening does not occur without exposureto stress" (Loehr 143). He really cares about the team. He doesn't care about personal stats, just the team. . 7-8.Mary Kurek. Leadershipdevelops and flourishes in an organization which nurtures it withinsistence on far more than simply winning. He's a guy who is always there for you and you can always count on. He's very underrated as a leader. October 25, 2 1.D1, D11.Sailes, Gary. Coaching Youth Basketball. He would not be able to protest if one of hisplayers, a leader or captain on his team, for instance, grabbed the neck ofanother player in order to teach him some fundamental. The issue of developing leadership in sports, then, must be seen in asocial context , not an individual context. From the standpoint of this study, theimportant question with respect to Knight is whether he representsleadership and whether what he does represent should be passed on to theyoung players under his guidance. A team led by a coach and staffand captain who practice the virtues of teamwork, selflessness, and mutualrespect will more often than not be a winning team, if there is a modicumof talent on the team. By "leadership," this study will refer to those qualities whichdrive an individual to excel himself or herself, but which also drives thatindividual to help and inspire others to reach their potential as well in ateam-oriented, cooperative atmosphere. A player may be far more skilled than others, but if he does notknow the rules of the game, he will never be a leader, just as a coachcannot lead, or inspire a player to be a leader, if he does not know therules of the game, or the basic techniques needed to play the game. . By expanding student athlete leadership beyond the sport itself,such a program de-emphasizes the importance of the score of the game or thestatistics of the individual athlete, and as a result the entire communitybenefits from the athlete's leadership qualities and abilities. The Chicago Bulls did notdevelop into a championship team in the 199 s until Michael Jordan gave upsome of his individual pursuits for the sake of teamwork and became aleader and not merely a star. Vol. Knight shows that he is unwillingor unable to change. Lombardi'sruthless discipline in practices was a part of his belief that "repeatedexposure to progressively increasing levels of competitive stress" toughensa player's confidence and will. The perspective of this writer is that leadership has not primarilyto do with victory, although a winning record is often the result of a teamwith effective leadership from a coach and a player or players. Suchteamwork requires leadership, lest the individuals spend energy fruitlesslyseeking guidance as to goals and methods. A leader is not abusive to others, does not throw furniture aroundas he loses his temper, does not choke a player with whom he growsimpatient. . Leadershiphas primarily to do with the leader's setting an example of the qualitiesof a person who cares about other people, who wants to do his best and leadothers to do their best, and who shows others how to both play and liveaccording to virtuous values. The lessons of leadershiplearned on the athletic court and field are applicable to every other fieldof life where human beings must work together for a common cause. La Canfora, Jason. . As a star and alternate leaderof the Capitals in the NHL, he has taken advantage of what he learned inRussia. "I try to do my best each game and be a leader on the ice and help people." (La Confora D1). . 13 , Issue 2676, 56.----------------------- 1 In addition, the study will necessarily focus on team sports,not individual sports, for the basis of leadership is the relationshipbetween the leader and those he leads. . The Los Angeles Lakers did not win achampionship until they had a strong leader for coach in Phil Jackson, whothen brought out the leadership qualities in Shaquille O'Neal. In such an atmosphere,leadership qualities will develop in the team itself and a leader willemerge. Lombardi believed he was training young men notonly to win at football but to win in life by developing the qualities ofleadership.
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