Bella Ruggiero

Captainship is a very important aspect of a team. The definition of a captain technically is a person im command. However, being a captain is not as simple as that. You are given power over some people, however it is not as simple as it comes off.

Becoming a captain takes preparation and time. If a captain is chosen correctly, it is because of the hard work they have put into a specific sport. Being a captain is not about how well you play on the field, it’s about your capability to lead others.

Becoming a captain for the field hockey team has been something that I have always a goal I had. Freshman year, looking back it seemed like it was just cool to have the title. Little did I know that becoming a captain was more than just the title. The responsibility a captain takes on in a sports season is imperative.

As a captain, I have been responsible for creating a winter league to help in preparation the season. Here, I spent tons of time trying to organize and find a league. Then I had to make sure the pricing was affordable, check to see if the facility we would play at is in a relatively close location to Middleboro. I then collected all the money, made sure there was enough to pay the cap of our team, and then meet with the company to give the money. From here, I had to keep track of attendance, and see who was really benefiting from this pre-season work. Organizing this helped our team become more cohesive, and helped us during our regular season. This is just one element of a captain; management.

This past summer, a summer program was organized, and it is the captain’s responsibility to up the attendance at the program. If the attendance lacks, it falls back on the captains, and how the communication throughout the team is not as strong as it should be.

During the actual season, we are responsible for managing all of the equipment, and delegating team members `to get the equipment. If someone does not get the equipment that they were assigned, that falls back on the captains, and we also have to run laps to make up for it, as a team. We also have to plan apparel ideas, team dinner and bonding events.

For myself, I believe captains are most in charge of keeping the energy alive. Having energy before going on the field is a crazy feeling. Being so fired up that you can not even sit still because you are just so excited to play. That feeling should rush through each player, every single time they step onto the field. Captains are responsible for making sure everybody feels that way, because when they feel it, we become unstoppable on the field. At our game against Carver, our entire team was fired up and so ready. We fought so hard throughout the entire game and we lost 1-0 in the last fifteen seconds of the game. Though we were all disappointed with the outcome, we realized that we fought so hard and that today does not change the outcome of our future. Being a captain is harder than it looks, and it’s not just about the title, or the capability to write it on a college application.