Kim Oden was the captain of the 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams as well as her Stanford volleyball team. After winning a bronze medal in Barcelona in 1992 she went on to coach Division I volleyball and in 2001 was an assistant coach for Stanford's national championship squad. She won two state championships as the head coach of the St. Francis volleyball team in Mountain View, California where she is now the head of the Guidance Counseling Department. In this video, Kim talks about what it takes to be a good team captain. Below is the transcript of the video.
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Hello, my name is Kim Oden. I am a former Division I collegiate athlete at Stanford University, a two-time Olympian in 1988 and 1992, a two-time state champion volleyball coach at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA and a former assistant coach for Stanford University, where in 2001, our team won a national championship. I was fortunate enough to serve as captain for a number of the teams that I just mentioned including the 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams and for Stanford University in my senior year. Today I’d like to talk to you about how to be a good team captain.
- Be a good example for your teammates on the court, in conditioning & strength training and also in the classroom.
This doesn’t mean that you have to be the best player on the team, the fastest person in sprints, the strongest person in strength training or even the person that gets all A’s in the classroom. But it does mean that whatever your best is, you do that. That is a great example to your teammates.
- Little things add up to big things.
Helping your team to focus on how to get out of a tough rotation, every six-on-six drill, every day in practice. These things need to be done consistently and the team needs to be helped to do that consistently and I think the captain is a big part of that.
- Always believe in your teammates even when they let you down.
Now I don’t mean to ignore bad behavior or condone it or God forbid emulate it. But I do mean that when your teammate gets her act together, that the slate is clean. You allow the teammate and the team to move on. You hold no grudges.
- Be courageous enough to rock the boat when needed.
When a teammate is behaving badly, you don’t have to give a dissertation on why the behavior is bad, or berate the person or condescend to the person or single the person out in front of the team. You don’t have to do that. Sometimes it is as simple as saying, “Your behavior is hurting the team. Please stop it. We need you.” You may need to repeat this statement to the person several times before they actually get it. Even if the player continues to behave badly, you can sleep soundly as the captain because you’ve tried to confront it, you’ve spoken your piece on behalf of the team and the rest is going to be up to the coach to help you out.
- Be a good liaison between the coach and the team.
This doesn’t mean telling the coach everything that’s happening with every person on the team. We all know that situations with girl’s teams there are many and I know some boy’s teams can have some drama too. It doesn’t mean that, no one likes a tattletale. But what is important is that as the captain if you become aware of issues on the team that can destroy team chemistry, then it is your responsibility to make the coach aware of these things. Now in most cases, as a student athlete on a team, it will not be your responsibility to fix these issues, your coach will have to step in and help the team with it. But it is your responsibility if the coach is not aware, to help the coach help the team.
