On the field and off the court, one person, in particular, is the leader of the team: the captain. When stakes and pressure are high, teammates turn to them for guidance, motivation and advice. 

Head golf coach Doyle Knight said a team captain is more than just the top performer; they bridge the gap between the coaches and the players. 

“I look for somebody who’s got a good rapport with the players, but (also) someone who can support me,” Kight said. “They’re kind of like the guy who when I’m having the team do something, who understands why I’m doing it, so if any of the guys were questioning it, he can just say, ‘No, this is what we’re doing.’”

Knight also said captains are expected to lead throughout the season, enforcing the coach’s ideas.  

“He’s the leader of the team and also kind of represents me as far as backing up what I’m trying to do with the team,” Knight said.

While Knight describes a season-long leadership model, sophomore Ian Jiang, captain of the junior varsity football team, said the football program chooses game captains as well and captains who are leaders throughout the season.  

“The game captains are chosen weekly to reflect the performance of players during practice or during the game,” Jiang said. “The game captains are more symbolic rather than a leadership role. They are the four people that are representing the team at the start of the game. Team captains, however, maintain a level of leadership throughout the whole season whether they are game captains or not.”

While core responsibilities remain similar, the captain’s role adapts to the demands of each sport. Jiang, who is also JV quarterback, said in football, captains manage on-field strategy, oversee conduct and communicate directly with coaches. 

“As a quarterback and a team captain, I was in charge of the offense,” Jiang said. “I would meet with my offensive coaches to establish the game plan for the week as well as completing the playbook installs. We were the first to know about any changes to the players, positions, coaching or practice plan.” 

In golf, however, leadership often emphasizes team support over strategy, especially after tough matches.

“A strong captain creates an atmosphere of camaraderie and keeps everyone focused on our goals,” Knight said. 

Lacrosse captains combine game involvement and relationship varsity lacrosse captain Jayden Ishihara said. 

“I definitely think that in some cases, being a captain, you’re also sort of the middleman between coaches and players, especially during the off-season,” Ishihara said. “As captains were more integrated within the team, closer to the team than the coaches, so I feel that makes it easier for us to communicate with them and get the message out about offseason training or schedule changes or anything like that.”

Despite these differences, the essence of leadership and accountability remains the same across sports. Knight said these key traits can weigh more than skill.  

“He wasn’t my best player, but he was a good leader,” Knight said. “He got the guys motivated. When they weren’t showing up for practice, he would talk to them before I had to. Then, at the same time, when they didn’t really like what I was trying to get them to do, he would explain to them why I was doing it, and they started doing it.”

Additionally, Jiang said humility and patience are equally important traits for team captains.

“You can’t have an ego going into leading the team,” Jiang said. “Being humble and allowing criticism from your own players is the only way for you to gain their trust as a leader.”

For this reason, Knight said the role of captain can also be transformative because it offers opportunities for personal growth. He pointed to a previous student who overtime improved her teamwork.

“She just had that natural leadership ability,” Knight said. “She was a junior at the time, and by the time she was a senior, she did a fantastic job working with the girls, and they all respected her.”

While a team can learn and grow from a captain, Ishihara said becoming captain also reshaped his understanding of leadership.

“When I came into the captain position, I was sort of expecting everyone to follow what you’re doing, and that’s definitely a large part of it,” Ishihara said. “But another part of being captain is staying accountable. If you’re going to have other people do all these workouts or drills, you have to be doing them yourself as well, and you also have to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

However Ishihara said becoming a captain brought challenges.

“My biggest challenge has probably just been filling in the shoes of the captains from last year,” Ishihara said. “I feel like the transition from just a normal team player to a captain has been a somewhat big jump. Having to orchestrate all the preseason practices, lead all the drills and make practice plans. I feel like it’s a large amount of responsibility, and it’s been challenging to manage that and manage my school work.”

Cross country team captain Max Soparkar agrees and said finding balance between helping and focusing on his own performance takes practice.

“Trying to get everyone to listen all the time (is challenging) because there’s a lot of different things going on at once,” Soparkar said. “So finding the right things to focus on … that’s kind of difficult for me because I want to help out with all of them.”

Soparkar also said he was driven to be a good team captain by a desire to continue a tradition of improvement and supporting teammates. 

“For me being a team captain kind of means working towards making a better team for everyone,” Soparkar said. “I want to help people improve themselves in the same way that I’ve improved in the past and carry on the legacy of my previous team captains that I’ve had.”

Jiang also said leadership comes with responsibility and constant self-evaluation. 

“It is also important that you are patient with your players. They might do things over and over without listening to what you are saying,” Jiang said. 

Ultimately, Jiang said good captains are humble and act with care. 

“You have to know your place,” Jiang said. “You are still a player on the same team, and you are not better than anyone else.”