What a Season of Real Leadership Development Looks Like

Every season, coaches name captains. Hand out the 'C.' Fire everyone up. And then the season hits, and half the time, those captains don't know what to do with it.

Not because they don't care. Not because they're bad leaders.

Because nobody ever taught them how.

This episode is the story of what happened when I decided to change that.
I'm in the middle of my doctoral program in educational leadership — and this past season, I took my five high school lacrosse captains and put them through the same process I was going through myself. Pre-assessments. Eight structured leadership lessons. Post-assessments.

What came back surprised me.

We talk about what the research says about why captain development fails, what we actually did differently this season, what changed — and what didn't. Including the moment late in the season when one of my captains walked up to me unprompted and said four words that told me everything I needed to know.

If you're a coach who's ever wondered why your leaders lead great in practice and disappear when it matters, this one's for you.