Last Updated on Thursday, 19 November 2015 10:07
By Kevin Hartzell
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
To the many high school captains and assistant captains, congratulations on being named captain of your respective teams. Most, if not all of you, have been voted into this position by your teammates. It is quite the honor. You represent your team, your school and even your community.
Many, likely most of you, are seniors, some juniors, but mostly it is your big senior year. You have waited for some time to be in this position and now is your time to shine.
With that said, I want to remind you of a few things. Now that you have been acknowledged to be a team leader, even in your important senior year, I want to remind you that more than ever as the team’s leader, this is not about YOU. It is about US, it is about WE.
Though it is YOUR senior year, this will be more of a test as to how you serve others. It will be a test as to whether you can see the world through the eyes of others. It will be a test to how you listen and how you give voice to all of your teammates. You will be a big part of the progress your group will make towards being a cohesive team. It is an awesome and rewarding responsibility.
We don’t have to look far to find great role models for us to emulate as leaders. On TV not long ago was a sweaty and exhausted Jonathan Toews, captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stanley Cup-clinching win was barely over when the on-ice reporter made his way to the Blackhawks captain. Toews could have said how great it was to effectively establish the Blackhawks as a dynasty of sorts, having just won their third Cup in five years. Instead, in looking through the eyes of others, he said simply, and I paraphrase from my recollection, “I am just so excited for the guys in our room who are winning their first ever Stanley Cup.”
Those were his first words, not secondary words. Toews knew from experience how exciting and professionally important that first Cup win is. He didn’t lose sight of this and articulated it before he thought of anything else, especially before he thought of himself. Classy!
Being a leader doesn’t mean being first in line. It often means going last, letting others eat first, or being the last to receive or need praise. The team is first and setting that example is paramount.
Remember what it is like to be the new kid, the new player. Getting those younger players to feel like full members with a voice can be very important. If others get their name in the local paper, feel good for them. Pat them on the back and be happy for them.
One of the harder parts of leading Is accountability. You must first be accountable to the team. That means many things, including above all being on time, working hard and always having a good attitude. The good attitude is especially important when things are not going perfectly well for you or the team.
When you consistently display these positive leadership characteristics, then you can rightfully demand them of others. People can have bad days and you can help them through it, but in the end, demand a positive attitude from everyone associated with the team. You cannot have a successful team without it.
Enjoy your year. Enjoy your team. Be a leader and then demand the same from everyone.
Kevin Hartzell is the director of player development for the NA3HL’s Twin City Steel. A St. Paul native and forward for the University of Minnesota from 1978-82, Hartzell coached in the USHL from 1983-89 with the St. Paul Vulcans and from 2005-12 with the Sioux Falls Stampede. He was the head coach of Lillehammer in Norway’s GET-Ligaen from 2012-14. His columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey since the late 1980s. His book “Leading From the Ice” is now available at amazon.com.
