VT Swimming and Diving Team

Being a captain of the Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving Team

What?

At the end of my sophomore year, I have been chosen to be a captain of Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving team for the next season (the academic year 2014-15). It was a great honor and distinction for me not only as an athlete but also as a person. I wanted to do everything I could to make my team as good as it could possibly be. Swimming might be considered an individual sport but only being a part of the team and doing something for a greater good can actually make every single individual within the team great and unstoppable. Three more girls and I were picked by the coaching staff to lead our team in the following semester, and to establish goals and standards for all of us for the upcoming season.

So What?

Before the fall semester started four of us met and tried to come up with standards, rules and goals that will lead our team during the next season. We came up with five categories that included swimming practices, other practices like dry-lands and weights, interpersonal relations, outside activities and motivation. We all decided that every single part of our guidebook was equally important and we included rules, expectations, and goals under each category. At the beginning of the season, we met with our team and presented our ideas. We added some points after listening to the people from our team and established the guidelines and ways that should help us achieve our goals. Throughout the whole season, I tried to stay focused on our plan and helped my teammates to stay motivated and dedicated to our common goals. With some ups and downs, laughs and tears, fights and great moments, we succeed and achieved our main goal- to finish ACC’s Championship as one of the top 3 teams.

Now What?

After the successful season coaches decided that the same captains will also guide the team during the next season. With new goals, experience from the previous year, and desire to achieve more we started the season of 2015-16 with motivation and craving to be better. The experience from the previous year helped me to understand how the team works and how much a good plan, ‘baby steps’ and short-term goals are important in order to achieve the long-term goals. Throughout the whole season, I had good and bad ideas, I failed and succeed more times than I can remember, but I have always tried to learn my lessons. I know that now I can a better leader, but more importantly, I can be a great teammate. This experience helped me understand that sometimes, being a good leader is the ability to let others lead us. That was the lesson that will affect my leadership experience more than anything else. Now, as a captain of the team and a senior, I am trying to not repeat my mistakes and make my team as good as we can be together. This experience also helped me to understand what type of leader I want to be, and what type of person I am. It also helped me developed my strengths and made me work on my weakness.