American Cheerleader

As captain, one of your top responsibilities is being there…for everything…early. When you’re leading your squad, it doesn’t cut it to just be on time (and don’t even think about being late!), because often things don’t get started until you’re there.

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Most captains have to take attendance, lead warm-ups and go over the agenda at the beginning of practice. So when you’re not there or running in just as practice is supposed to begin, it could give some of your teammates an excuse to, well, not exactly rush to get there either.

I am not—and have never been—an “early” person. In fact, I was even born two weeks late. In high school, my younger brother (an earlybird through and through) would take the school bus instead of riding in my car, knowing I’d pull into the parking lot at 7:57 for class at 8. So to make it somewhere on time has always taken a lot of planning and effort.

When I was the captain of my high school team, we had 6 am summer practices. Most of us had summer jobs, and it was the only time the whole squad could meet. My senior year, I knew that it would be a struggle to get out of bed at 5, eat breakfast, pick up my co-captain and get to practice. But I knew I had to be there at 5:45, with a huge smile on my face and my energy up and ready to go to meet my teammates as they sluggishly approached the practice field, still sleepy-eyed (these were the days before Red Bull and drive-through Starbucks!). I learned that if I could be the first face they saw, some of my energy and pep would rub off on them, and by the end of warm-ups, everyone would be in great spirits.

Here’s how I did it, and I hope it works for you. If you have practice at 4:30, think of it as that is when the action actually begins—NOT as the time you show up. If practice begins at 4:30, you should arrive at 4:15. This is even more important on game and competition days. As captain, no one should ever be waiting on you. Once again, the best way to lead is by example. If you’re lax on this, it opens the door to your teammates to not take you—or the schedule–seriously.