Developing Athlete Leaders in Sport

Abstract

The first purpose of this article is to provide an overview of athlete leadership in modern sport programs. This includes a brief outline of the theoretical perspectives on sport leadership and a discussion of the recent research on who athlete leaders typically are in terms of their demographics, behaviors displayed, and benefits to the team. High quality athlete leadership is essential for strengthening athletic teams and programs, but coaches and administrators must be proactive in developing their athletes into better leaders. Thus, the second aim of this article is to provide concrete strategies for coaches and practitioners to put into practice that will assist in developing more effective athlete leaders in a team or sports program.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dean A. Wallace

Dean A. Wallace III is an undergraduate student in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University–Kingsville in Kingsville, TX.

Amber M. Shipherd

Amber M. Shipherd ([email protected]) is an assistant professor and performance psychology program coordinator in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University–Kingsville in Kingsville, TX.