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Mental Skills Toolkit:

How to Be a Good Soccer Captain: Tips for Leading Well

Published: March 2, 2022
Updated: February 23, 2023
By: Jenn Ireland

Category: Leadership, Team Culture

It is a great honor to be named as a team captain in soccer, so first things first, CONGRATS! Being appointed as a soccer captain is fun and exciting, but it’s a role that shouldn’t be taken lightly either. It’s an honor, but also a responsibility.

If you’ve found your way to this page and are taking the time to research team captains responsibilities, you are on the right path. You are taking the role seriously and are invested in learning about how to be a good soccer captain and what to do to help your team succeed. So let’s get to it.

Mostly likely, you were either voted in as team captain by your soccer teammates or your coach chose you for the job because of the leadership qualities you possess. Either way, the qualities of a captain, the qualities of a good leader, were recognized in you by others who made the decision to put you in charge. And that is an awesome feeling – that feeling of knowing that your teammates have faith in your ability to lead.

While being named captain of your soccer team is exciting, it’s also a job that does come with responsibilities and commitments. But the best soccer captains will tell you, it is well worth the extra responsibilities because it calls you to become a higher version of yourself. Not only that, but if you really dive in and give it your all, you can actually have huge impact and help your soccer team PLAY BETTER as a collective and have more success week to week on the pitch.

How you got here: 7 qualities of a great team caption

Getting the right players into the job ensures that your soccer team has the best captains possible to help your team move forward and progress as a unit. So congrats once again on being named captain of your soccer team! It means that you’ve passed the test, you have the qualities of a captain that your team was looking for.

Here are a list of 7 team captains qualities that are typically looked and and taken into consideration when a team is trying to choose the best soccer captains.

Which qualities do you possess? Which ones do you think you could add to your leadership style? (Remember, there’s always room to grow into the role if you feel there are some things that you need to improve at in order to provide your team with the leadership it needs. Growth – yay!)

#1 - On field leadership and confident communication in the run of play

Soccer captains lead from the field, they guide the ball from player to player and provide a constant flow of information to their teammates. Soccer captains that lead well on the field have good game awareness which allows them to tell their teammates what is going on around them, which helps them make better decisions both individually and as a collective.

#2 - Respectful and appreciative of teammates, coaches and officials

No matter the circumstance, the best soccer captains can always be counted on to show respect and appreciation for everyone around them. Respect is one of the most important qualities of a captain because it sets the tone for the entire team and can help shift the collective attitude and energy of a group toward a more positive, healthy striving mentality and away from negative conversation and focus.

#3 - Organized, takes initiative and is eager to help coaches & teammates

Soccer team captains are the ones that eagerly step up when coaches needs assistance or need to delegate responsibilities. Soccer captains are the ones that take the reins and keep the team on track when their attention and focus strays. They take initiative and do what needs to be done in the moment, from setting up drills and activities to making sure everyone is ready to take the field before a match.

#4 - Reliable on and off the field, honest and trustworthy

Soccer captains are people who both players and coaches can rely on, always. Soccer team captains have high integrity and everyone around them knows that if they say they are going to do something, THEY WILL DO IT. They stay true to their word and always follow through, on the field and off.

#5 - Mature, growth-minded and understands the important of every role on the pitch

Having self-awareness and a growth-minded outlook on the game (and on life) is how to be a good soccer captain. The best captains are able to focus on the process of constant forward progression and self-improvement. The best soccer captains value every member of their team and every position on the field, they inherently understand that no one position or role is better or worse than another. They fully understand ‘we before me’ and are selfless players on the pitch.

#6 - Hard working and takes responsibility for their actions

Soccer captains are players that are very accountable, both to themselves and to their team. The best captains take responsibility for their own development, they understand that they are in charge of how good they get. They also hold their teammates accountable to working hard and being prepared.

#7 - Supportive and encouraging; inspires and motivates in the face of adversity

Soccer team captains are players that bring good vibes and positive energy to the team. They are encouraging and motivating, but also constructive and honest when the team needs to hear the truth. They are invested in the team and that means giving them the advice and leadership that they need in the moment: the best captains speak the truth without inserting blame.

The best captains all embody these 3 C's

Caring, courageous and consistent. These are the 3 C’s that soccer team captains must embody in order to lead well. According to the the work of Larry Lauer, PhD, and Kevin Blue of Michigan State University, accomplishing these 3 C’s will earn you a fourth C, which is credibility. And “nothing is more important in leading your team into competition than being seen as an authentic, credible leader.”

Caring – The best soccer captains have authentic drive and passion for competition, but also FOR THEIR TEAMMATES. The best soccer captains want to see their teammates succeed, and they truly and honestly care about EACH and EVERY member of the group.

Courageous – Being brave, stepping out of the comfort zone, doing things that are hard even if it means going out on a limb and doing something that might be considered weird or uncool: these are all qualities of a captain. The best captains do these courageous things. And by doing these courageous things they set an example for the entire team about the important of living up to your values.

Consistent – The best soccer captains are also a model of consistency. This means they hold themselves accountable to showing up each day to work hard, learn and grow as a player. They don’t cut corners or make excuses. They also have high personal integrity and follow through on things always.

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How to be a good soccer captain & level up your leadership

Beyond the qualities that you already bring to the captaincy, and your effort to be caring, courageous and consistent, being a good captain in soccer come with additional responsibilities. These are things that soccer captains need to be consistently doing if they want to be successful and lead well. Essentially, these are the things that you agree to do when you accept the job of team captain.

Your responsibility to yourself:

First and foremost, how to be a good captain in soccer is to lead yourself well. Do this by being invested in yourself, in your own growth and development. And bring that investment into EVERYTHING you do.

By showing your teammates that THIS is how to show up, THIS is how you get stuff done, you are setting a standard of excellence for your teammates and asking them to the rise up and meet you where you are at. This elevates the level of the entire team. This is how you lead by example. This is how you lead by focusing on your responsibility to yourself.

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A post shared by Jenn Ireland | ⬆️⚽️ Mindset (@expandyourgame)

Your responsibility to your team:

In everything you do, every action you take, every word you speak: make sure that you are cultivating an inclusive environment that is welcoming to everyone. And simultaneously helping to steer the ship so that other’s follow your lead and do the same as well.

Monitoring team chemistry is part of a team captains responsibilities and something that you need to help set the standard for right from the beginning. When you notice something amiss, feel tension or different energy circulating through the group, it is your responsibility to do your very best to steer things in a positive direction. Be aware of cliques, help keep the peace, lead calmly in the face of emotional upheaval after a big loss or an in-team issue. Remember – you have a lot of power to change the trajectory during certain circumstances, you were chosen as captain for a reason.

Captain may not always be the most glamorous job, but as in the rest of life, responsibilities aren’t always about glamour. They are about individual growth, forward progression, and learning, learning, learning. They are about becoming the best version of yourself that you can be. And sometimes that requires doing hard, uncomfortable things.

Lead from everywhere, even the bench

The BEST tip about how to be a good soccer captain actually comes from former USWNT player and leading international goalscorer Abby Wambach. And that tip is LEAD FROM EVERYWHERE. What this means is that leadership isn’t something that is only allotted to people with titles and in positions of power, it means leadership is something that lives within all of us and the more of us that step up and start leading from where we are, the stronger the collective will be.

"If you're not a leader on the bench, don't call yourself a leader on the field. You're either a leader from everywhere or nowhere."

Abby Wambach, Wolfpack

In Abby’s book Wolfpack, she passionately preaches that:

leadership is taking care of yourself and empowering others to do the same
leadership is not a position to earn, it’s an inherent power to claim
leadership is the blood that runs through your veins – it’s born in you
leadership is not a privilege of a few, it is a right and responsibility of all
leader is not a title the world gives to you – it’s an offering that you give the world

To be the best captain and leader you can be, simply focus on being yourself and being a good human and the rest will come. Be kind, be encouraging, be competitive, be hardworking. Be a good listener and be invested. Be inclusive of everyone. Celebrate your teammates accomplishments, be there for them when things go wrong. Be grateful and ambitious. Be a good friend, if someone seems like they are struggling with something at school or home, reach out.

Be fierce yet kind. Be competitive yet caring. Be yourself, work hard, and most importantly: lead from everywhere. Especially from your heart, always lead from your heart. That is how to be a good soccer captain.

Hi everyone! I’m Jenn and I create content to help female soccer players and coaches maximize individual and team potential by developing healthy mindset skills. Join other subscribers and sign up for the newsletter for all my best tips and advice!

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Hi everyone!

I'm Jenn, a USSF C-licensed youth soccer coach, mental skills coach & founder here at Expand Your Game. I created this site because it is the site I needed when I was a soccer player.

About me: I am a former newspaper photojournalist who loves downtempo electronic music, guacamole and books of every sort. And of course soccer! On days off you can find me researching tiny farms in Portugal , tossing a frisbee for my dog, or tending to my growing collection of indoor plants.