Running head: Position Paper

Position Paper
Dennis Teegarden
Ohio University

Running head: Position Paper

Leadership is a key characteristic of any athletic team or organization. Quality leadership

of the team or organization is a necessary component to its success. There will always be leaders
of any team or organization and their leadership, either good or bad, will ultimately determine
the degree of success of the team or organization. In athletics the coach is the primary leader of
the team. Their leadership style will ultimately be reflected in the athletes leadership and in the
teams success. In addition leadership learned through athletics can have a far greater effect on
the athlete than just the athletic field and their athletic performance. Leadership skills acquired in
athletics can have a positive impact on the athlete in their adult life and their ability to make
positive life decisions. For an athletic program to be successful the coach must be a person of
strong positive character and have the ability to use their leadership to influence and inspire the
athlete. There must also be a leadership program in place designed to help reinforce and
compliment the coach and his leadership style. Leadership programs will help "provide athletes
with responsibility and leadership opportunities as they mature" (NASPE, 2006, Standard 18).
What is leadership? Lumpkin (2010) stated that leadership is a behavioral process
through which one person influences the behaviors of others in the accomplishment of shared
goals (p. 49). This explains what a leader does and why it is so important to the team or
organization. In high school leadership starts at the top with teachers and coaches. Teachers and
coaches have the opportunity to teach leadership every day. They influence their students and
players with everything they say and do. In examining the NASPE Standards leadership is
specifically mentioned in Standard 18 in relation to the athlete, but all four standards of Domain
1 deal with the key characteristics of leadership, courage, integrity, morality, and ethics (NASPE,
2006). The coachs character must possess these traits to be effective and have a positive
influence on their student athletes. Teachers and coaches also have the responsibility to the

Running head: Position Paper

students and athletes to help them develop these traits within themselves to help in making
positive life choices (Lumpkin, 2010).
To teach leadership and to be effective at it is the goal of every athletic program. This is
done in the most part by modeling the desired behaviors by the coach. Student athletes are
always watching what the coach does and are listening to everything they say (Gall, 2009). This
can be both good and bad. The coach needs to be of good character and still be always aware of
their actions and words. This means that as leaders, teachers and coaches are responsible for
teaching and modeling moral virtues such as cooperation, self-discipline, and teamwork and
moral values such as integrity, justice, and beneficence (Lumpkin, 2010). Observing and
interacting with other teachers and coaches modeling these behaviors can also help enhance
leadership abilities (Armour, Cushion, & Jones, 2003).
The major second part of the teaching of leadership is the competence of the teacher or
coach. The leader must be knowledgeable about their sport or subject. The teacher and coach
must work hard to earn the trust of their students, that they know what they are doing, that they
are competent. This is what makes teaching and coaching continued education so important.
Staying current with the trends in your sport, teaching methods, coaching and teaching standards
in your state are all activities required to be the competent teacher coach. As stated by (Armour,
Cushion, & Jones, 2003) the key to improved coaching lies with coach education and
development. You have to become a lifelong student of the game. The need for competent
coaches has brought about a need for coaching education programs. Coaches who are students of
the game have long recognized the need for continued education. In the last two decades this
need has been recognized by school administration as well. Schools are seeing the connection
between athletics and academics and that the quality of the coaching translates into quality

Running head: Position Paper

athletic programs which can be attributed to coaching education programs (Haydak & Smith,
2010).
Teacher and coaches may choose a leadership model to implement in their class or team.
A well respected leadership model is servant leadership. This type of leadership sees the coach in
what seems like a reversed role. The teacher or coach is saying follow me instead of the
traditional commands of do as I say or what seem like demands. The coach is there to serve the
players needs and puts their personal goals and needs ahead of their own (Chase,
Hammermeister, & Rieke, 2008). This type of leadership can serve the teacher and coach well. It
can help inspire students and athletes. In their study on servant leadership in sport (Chase et al.,
2008) said results suggest that high school athletes who perceive their coach to be a servant
leader also display higher intrinsic motivation, are more satisfied with their sport experience,
are mentally tougher, and seem to perform better as a team and individually when compared with
athletes coached by non-servant leaders. In this servant leader role the teacher coach will model
a group of admiral behaviors such as (Chase et al., 2008) building community, stewardship,
awareness, foresight, listening, conceptualization, healing, empathy, persuasion, and
commitment to the growth of people (p. 228).
Leadership is a known necessary component to success. The teacher and coaches are the
force behind the leadership education of their charges. Two major components of good
leadership are 1) modeling of desired behaviors by the teacher and coach and 2) being competent
in your subject or sport. To continue to improve upon these components the teacher or coach
must continue their education by observing other quality teachers and coaches, attend clinics and
workshops, and take coaching education courses. Servant leadership is one model of a leadership
program that can be implemented in any teaching or coaching situation. Research has shown it b

Running head: Position Paper

to be an effective program in producing positive results. Great teachers and coaches all have a
several commonalities, high moral character and a commitment to others, to name two of the
most important.

Running head: Position Paper

References
Armour, K. M., Cushion, C. J. & Jones, R. L. (2003). Coach education and continuing
professional development: Experience and learning to coach. Quest 55, 215-230.
Chase, M., Hammermeister, J. & Rieke, M. (2008). Servant leadership in sport: A new paradigm
foe effective coach behavior. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 3:2,
227-239.
Gall, K. R. (2009). Seven practical suggestions for coaching at any level in the 21st century.
Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators 23:2, 20-21, doi:
10.1080/08924562.2009.10590862
Haydak, D. M. & Smith J. L. (2010). National standards and accreditation: How both have
changed and improved the coaching education program. Journal of Coaching Education
3.2, 50-55.
Lumpkin, A. (2010). Teachers and coaches as leaders demonstrating character and competence.
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 81:8, 49-52. doi:
10.1080/07033084.2010.10598529
NASPE. (2006). National standards for sports coaches: Quality coaches, quality sports.
AAHPERD: Oxon Hill, MD.