Captaincy is arguably the best honour to be bestowed to any individual player in a basketball team, or the CAGERS in the context of this writing. A team captain resembles the spirit of the team and often he sets the example to fellow teammates on and off the court. You do not necessarily have to be the best player in the team; attitudes in training and ability to lead are keys.
Ideally, the team captain should be the first to arrive for training, and the last to leave when the session ends. This only shows your commitment in training. One of the captain's main duties is to ensure harmony amongst team members. Any melee that erupts should be resolved quickly, and not be brought up to Mr. Liew or any of the old boys unless it gets out of control. Off the court, your responsibility as a captain still exists. You will need to work equally hard to sustain academic excellence and good discipline as in basketball training.
Leadership style varies; one can opt for leadership by example or be the most vocal person in the team. Like a ship captain who calmly manoeuvres his ship through the ocean, you have to keep your composure and temperament in handling your team. A good captain helps to inspire his teammates to reach greater heights be it in training or study. Like the captains in battlefields who tried hard to protect his army as told in classic war stories, the captain of CAGERS must put the interest of the team above everything else including your pursuit for personal glory.
It is important for the captain to communicate well with each member of the team. You should neither encourage any segment of the team to form a clique nor should you form or participate in one. Everyone is deemed equal in the team, albeit naturally a certain amount of respect should be reserved for senior players in the team. A good team is one where everybody feels at ease in the company of others and it is partly the responsibility of the team captain to ensure that good camaraderie exists.
Besides, the team captain has to be in close touch with the coach and old boys who help to manage the team. Messages from these people to players are usually conveyed through team captain, hence the need to have good interactions with both levels.
It must be made clear to the captain that respect is not gained, but earned. In this sense, dedication in training and good approach to the rest of the team will ensure that the captain earns this respect. However there will be instances where one or two members of the team display acts of defiance. As the captain, you ought to hold a clear-the-air talk by asking these players to sit down together. Perhaps it has something the handling of the team. Team captain has to readily admit to this and strive for improvement for his part. It must be remembered that being the captain does not mean that you are immune to mistakes. Teammates can help to point at these mistakes, hence the importance of close rapport in the team. A good leader is one who is willing to listen to the plights and suggestions of the people he leads. As has been mentioned earlier, issues amongst players are best kept away from the upper echelon of the team as to avoid anxiety and complications on their part.
It is only natural that the leadership quality of the captain will be constantly put under scrutiny. Hence, the captain will have to maintain exceptional qualities and his on-court performance has to be at the highest level as to encourage similar effort from the rest of the team. Despite the job being arduous-looking, the captain should try to enjoy his responsibility as not to feel too burdened by it.
For all the daily struggles and pressure in leading the team, it is only fitting that when the team ultimately wins, the captain gets the honour to lift the trophy ahead of everybody else in the team. Everything else feels little and unimportant at this particular moment of glory. Yes you struggled to carry the team, yes it had been a long, tiring ordeal, but now that you are holding the trophy, all that can be forgotten and you can bask in glory, mission accomplished. This is the significant moment, one which the captain of each generation of CAGERS should aspire to get to.
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