what makes a good C ??

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felixno44

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Jul 5, 2005
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surrey, bc
my team yesterday named me captain for next season. there was not one player who voted against me. quite an honor. since i´ve only worn an A most of last year, i wanted to ask if someone who has experience as a team captain could give me some advice ??
(as i notice, most captains in the nhl are heart and soul two-way players or grinders while i play more of a finesse game.)

any help appreciated :handclap:
 

Qui Gon Dave

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Aug 3, 2005
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Cheshire, England
I captain a small local roller hockey team and have done for the last few years. We dont play many games and are not in a league but we train every week and get friendlies where we can. the team is made up of a couple of more senior players, a few in their 20's (including myself) and a lot of kids in the 14-17 age range who have between a few months and just over a year of experience of playing hockey.

As captain of such a young team, i've found myself split between trying to get teammates to understand the game and play as a team and helping them improve their individual skills. I am one of the more experienced players on the team and have a better understanding of the game than most so a lot of my time is spent giving advice and encouraging people when trying to learn new aspects of the game. Fortunately the coach of the team gives me the opportunity to run some drills with the skaters in the team most weeks while he works with our goalie (which is appropriate as he has played goal for many years).

One of the main things of importance I have found is developing a sense of timing for how i speak to teammates both on an individual basis and as a team and what approach I take to this (whether to be friendly and encouraging or be harder on them and set them a challenge). I'll use an example that i'm going to bring up in training tomorrow. Most of the players who have been with the team for a while or who have followed the sport for a while understand the importance of communication and make sure they can be heard while we play. However, some of the younger players are literally silent out there and that includes our new keeper (always a bad trait but worse for a keeper). I have taken a more encouraging approach in past weeks to get people talking to each other but it isn't working so when i turn up to training tomorrow, I'm going to raise my voice a bit to everyone on the team. I'm going to make clear from the start that this is not a problem everyone on the team has but that the problem affects every player on the team when we play and that is why i'm including the whole team in my talk. I'm going to explain (once again) why communication is important and then space everyone out around the hall we use and shout out questions and get people talking loud enough so i can hear the answers. I'm going to be a bit harsh on a few people tomorrow but if they are still having problems, hopefully they will understand why i'm annoyed and that i'm trying to help them. If people dont believe that as a captain you are doing something for the best interest of the team then they wont respond as well.

Communication from the teams captain is very important both during training and matches and also away from the rink. You mention NHL captains setting an example on the rink, that much is up to you. You will have to make sure you always push yourself hard and set the right example in situations while playing. Show that you work hard. Show that you want to improve your game. But dont be afraid to make it known that you will help your teammates out if they need advice on anything.

The way you communicate with your team will be up to you, whether you are a very vocal guy, always shouting/congratulating/instructing people or if you are quite but pick your words very carefully. There is no correct way to do this as there are different approaches, the important thing is to make sure that you make the approach you use work for you. If you are a shouty guy, make sure you aren't only shouting when someone makes a mistake. If someone is careless/dangerous/disrespecful, feel free to shout, but if someone does something good, makes a good play, helps someone out, sacrifices their body to make a play, be sure you use your voice to show that it is appreciated and that although you may shout, its a two way thing and it is your teammates efforts that determine if you are happy or angry when you shout.

Hopefully the above is of some use to you, if you want any more info or want anything clarifying, please ask. Hopefully someone with a bit more experience of being a captain in a more competitve environment will reply to your post as that isn't something that i'm overly familiar with. There isn't really any competition for places on my team, we are glad for every player we get and we dont play lots of games so i'm sure someone out there will have more advice on that aspect of captaincy. When we do play games, I try to play hard and play to my strengths and motivate everyone to either step it up or remain calm out there. Like you, i play a more finesse style of hockey so I look to try and make plays happen. My teammates know that is where my abilities are and that if someone is in front of our keeper, chances are i am not strong enough to move them. If i can take a hit to make a play or throw myself in front of a shot, I'll help in that way, but if the team understands everyones abilities and shortcomings then they are able to recognise if there could be a problem during play then they will be able to decide how best to compensate out there. And when a group of players can do that, they can play as a team. And if everyone plays as a team then it makes the job of a captain a little bit easier.
 
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luke34e

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Dec 7, 2004
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A good captain brings a tireless work ethic day in and day out on and off the ice. They also must bring a very positive attitude to keep the team from getting down on themselves.
 

Jacob

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Feb 27, 2002
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Just remember that the letter doesn't give you the okay to tell people what to do.
 

NYR94

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Mar 31, 2005
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Lead by example. Also try to get to know all the players on your team really well so that you can understand the different ways to motivate them. Maybe one player doesn't mind be yelled/cursed at but another guy can't handle it so you have to find different ways to motivate or criticize them. Just make your teammates feel like they belong and inspire them to do their best.
 

RedK

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Dec 2, 2002
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It's not just with the team. They must believe you can represent the teams to the refs without losing your temper. That's a nice compliment.

Being a captain is part cheerleader, part teacher, part parent, part example, part friend. Don't forget the friend part. You should know everyone person on the team and talk to them regularly. It will help keep them linked to the team.
 

Puckboy

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Feb 14, 2003
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Never say "you need to" it is always "we Need to". Always make it about the team and not an individual. Lead by example is huge in my opinion. Congrats on getting the C
 

Pensfan86

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Mar 18, 2002
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in deciding a captain, I think you want to consider the following things:

-Who has the most respect from players on the team
-Who is the hardest worker (practice and off the ice)
-Who can keep his head (someone needs to talk to the ref)

though there are a beavy of other things that could go into deciding what makes a good captain, I feel these are the most important factors.
 

stick9

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Aug 12, 2004
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RMU85 said:
don't change much if anything at all, you were voted because of what you have done already, be yourself that is what got you the captaincy to begin with.

I second that. Don't change a thing...especially not your game.

Do you have any younger brothers or sisters? Think of yourself as your teamates older brother.

RedK said:
Being a captain is part cheerleader, part teacher, part parent, part example, part friend. Don't forget the friend part. You should know everyone person on the team and talk to them regularly. It will help keep them linked to the team.

Awesome bit of advice.
 

Wags

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Apr 26, 2004
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Don't ever single out a player in a public forum critically, but do so in praise. Show the other players that you see the effort they put forward and let them know that the team appreciates it (coaches sometimes forget to do this).

Don't ever take a night off...it is extremely important to lead by example (even if you aren't the most vocal).

I also agree your playing style should not change...it is just important to keep your energy level high and the other players will feed off of it.
 

Habsfan 32

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Aug 18, 2004
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Way up north...
If you're quiet stay that. Don't change at all. Joe Sakic is a quiet type of leader and he's been the Avs captain for a long time so if you are a quite type of guy stay that way. Don't change because you have the ''C'' on your jersey.
 
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