Freshman in a leadership position?

Question
Hi, this year I am a freshman on the varsity volleyball team. My team has
done pretty good so far in the season, however our coach is frustrated
because he sees no one stepping up to be a leader. I know I can be a leader,
I just don't know what approach to take, since I am only a freshman. What
does a coach want in a leader? And how can I be a leader, without being to
bossy, and making my upper-classmen mad?

Answer
Thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com!  

Being a leader as a freshman will be very, very, very difficult!  It'll be like a first year teacher at a school trying to lead the other teachers......the older ones will be going, "Sit down and be quiet."  haha  Here are some characteristics of a leader on a volleyball team:
a) They're on the court a lot, and/or;
b) They've been in the program for a long time, and/or;
c) They are very good players, and/or;
d) She is liked & respected by her teammates.
If a girl has each of these, then there may be room for her to be a leader.  If a girl has none of these, then being a leader will be very hard.  

Before you try to step up and be a vocal leader, here抯 some more
information that may help you!   I've had girls who were incredible leaders. The team would follow them into the interstate if she had told them to do so!  Leaders like this, however, are few and far between.  If you抮e not one of them, then you抮e normal!  But don抰 worry about it!  Don抰 force it!!   

On the other extreme, I've also had players who disrupted the team trying to be a leader.  Why?  B/c they didn't have many of the qualities above.  And I think we've all had teammates whose constant talking and chattering irritated the team or was just ignored.  You'll know after a few days how the team is responding to you.  If you discover that your team is not responding to your attempts at
leadership, remember, that抯 normal.  haha  Really it is.  But if you discover that your teammates are responding positively to you, here are two pieces of advice:

I)   Praise and encourage often!!   The more you do that, the more impact it will have!!  We all like to be praised!!  I heard a coach say 揑抳e never had enough praise. And I抳e never given out enough?  

II)   Fuss as little as possible!!    On the other hand, the less you fuss, the more impact your occasional fussing will have.  It's true!  Remember how those childhood teachers and coaches who fussed the least, also had greatest impact when they did finally raise their voice?  Yep.  Everyone stopped and everyone listened.  So, don抰 overdo it!  Try to limit yourself to a few speeches a week and maybe only one display of anger/irritation a month!  Then, when your
teammates see your emotion, they抣l know that you抮e serious!   

Thank you again for visiting!  And please visit me sometime at www.coachhouser.com.  I think you'll really like the smiling faces!

Coach Houser