Leadership Context Introduction
I am currently serving as a Graduate Assistant coach for both men’s and women’s
volleyball programs at Olivet Nazarene University. The leadership position that I am in requires
me to lead young men and women towards their personal and team goals. I need to ensure that
all of them are taking their academics seriously, being on time for class, practice, and road trips,
as well as giving it their all on the court. However, since I am working at a Christian college, my
most important role is to help lead them towards spiritual growth. At the end of the day, Christ is
at the center of both of our programs and that needs to be portrayed daily. I also tend to serve
as a bridge between the head coach and the players. As an assistant, I believe that my job is to
make everyone else’s life easier. There is no need for me to focus on some selfish goals of
mine, when we can all reach everything we are interested in together.
The offer for the said position came in 2021, and since August of the same year I have
been in the same role. If I am being honest, probably the biggest impact on me as a leader
came from playing sports for twenty years. I have played basketball in college, but also semiprofessionally before that, and professionally after graduation, which lasted for four years. For
anyone to be in a leadership position, one first needs to know how to follow, at least that is what
I believe in. Being a player allowed me to do both, as it was required of me. There are
teammates who need to be led, and then there is the coaching staff whose ideas and plans
need to be followed.
What I have learned from both coaching and playing sports is that being a transparent
leader can take you a long way. It will allow the team and every individual involved to reach their
goals. Many coaches say that “buying in” is what players need to do, but I have learned that
trust works a lot better. Also, as someone who has led by example throughout my life, that is the
best plan, at least for me. It allows me to show players that things can be accomplished through
hard work and the power of God.