Noticing a Mighty Oak in the Tiny Acorn

Cory Dobbs, Ed.D., The Academy for Sport Leadership

One thing I know is true: everyone I meet has more learning and doing capacity than I am aware of, just like the mighty oak hidden in every tiny acorn.  My work with The Academy for Sport Leadership has led me to conclude that a shared leadership system is far more productive than the hierarchical model embodied in the traditional team captain model.  I call the participative model, which rests on the practice of mutual learning, the Team Leadership Model.

The Team Leadership Model promotes the processes of team leadership and team building as growth opportunities.  It advances the assumption that all members have the ability to inspire others, to reflect on their actions, to increase self-awareness and to leverage their relational capabilities and build positive, impactful relationships.   

At the heart of the leader in every locker framework is the core belief that every student-athlete has the ability to learn and develop leadership skills.  The transformational coach encourages every student-athlete to reach into their reservoir of beliefs about what is possible for them to accomplish when engaging in learning how to lead and team build.  When the student-athlete does this they come to believe that more is always possible.

The coach with the ability to see more than a small capped nut will always be rewarded.  More importantly, his players will grow in ways that can only happen in the right environment.

Teams that I’ve worked with that have utilized the team leadership framework—a leader in every locker—have enhanced interpersonal activity and collective effectiveness in the four domains of team sport—the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains.   The essence of the leader in every locker model is that student-athletes learn to teach and learn in an interactive way so everyone grows individually while expanding the technical and the relational capacity of the team.

The Team Leadership model creates an environment in which members are accountable not just to the coach, but to the team as a whole.  This sounds good to coaches, but very few actually practice the Team Leadership concepts.  The reasons coaches balk at the idea of Team Leadership—leadership from every locker—is that, in general, they are either hooked on control or of the firm belief that leaders are simply born which leads to the conclusion that leaders are in short supply.

Some coaches will admit this, many won’t. The old way of thinking is comfortable and less time consuming.  But, let me say again, my research strongly suggests the traditional captain mode is very limited.  The team captain model as practiced by most coaches is a sink or swim proposition.

When you choose to make leadership and team building skills and abilities for all players a priority, not only do you increase responsibility and reliance on one another, you change how your student-athletes interact as leaders and followers.

Okay, lift the hood.  Kick the tires. Compare the assumptions that undergird the two models.

The Two Major Leadership Frameworks Traditional Team Captain Model (Rank-Based)     VS.                Team Leadership Model (Peer-Based) Starts from a position that leadership is exclusive; leaders possess the “right stuff” Starts from a position of leadership as inclusive; everyone is invited to lead self, others, and with others to create individual and team well-being Fixed mindset; leadership can be learned to some extent, but mostly a unique genetic endowment   Growth mindset; basic and advanced qualities and skills can be cultivated Scarcity mindset   Abundance mindset   Grounded in leadership as a “power” position   Grounded in leadership as an “influence” position   Hierarchical command and control over others   Peer-based influence as a source of strength   Performance oriented   Participant- oriented   Leader accountable to coaching staff; invested in pleasing coaches   Leader acts from deep sense of responsibility and accountability to others   Leadership learning “passed” down to future leaders   Individualized leadership development   Followers are recipients of an act of leadership   Followers are central to any act of leadership   Leader-centric (focus on person)   Leadership-Centric (focus on process and context)

About the Author

Dr. Cory Dobbs is a national expert on sport leadership and team building and is the founder of The Academy for Sport Leadership.  A teacher, speaker, consultant, and writer, Dr. Dobbs has worked with professional, collegiate, and high school athletes and coaches teaching leadership as a part of the sports experience.  He facilitates workshops, seminars, and consults with a wide-range of professional organizations and teams.  Dr. Dobbs previously taught in the graduate colleges of business and education at Northern Arizona University, Sport Management and Leadership at Ohio University, and the Jerry Colangelo College of Sports Business at Grand Canyon University.

NEW RESOURCE

Coaching for Leadership: How to Develop a Leader in Every Locker. ($24.99)

 

The Academy for Sport Leadership 

The Academy for Sport Leadership’s underlying convictions are as follows: 1) the most important lessons of leadership are learned in real-life situations, 2) team leaders develop best through active practice, structured reflection, and informative feedback, 3) learning to lead is an on-going process in which guidance from a mentor, coach, or colleague helps facilitate learning and growth, and 4) leadership lessons learned in sport should transcend the game and assist student-athletes in developing the capacity to lead in today’s changing environment.

 

by Cory Dobbs, Ed.D., The Academy for Sport Leadership

 

In 1953 New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest—the first to do so.  Conquering Everest was and is one of man’s greatest challenges.  The grinding mental, emotional, and physical aspects of the climb along with intellectual problem-solving are the heart of the challenge.

In 1996, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer led a commercial expedition team attempting to climb Everest.  Hall and Fischer were considered expert climbers, both having scaled the summit of Everest.  The two highly talented climbers were hired by a motley crew of inexperienced hikers who made the trek to Nepal to attempt the climb under the guidance of the esteemed Hall and Fischer.

Jon Krakauer, a journalist, was a member of the climbers joining Hall’s team.  As it turned out, Krakauer ended up chronicling a tragic expedition in which five people lost their lives, including Hall and Fischer.

The two leaders, very experienced and somewhat arrogant, “rightfully” behaved authoritatively.  Both Hall and Fischer issued and demanded adherence to their rules for a safe and successful climb.  Krakauer recorded a self-confident Hall reminding his team “I will tolerate no dissension up there.  My word will be absolute law, beyond appeal.”

One team member recalled, “Rob had lectured us repeatedly about the importance of having a predetermined turnaround time on summit day…and abiding by it no matter how close we were to the top.”

Knowing the descent from the summit to be perilous, the leaders invoked a two o’clock rule.  The Sherpa’s, guides and clients all understood that if a climber had not reached the top by two o’clock in the afternoon of “summit day” they were to obey the order and turn around and abandon their bid for the summit. Yet Hall and Fischer would go on to ignore the safe-guard and not retreat down the slopes upon the clock hitting two.

Fischer kept climbing, though exhausted and suffering tremendously, touching the top at 3:45.  He continued to climb, every step perilous to his declining health, though he would never let any of his team to do so under similar conditions.

Krakauer’s book of the expedition, Into Thin Air, exposes the autocratic nature of Hall’s leadership.  Hall had a pecking order and no one was to question his decisions.  As Krakauer recorded, “Passivity on the part of the clients had thus been encouraged throughout the expedition.”  And the Sherpas and guides too were afraid of Hall’s rebuke, unsure of the consequences of displeasing him.

The Idiosyncratic knowledge and unique skills of Hall and Fisher were not enough to overcome the blizzard they encountered on their way back to Camp IV. Having scaled Everest they were in grave trouble.

The vulnerabilities inherent in self-reflection lead us to develop mechanisms to bypass or minimize the embarrassment or threat that we might experience when we scrutinize our thoughts, feelings, and actions.  My sense is that both Hall and Fischer never really had to answer to anybody but themselves, believing self-reflection to be something for the other guy.  After all, why do you need to question your assumptions and behaviors if you’re successful? And the more successful, the less likely you are to self-reflect.  Bragging of their conquests and boasting about their track records led them to believe they were above their own rules—those were for the novice.

I’ve seen it time and time again, coaches that dismiss the practice of self-reflection tend to create cultures that turn out to have unintended and unpredicted side effects that degrade the environment.  These coaches fail to recognize or respond to value conflicts, often violating their own standards.  It is striking that many coaches choose to overlook the practice of self-reflection.

Thankfully what you do is not a matter of life and death.  However, deep inside your coaching bubble you might just find walking your talk difficult at times.  Contrary to the popular thought that all coaches are grounded in reality, it ain’t always so.  Like Hall and Fischer we all have times we simply ignore our rules.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road: the following seven questions require you to turn off the noise for fifteen minutes daily and sink your mind into your walk and your talk for the day.  If you are serious about self improvement, just like you ask your student-athletes to be serious about improvement, then adopt this process as a daily routine.  Learning to lead ourselves, just like leading others, is a truly a life-time project—our own Mt. Everest.  My guess is that after a solid month of performing this after action reflection you’ll seamlessly work your way into doing reflection-in-action.  Remember, reflection is all about growth and development—yours and your players.

Daily Self-Reflection Questions

 

What did I say I would do today that I didn’t do?

What did I do today that will affect team cohesion?  (positive and / or negative)

How did I relate to the players today?

What did I do today that is not something I’m proud of doing?

How did I lead the players today?  Coaches?

How did I follow the players today?  Coaches?

Based on what I learned today, what will I do tomorrow?

 

To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including Coaching for Leadership, click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

About the Author

Dr. Cory Dobbs is a national expert on sport leadership and teambuilding and the founder of The Academy for Sport Leadership.  A teacher, speaker, consultant, and writer, Dr. Dobbs has worked with professional, collegiate, and high school athletes and coaches teaching leadership as a part of the sports experience.  He facilitates workshops, seminars, and consults with a wide-range of professional organizations and teams.  Dr. Dobbs previously taught in the graduate colleges of business and education at Northern Arizona University, Sport Management and Leadership at Ohio University, and the Jerry Colangelo College of Sports Business at Grand Canyon University.

 

NEW RESOURCE

Coaching for Leadership: How to Develop a Leader in Every Locker. ($24.99)

Teams need leadership and guidance. Players want and need leadership from their coach. Here are 10 thoughts regarding leadership and character building for you to consider when leading your teams.

A Few Thoughts on Ethics and Leadership

Cory Dobbs, Ed.D., The Academy for Sport Leadership

The following is an excerpt of an interview conducted by Dr. Cory Dobbs, President of The Academy for Sport Leadership.  Dr. Dobbs interviewed ethics experts Ann Tenbrunsel (Professor, the University of Notre Dame) and Max Bazerman (Professor, Harvard University). This interview took place following the release of Bazerman and Tenbrunsels’ bestselling book, Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About It.

When confronted with an ethical dilemma, most of us like to think we would stand up for our principles. But we are not as ethical as we think we are. In Blind Spots, leading business ethicists Max Bazerman and Ann Tenbrunsel examine the ways we overestimate our ability to do what is right and how we act unethically without meaning to. From the collapse of Enron and corruption in the tobacco industry, to sales of the defective Ford Pinto and the downfall of Bernard Madoff, the authors investigate the nature of ethical failures in the business world and beyond, and illustrate how we can become more ethical, bridging the gap between who we are and who we want to be.

1. Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State University football coach, resigned as a result of his failure to properly handle an NCAA violation committed by one or more of his players. How does the process of ethical fading apply to coaches?

We know from our research that when decisions are made in environments that are heavily sanctioned ethical fading is much more likely to happen. In one study, individuals were asked to make a decision involving ethical implications. Half of those participating were in a “no sanction” condition – they were told there would not be any monitoring or sanctions of the behavior. In some sense, the decision to do what was right was up to them. The other half were in a “sanction” condition in which they were told that there would be monitoring and sanctions of the decisions. We found that 55% who made the decision in the no sanction environment saw the decision as an ethical one whereas only 20% saw it as an ethical decision in the sanction environment. How you see the decision is important because it is related to an ethical choice: of those that saw it is an ethical decision, 94% behaved ethically; of those who did not see it as an ethical decision, only 44% behaved ethically.

We have seen the athletic environment increasingly characterized by regulation and the accompanying monitoring and sanctioning of decisions that comes with that. This in turn leads to more ethical fading, meaning that decision makers in this environment are less likely o ask the question “What is the right thing to do?” and instead focus on “What is the probability I will get caught and what is the cost and how does that compare to the benefits I will see from not-complying?”. In this type of environment, whether or not a decision is ethical or right is not considered; rather, there is a cost-benefit calculation which determines whether it makes sense to comply or defy the NCAA rules. If it too costly to defy, compliance results but if the benefit is large enough, compliance goes out the window.

It is also quite likely that motivated blindness played a part in Tressel’s decisions. Motivated blindness describes the tendency for individuals to not notice the behavior of others when it is in their best interest to not notice. In the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball, there were many people—the commissioner, the owner, coaches, the player’s union—who should have noticed the rapid changes in the players and the sudden onset of record-breaking performances. Why didn’t they see what now seems obvious? They didn’t notice because of the benefits they received by not noticing. Steroid use increased power, power led to more home runs, home runs boosted attendance and attendance meant more money for all involved. These benefits blinded those involved to the problems they preferred not to see.

Similarly, Tressel was most likely motivated to not see the NCAA violations committed by his players because it was in his best interest not to see them. By not seeing them, he didn’t have to sanction his players, his players were happier, and life in the Athletic Department was much smoother. This motivated blindness was driven in part by the larger environment in which Tressel was rewarded. Tressel was rewarded for winning games, not prosecuting his players. He responded well to those rewards.

2. Why is an adoring public able to quickly forget such wrongs?

The fans are able to forget these transgressions for the same reason they are committed – motivated blindness. Loyal fans don’t want to know or contemplate anything but positive attributes about their team. We know from research that our brain codes the information that is advantageous to us and doesn’t code information that is disadvantageous to us. For example, if you ask married couples what percent of the chores they do, both spouses will say they each do about 75% of the chores, which can’t be true. Each one of them remembers what chores they do (cook, laundry, yard work, transport children) but doesn’t code what their spouse does. Similarly, fans code what is advantageous to them – the statistics that support their love of the team, the charities their player support, the negative behavior of players on opposing teams—but don’t code what is disadvantageous to them—the NCAA violations, a coach who bends the rules, the negative behavior of a favorite player.

3. How might an insider help a coach identify an ethical blind spot?

It is not clear that it should be an “insider” who helps the coach identify ethical blind spots. Insiders fall prey to motivated blindness just like fans, owners, and athletic directors do. An outsider who is not motivated by the standings of the team or a close relationship with the coach is probably in the best position to see the ethical traps that can bring a coach to disgrace. Framing decisions as ethical decisions, “what is the ethical implications of this decision?’ or “what is the right thing to do” will help reduce ethical fading. The reward system for the coach also needs to be closely examined. If the coach is only compensated (monetarily or otherwise) for a team’s performance and the way in which that performance is ignored, it is a safe to predict that the coach will focus on team performance and use any tactics to get there. Those responsible for structuring and implementing the reward system have to take responsibility for the outcomes of that reward system and for their own motivated blindness.
This is not to say that the coaches are not responsible for their unethical decisions for ultimately they are and they must be held accountable for those decisions. But if effort is also directed toward understanding the psychology behind bad decisions—including ethical fading and motivated blindness—and the way in which the environment actually encourages them, teams can avoid the tarnish that comes with unexamined unethicality.

About Dr. Cory Dobbs and The Academy for Sport Leadership 
To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including a Leader in Every Locker that this post was taken from, Click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

By Dr. Cory Dobbs

KERI SANCHEZ

Women’s Soccer Coach
University of Texas

Former Head Coach, Claremont Mudd Scripps

By Cory Dobbs, The Academy for Sport Leadership

After the Chicago Bulls “three-peated” winning the NBA Championship in 1996, Michael Jordan reflected on how he and his teammates made this happen.  “We set our eyes on the title, we knew what we had to do to get things done, and we just took care of business.”   The fact is that Jordan and his mates simply set the goal of winning another championship the moment the second championship was won.  By setting this goal they activated a championship mindset.

Winning starts with setting goals.  That is, an outstanding team, whether on the playing field or in the corporate meeting room, is more than just of group of people working together.  Building a great team is tough to do.  It takes a clear sense of direction, passion, commitment, clearly defined roles, and clearly defined goals.

Keri Sanchez played collegiately for the most storied soccer program on this planet—the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  While under the tutelage of legendary coach Anson Dorrance, Sanchez learned the value of goal setting as a way of promoting growth and development as well as evaluating performance.  As a four-year starter Sanchez experienced first-hand how goals are like the eyes of the organization: they enable people to see where they are headed and what it will take to get there.

Goals are vital because they define what the organization strives to achieve.  Setting goals is crucial because it activates a mindset by engaging people in three ways.  First, goals help set direction.  Second, they inspire passion.  Third, a goal provides meaning and purpose.    While goals are as varied as people and organizations are, they let people know the direction the team will take to bring the organization’s mission to fruition.
The North Carolina teams Sanchez played on were four for four—that is they won four NCAA championships in the four years she played.   It was there she learned the importance of a goal setting system.

“Goal setting is an important part of measuring individual and team effectiveness.  In addition to general team goals, it’s important to have a number of goals for each player to strive to reach—to reflect the individual’s growth and development as a player.

Leadership in its simplest form has been described as the ability to influence people toward the achievement of goals.  Wherever people come together to do things you’ll find goals embedded in the process of motivating people, evaluating performance, determining outcomes, and ultimately the satisfaction of the individual.  Today we accept that the foundation of an effective motivation program is proper goal setting.

“Because the college season is pretty lengthy, here at CMS we split the season into four quarters. 

We have a preseason, a non-conference season, our first round of conference opponents, and then second round conference and playoffs.  At the end of each stage we reflect on where we are in relation to where we want to go. 

“When I played professionally I had a coach who told us that the season is a marathon not a sprint.  The college season is very long.  So splitting into quarters allows us to evaluate our growth and development.  This allows us to stop at each quarter and gauge our growth and development.  Using goals we are able to identify how we are doing and where we need to improve.  It sounds simple, and it is, but it requires discipline.”

A discussion on goal setting always invites a reference to the insightful conversation between Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat.  When confronted with the need to make a choice among crossing routes, Alice encounters Cheshire cat and asks which path she should choose.  The Cat responds by asking Alice where she is heading.  To which Alice replies “I don’t much care where.”  Seeing that Alice had no destination in mind the Cat informs her that “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

SETTING DIRECTION

One important factor in creating effective teams, of course, is the role of setting and pursuing goals.  One of the most important aspects of any team leader’s job is the ability to identify worthwhile and realistic goals and then concentrate on providing resources and constructive and timely performance and behavioral feedback.

” At the beginning of the season we focus on the team’s goals.  We set team goals and ask each player “What’s it going to take to get there?”  Players then set individual goals and we work hard on them, but the focus is really on the team’s goals.

We value sacrifice which means putting the team above the individual, but this doesn’t necessarily mean having to sacrifice the individual’s goals.  It’s important that they know how we want them to prioritize goals.

“Each year we set a team mission statement of what we want to accomplish.  We then reflect along the way on our actions by saying, ‘Is this helping us with what we’re trying to do?’ 

Simply stated, goals give you direction.  A well-thought out goal helps you to define where you want to go.  Once you set a goal you have a direction.  Goal setting is really strategic planning.  The organization plans because it needs to visualize what has to be accomplished and how it will be done.   A well-thought out goal planning system includes the steps necessary to reach desired results.

“Goals are important for motivation.  Players need to know the reasons why they’re working so hard—what’s in it for them.  I think it’s important to identify meaningful goals because people need something important to go after.  It gives them direction.  If you don’t have direction why would you expect to perform well?  This applies to the team as well as the players’ individually.”

“We want our goals to be realistic, well-defined, measureable, and achievable.  It’s okay to set lofty goals—such as winning the national championship.  But then we should have some below that that are achievable.  Step goals that we know we can achieve with hard work.”

The principles are the same in every organization, whether the business is soccer or selling insurance.  Together coaches and players—leaders and team members—develop goals.  And together they make things happen toward the team goals, consistent with the mission, while developing oneself in the process.

“Our players are sincere in their efforts to do well.  They all want to succeed.  It’s just that sometimes they need to be reminded of what it takes to get where they want to go.

“To achieve our vision requires aligning goals with our value system.  We value a work ethic, we want players that will work hard for the team as well as for themselves.  Our goals help keep us grounded in a work ethic.”

A CALL TO ACTION

Goal setting has both a strategic and a personal side—one for the team the other for the participants.   These are sometimes called, respectively, hard and soft.  Organizations have traditionally emphasized goals and goal setting as a strategic process because the people side is much more difficult to measure.

Yet, every company desires to beat their competition, to get ahead.  And to do this requires growing and developing the people.

A competitive advantage can be gained from the personal side of goal setting.  Most people inside organizations are caught up in their day-to-day activities.  The daily grind often holds people back from setting aggressive goals.  They have too many things on their mind to set and chase goals.  But that’s a mistake.  Performance goals and growth seeking goals are necessary for aiming high and engaging people.  The right goals set in the right way can get people excited.

“Our players do get excited when they have success in achieving goals.  They are doing things again and again, and hopefully each time seeing more and more improvement and growth.

“Goal setting has pushed me to continually get better as a coach, the same way as when I was playing.  Goals provide me direction too.  They get me to work harder.  So by setting goals myself I model for my players the value of goals.”

The most successful leaders have a single-minded focus on what they want to do to win.  Very little else matters and they don’t let things get in the way.  They are focused, have a direction they want to go and take steps towards their goals.  Sanchez, like the best corporate leaders, demonstrates a relentless and uncompromising personal will.

“For me being a leader is setting an example, setting the standards for what I think it will take us to be a good team.  It means being a role model; providing the players a picture of what can happen when you aim high, focus, and take action towards your goals.

Goals take time to set but they take great courage pursue.   To pursue goals you have to overcome barriers and challenges.

“We want players that want to compete at a high level.  I don’t want players thinking they’re ‘settling’ to play at the Division Three level.  I want players driven to become better players and students.”

“ The academics here at Claremont are tough, so the players that play at this level are already able to handle the academics.  I want them to have the mindset of playing at a Division One school.  I tell them I’m going to coach them the same way I would if we were a Division One school.”

“At North Carolina we approached each season wanting to be the National Champion.  For us the season was a failure if we didn’t win it.  The program’s tradition kind of imposed this goal on us.  But we never took it for granted.  We knew each season would bring different challenges.”

MOBILIZING TEAM PERFORMANCE

Goal setting requires teamwork.  The desire is to blend personal ambition on the one hand, with cooperation, communication, and concern for others is always a very challenging aspect of leadership.  The paradox of team leadership is that it is through the weaving together of individual talents you achieve high-performance.

“Often there is little difference between high performers and ordinary performers.  The differences appear in attitudes and the work ethic.  

“Playing time is always an issue.  We’ve got 30 players that want to start, but only 11 can.  It’s important to us how those other 19 handle the situation.  You don’t want them to be satisfied not starting, but they need to understand their role.  I share my experience with them.  The successful teams I played on were those that found a healthy balance between individual and team goals.

“We expect those not starting or getting less playing time to not be satisfied because the team needs them to push the players in front of them.  We let them know that if they whine, they are selfishly taking away from the team’s goals they help set.  We need them to support their teammates.  Likewise, if you’re starting you can’t be satisfied either.  You need to push those that are pushing you.”

Once team members have confidence in the leader, it is then possible for that leader to identify goals that the team can achieve and levels of performance to which members can aspire.   The effective leader is able to shape desired behavior in subordinates by helping set specific goals, measure those goals, and providing timely and meaningful feedback.  Effective leaders have the respect and commitment of team members.  To that end, team members are more likely to “buy into” the team’s goals and the individual goals of their teammates.

“The great thing about the student-athlete at Claremont is that they want practices that make them reach, stretch themselves.  We put them in uncomfortable situations to get them to stretch their comfort zone.  We like to get them to train on the edge, trying to get them to that point where improvement becomes possible.

“ I make sure they know if they’re not making mistakes, then they’re not doing it right.  In order to be better players they need to make mistakes.  That happens when they are at the edge of their skills.  It may mean doing a drill faster and faster until you start making mistakes.  Now if they continue working at the speed at which they’ve failed they’ll eventually succeed.”

The key is motivation, the drive that keeps people, teams, and organizations on track and getting results. Progress comes from focusing on the destination and from successfully moving through the various stages along the path.   The motivating potential of chosen goals is one of the reasons for setting goals.  Research has shown that performance and commitment to goals is a result of goals that are specific and appropriately challenging.

“I’ve found that goals help players focus on competing to get better, to not settle for mediocrity; to not be okay with living in the middle.  Too many people are okay with living in the middle.  We want players to strive to be better than that.

“In the end, we want people that are looking to be a part of something special”

ABOUT KERI SANCHEZ

 

Sanchez is a graduate of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she majored in physical education while competing on four NCAA championship soccer teams. While at Chapel Hill she earned various honors as a player, including All-American for three years, and captain/MVP her senior season. She received a master’s in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon.

Keri Sanchez was a standout high school athlete at Santa Teresa High School, San Jose, California. She lettered in 5 sports over her career – cross–country, volleyball, soccer, swimming, and track and field. She excelled at both soccer and track.  In her senior year, she made her first call up to the senior US Women’s National  Soccer Team where she played in the first World Cup qualifying tournament in Haiti. Upon graduating, Keri accepted a scholarship from University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. While there, she played soccer for 4 years, and ran track for 2 years.

Keri was a 4–time National Champion in soccer and 2–time ACC performer in the 400m hurdles. She was a co–captain of the soccer team her senior year and an Academic All–American.

During her freshman year in 1991, the Tar Heels won 24 consecutive matches and Sanchez earned All-ACC honors en route to an NCAA Championship.  The following season, the team posted a remarkable 25-0 record and won its seventh consecutive NCAA title.  In Sanchez’s junior season, North Carolina went 23-0 season and added another national championship. She was named an All-American and earned a second-team selection by Soccer News.

As a senior Sanchez was named team captain and led her Tar Heels team to a 25-1-1 record. The team capped the season with the fourth championship in her collegiate career. Sanchez was named team MVP and she was named to the All-ACC team. She graduated with a degree in physical education.

During her time at North Carolina, Sanchez also trained as a member of the U.S. National Team pool, under the direction of Tar Heels head coach Anson Dorrance. She was a member of the Youth National Team from 1990-1992 and played with the U.S. Senior National team from 1991-1995 and again in 2001.  Sanchez played in World Cup qualifying in Haiti in the spring of 1991 and played a total of 13 games for the women’s Senior team over her career.

Keri graduated in 1995 with a BA in Physical Education. She started a coaching career at University of Oregon in 1996 as an assistant women’s soccer coach. While there, she earned her Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. The first women’s professional soccer league (WUSA) was started in 2001. The Boston Breakers drafted her in the second round. She accepted her first head women’s soccer coaching position in 2004 at Claremont McKenna–Harvey Mudd Scripps Colleges in Southern California and where she’s still currently coaching.

To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including a Leader in Every Locker that this post was taken from, Click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

This article was written by Cory Dobbs, Ed.D., President of The Academy for Sport Leadership.  The Academy for Sport Leadership is a leading educational leadership training firm that uses sound educational principles, research, and learning theories to create leadership resources.  The academy has developed a coherent leadership development framework and programs covering the cognitive, psycho-motor, emotional and social dimensions of learning, thus addressing the dimensions necessary for healthy development and growth of student-athletes.

About the Author

Cory Dobbs is the founder and president of The Academy for Sport Leadership, a national leader in research‐based curriculum for coaches and student‐athletes. Dr. Dobbs is a college educator, a coach to successful coaches (helping coaches attain a higher level of success), and an accomplished human performance specialist whose expertise is in the field of leadership, team building, and creating a high‐performance culture in the arena of team sports. Cory blends social‐personality, psychology, and applied social psychology, which means he studies how people’s thoughts, behaviors, and preferences are influenced by both who they are and the situations they’re in. He uses Teamwork IntelligenceTM to help teams explore how the mix of perspectives brought by their individual members influences their work together.

About The Academy for Sport Leadership

The Academy for Sport Leadership is a leading educational leadership training firm that uses sound educational principles, research, and learning theories to create leadership resources.  The academy has developed a coherent leadership development framework and programs covering the cognitive, psycho-motor, emotional and social dimensions of learning, thus addressing the dimensions necessary for healthy development and growth of student-athletes.

The Academy for Sport Leadership’s underlying convictions are as follows: 1) the most important lessons of leadership are learned in real-life situations, 2) team leaders develop best through active practice, structured reflection, and feedback, 3) learning to lead is an on-going process in which guidance from a mentor coach helps facilitate learning and growth, and 4) leadership lessons learned in sport should transcend the game and assist student-athletes in developing the capacity to lead in today’s changing environment.