As I was captain of my soccer team, I certainly was not the best player on the field. However, I was one of the most tenacious players, exerting all I had each time I took the field. This created an environment of community, friendship, dedication, commitment, and effective teamwork. I am fully convinced that this came as a direct result of the other players seeing their captain on the field, working just as hard as they were while expecting the same result from everyone.
I was able to demonstrate servant leadership at the age of fifteen, and again at sixteen, as the head coach of a baseball team for children who were five and six years old. In reality, I was closer to the age of my kids that I coached than I was to their parents. However, despite the significant difference in age this did not inhibit me from exhibiting the type of leadership I knew would work best. There were some challenges, especially as it pertained to parents attitudes as they believed their kid was playing for the New York Yankees, not the local baseball league. Though