How to be a good captain

by Josh feyissa
(Fort st. John , Canada)

I actually have a couple questions but captaincy is the main one and I really appreciate your time…


What can I do to do my job as a high school varsity captain extremely well?

Well, you need to be a role model on the soccer field and show your teammates how they should behave.


What sets aside a professional player for the others?

A professional player is someone who can handle the pressure on the field without letting it affect his/her own game.


I mean many players in high school and college have great speed control and passing some maybe even better than pro's so what’s sets them apart?

Well, these players are surely good but as I already said, you need to know how to handle the pressure. Otherwise you will never succeed as pro. Kim Källstrom (currently playing for Lyon in France) said once; you have nothing to do as pro if you don’t know how to handle the pressure.


What can I do to play to the best of my ability and stay consistent? I'm trying to be modest but I know I have the potential to be one of the greatest players who ever played but I never ever play to my full potential and I’m never consistent.

Prepare well, this includes eating properly, resting enough between your games and practices, always working hard no matter how good/poor your opponents are and so on. Preparation is the key if you want to keep your abilities on the field and stay consistent.


Is it ok to sometimes be selfish with the ball? The great players and the great goals we've seen have one thing in common; almost all of them had the chance to pass the ball but chose not to and instead create a great moment and go solo.

It is O.K to dribble sometimes but you need to keep in mind that the ball will always be faster than you. This means that passing the ball to a teammate should always be your no 1 option. However, if you are near your opponent’s 18 yard box then go for it.


I’m in the process of making a recruitment video that was requested from me by various NCAA do you have any advice to make this a great video?

Well, you could first write down what you want to say and then practice on your speech few times before recording it with your camcorder.


Hope this helped, Good Luck with your soccer carrier.