Being a Captain: the perks and the work

PEDRO PEREIRA (SECOND FROM THE RIGHT) TELLS US WHY BEING CAPTAIN IS NOT AS EASY AS IT MIGHT FIRST HAVE APPEARED

Most sports players look at the First Team Captain position, or any committee position really, as an easy way to pocket a queue jump card for Loop on a Wednesday night. That was not the case for me though. For me, it was an easy way to guarantee myself a place in the Tennis 1st Team.

Tennis has always been my biggest passion and after a successful first year in a team, which felt to me like a family, I decided I should try to help out the team in the following year.

After it was established that nobody else wanted to be captain, I was (rightfully) elected and have since been sticking rigidly to the job description. Honestly, at first, I thought I wasn’t going to have to do much. Being captain, surely all I had to do was pick the team each week?

I was wrong. Now I always find myself calling tennis clubs to book courts for training; going to pick up Tennis balls from university; sorting out travel and the refunds (and the subsequent mountain of forms) that come with it; organising training sessions and friendlies with other unis. But it’s worth it. Being able to represent UCL all around the UK, sending winning messages to the Sports Mobile on Wednesdays, and knowing (or hoping) that I am having the same effect on first years that my Captain had on me last year, outweighs all of the stressful work I’ve had to do so far.

Every committee member in a Sports Team in UCL will probably tell you how fulfilling it is to be a part of the team that runs a society. My experience has not been any different. With the position, I’ve gained a lot of (un)deserved respect, got to know some pretty amazing people and have been able to put the “1st Team Captain title” on my CV. I’ve enjoyed every second and learned a lot from it too. Being captain is a great opportunity to gain valuable leadership and organisational training – no wonder so many companies seem to like graduates who have been a part of Sports committees.

At the end of the day, I have actually had to work for the position I decided to take up, but the positives have more than outweighed the negligible negatives. If you’re passionate about a sport, and feel in the position to become captain, I definitely recommend doing so!

Featured image credit: Billy Abieta