In week 2 of “The Warrior Voice” I took the time to sit down with Marc Rodriguez and Marissa Govan on the topic of “Impacts of Team Leadership”. I personally look at leadership as being a key factor in successful teams. When the standard is set, leaders are ones who make sure the limits are pushed to help elevate the team’s performance.  With being a leader within our student-athlete advisory committee, I find it interesting to know the different styles of leadership that flow throughout our athletic teams. Both Marc and Marissa are called on as captains but as we know, titles don’t make a person, and that's just how Marissa started off her interview when asked the first question….
I believe there is no one definition of leadership, so when asked both athletes for their definition, I was able to sync in the leadership personalities that both may obtain. “I think leadership doesn’t necessarily have to be defined as a role, but is displayed by positive actions to help bring the team together to achieve its goal.”, Marissa stated. I was able to note how Marissa talked about some may look at leadership as just a title, but without actions the title/role isn’t effective for the team. This may be common in some teams where ones who are elected as captains or leaders but aren’t effective in the role. Marc went on to say “I think a true leader is someone who has a relationship with the team and can pull out the best in everyone.”  I followed up with asking about the importance of leadership in team success, and both strongly agreed to the importance it plays in a team being successful! [Marissa]“I think leadership is a crucial part of success in teams. I found that if a team doesn't have  solid leadership, things can start to get a little crazy and the vision may begin to get blurry.”  I noted how Marissa spoke on the vision getting blurry. Being on the same page as a team will play a huge part in the long run, because as we’ll speak on later in the post, every team gets hit with a stomp in the road! Mark added that “It's important because a team needs someone to be that backbone to assist everyone on being on the same page. If everyone is not on the same page, there's a lack of leadership which can affect a team's overall success.” I liked where Marc was stressing the point of being on the same page! As we mature as athletes, we come to realize that we trust the teammate next to you to fulfill their job or role in the competition. 


As you might know, positivity is stressed a lot with leadership. But I wanted to get an idea of what Marissa and Marc would say are negative traits that a leader should not possess or act as. Marissa began with “I would think demanding instead of participating within your team would be negative. It’s easy to point fingers, but it takes a leader to show you the way!”  Yes! She’s right. Anyone can indeed point the finger, but being a leader means that you guide and instruct the mistakes! Leading by example at its best! Marc spoke on a great point of leaders remaining open minded and not thinking that they should have to stop learning. “Just because you are called to be a caption doesn’t mean you stop learning. Having the open mindedness of wanting to learn every day is everything.”

Both athletes do have leadership roles on their respective teams, and as I began to discuss the common styles of leadership (Democratic, Autocratic, Laissez-Faire), both athletes quickly identified their style. [Marc] “I like to focus on building my team up through optimism. I might be laid back at times to give my teammates that slight freedom; also big on encouraging my teammates to call me out if I'm not bringing enough energy”. Sometimes leaders do need to be called out, and it's not always a bad thing. Having multiple leadership roles myself, I find it beneficial when coaches or faculty tell me what I could be better at. Marissa went on to add “I feel like in certain situations my leadership style might change, and I can adapt to my teammates and the situation. I noted Marissa mentioning adaptability, which in my opinion is a huge key in leadership. Knowing your teammates and how to help them grow in certain situations is big.

Like mentioned earlier, every team will eventually meet a stomp in the road. When adversity hits, a team can kind of freeze up and this is where a leader is most important to step up! So I asked, how important do you think leadership is in that moment of adversity and what are ways you try to lead in that situation? [Marissa] “A lot of times in the situation of adversity, teammates are going to look for someone to lead the way. When something happens, it's very important to have that leader that the team can learn from and help guide the right direction. Some ways I try to get my team to respond to adversity is bringing them up with positivity!” Marc added “It is important to have someone who is calm through the rough stretches of a game because energy can be contagious, and if someone who is considered a leader begins to act out on the team the wrong way, then the whole team can then fall apart. There is a way to call someone out or correct them, but if you are bringing negative energy into it, you aren't really leading in the best way possible”. Both Marissa and Marc expressed positivity as a huge role in leadership which is something I express as well! Trying to stay positive will take you a long way in sports and can have an immediate impact on the people around you. 

Towards the end of interviewing both athletes, I pondered on the possibility of their being some negatives that come with being a good leader. [Marc] “I feel like decision making or having to be real with everyone can sometimes go the wrong way for some. “Sometimes teammates may not agree with you, but respectfully they must know a good leader/captain only wants what's better for them and the team.” I noted how he addressed decision making as a way some may disagree, but good leaders do indeed know what's best, and strive to bring growth on its teammates! Marissa stated “I find that it's sometimes hard to navigate that line of “am I pushing it too much?, or not doing enough? as a leader.” We as leaders have a way of feeling things out too, so I felt where Marissa was coming from with this point. In the end, I asked if they could both describe a time when their team faced adversity and leadership played an important role to overcome the bump. [ Marissa] “There was this one time we were losing badly…and one of our teammates started reciting all the ways we worked hard to be here with the early morning workouts and things. This got us all hyped up to turn things around.” Me personally I believe you shouldn’t have to flip a switch to play well or motivation to play well; But in certain moments, there might come a time where you have to revert back to your training when things get tough! Marc described a game earlier this year when they were kind of in a drought and hungry for a win. “Earlier this year, I think we were 8-6 at the time, and we were at a tough point in the schedule. I just kept telling the guys to stay positive! And keep striving! We’ve been on an 8-game win streak since that game, and I know spreading that positivity in the moment of difficulty helped guide us on the road we’re on.” These were both powerful, yet real life experiences where leadership had a tremendous effect on a team's success. I think we sometimes overlook leadership as just a title but like Marissa stated earlier “leadership is displayed by one's actions!”. I had a great time catching up with Marissa and Marc about this extraordinary topic. Marc Rodriguez is a RS-Sophomore guard from Philadelphia, Pa majoring in Exercise Science, currently leading the Warriors in the playoffs to make a strong push for a PSAC title! Marc looks up to Coach Wilson, Coach Kaba and Tim Tebow as influential leaders. Marissa Govan is a RS- Sophomore Center Fielder from Bucks County, Pa majoring in nursing, who also is leading the Warriors at the start of their season. Marissa looks up to Dr. Munford who has been an influential figure at ESU with academics and athletics! It was interesting hearing the different influential leaders that both athletes look up to! And I think we all can point out valuable points of leadership from the discussions I had with both athletes! This was another successful week of “The Warrior Voice”, and as always, stay tuned next week for Week 3!

In our first week of " The Warrior Voice”, I took the time to interview Dom Walton and Julia Kutz on the effects of nutrition and sleep on performance.  Leading into this topic, I thought about the different perspectives athletes may have on the right way to go with nutrition and sleep management for effective performance. Me personally being a 2-sport athlete, I try to get 8-9 hours of sleep the night before a game or meet and eat every meal of the day with snack periods. Julia and Dom both stated some interesting perspectives that could be beneficial for every athlete.  
 
As we all know, every athlete wants to perform their very best at each competition, but with all the hassle athletes may face with time, how much should we value proper rest? And how important is it really for us athletes to have the proper amount of sleep before competition?  Julia started by stating that "I think sleep is one of the most important things for an athlete. When you wake up tired, or not properly rested, you're immediately not putting yourself in the right position to perform well in the classroom, as well as in your selective sport.” I was ecstatic  to hear Julia mention the classroom performance because our academics do indeed come first!
When asked about napping, she explained how like many student-athletes, she rarely has time for a nap but also described a past presentation about how 26 minutes is the perfect length for a power nap if time is available in the day. This seemed interesting to know, because we may tend to nap too long and end up staying up later at night because of it.  Julia also described leading up to a game she tries to get 8 hours of sleep, sometimes even 9 or 10.  
 
Dom had some great input on the topic, stating that "Sleep and proper rest is the epitome of everything. If we don't get the right amount of sleep, it’s something that will show in your performance ". Dom is a national qualifier in the Shot Put and Weight-throw and described how he aims for 40 hours of sleep throughout the week. I noted that Dom spoke on hours for the week leading up to meet day. Athletes may tend to just get a good night’s sleep the day before a competition, when every night’s rest in the week plays an essential role.
 
Both athletes also agreed that they feel like you are putting your body at more risk for injury if you're not getting the proper rest.
When things shifted toward nutrition, I related the first question to the first about sleep and rest, with all the hassle sometimes athletes face with time, how essential is it to make sure you are not skipping a meal?, or asked if they could even breakdown how they plan out meals for the day. Dom started by explaining how skipping meals is a huge negative. "When you skip a meal, you’re cheating your body out of the right fuel. Even if you feel you don't have enough time mid-day to eat, carry snacks to keep you energized, or even get a light salad or sandwich from one of the numerous spots on campus like the University Center, or The Pods (in the library, cafe entrance, and in sci-tech).
Julia went ahead to briefly describe how she attacks nutrition for proper fuel leading up to competition. "I make sure to eat a big healthy breakfast to fuel and energize me for the day, breakfast is so important when starting the day!  Lunch is sometimes hard for most athletes because of class and maybe early 2pm or 3pm practices, but you should at least get maybe a light salad or protein shake from The University Center to keep you going." I personally related to lunch being the most difficult meal to sneak in throughout the day but came in agreeance with both on getting a salad or something light to eat on the go!
 
We all know that fueling up is important going into a competition or practice, but what about the recovery? I explained to both athletes how I personally feel that recovery is an area where sometimes athletes don't take it as serious and can be detrimental in the long run. Stopping by the trainer’s office for treatment is important, but what we put in our bodies after competing is too. Dom explained the re-fueling process by saying "You have to re-fuel your body the same way you fuel for a competition. There should be no break or difference in eating after a competition, along with adequate amounts of sleep because that’s when you're going to hurt the most!".  As a 2-sport athlete, I think recovery is one of the most important things to take advantage of. We put our bodies through a lot and as Dom stated earlier, we cannot cheat our bodies! When Julia was asked about recovery, I found it interesting what she stated about the process. "I feel like away games are easier to refuel up for because the coaches make sure we get the proper foods on the way back like grilled chicken or salads with a protein in it. Home games are sometimes harder because we have more range and freedom." This was interesting to me because going back to my original point of sometimes athletes not getting the right recovery, some athletes when given freedom like this for meals, they may choose to get fast food right after a competition, which isn't really going to be beneficial for proper recovery. 
Towards the end of both interviews, I spoke about myself being a pasta addict, so it was pretty much easy to guess what my favorite meal is leading up to competition.  So, I asked both, what is your favorite meal or foods to eat as preparation for competition? "I like to carb up the night before (rice, pasta, veggies), but the day of, I like to eat bagels :)" Julia also described before every game she eats a mini snickers literally right before warmups.  My eyes kind of lit up, but as she broke down the reasoning, I was less shocked. "It sounds kind of weird, but me and my Coach were talking about it because she used to do it in college when she played. It kind of has that weird blend of sugar and protein to get you amped up!" Dom on the other hand, without hesitation, stated that his favorite meal to eat before competition was salmon.  Dom also finished off his interview by breaking down how sleep and nutrition had a huge impact on his best performance as a warrior. "This year, the meet we had at Bucknell, I made a nice big breakfast before the meet and repeatedly ate snacks throughout the meet when I wasn't competing. Along with being well-rested, the snacks kept me fueled properly throughout the day to help me get National Qualifying marks in both the shot put and weight throw! 
 
In the first week of "The Warrior Voice" I had a blast talking to Julia and Dominic about their respectable perspectives on this topic. I think a lot of our athletes can learn from them with the brilliant responses they gave on sleep and nutrition. As already mentioned, Dominic is a Junior Thrower who is a national qualifier in the shot put and weight throw. And Julia is a Sophomore Forward averaging 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, trying to help lead the warriors into a deep postseason run! Go Warriors!

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