Athletic Department forms "Captain Council"

Blair Athletic Director Rita Boulé formed a Captain's Council this year to guide team captains in leading their team to success. The council convenes once a month, and leaders from every team are required to attend each meeting during their regular season. This includes non-varsity sports teams so that every team is represented.

Captain - Allison Whitney

Photo: Allison Whitney, co-captain of the girls' varsity tennis team, said that the council "definitely gets the captains involved in something greater."

Allison Whitney, co-captain of the girls' varsity tennis team, said that the council "definitely gets the captains involved in something greater." Photo courtesy of Eloise Goldsmith.

Senior Allison Whitney, co-captain of the girls' tennis team, attended the first Captains Council meeting a few weeks ago. "I think it's a great whole initiative to get team captains more involved. They are definitely useful workshops. It's a good way to get the team to build relationships and represent the school in a positive way," Whitney said.

Senior Zoe McCarthy, co-captain of the girls' field hockey team, also attended the first meeting. "It was productive. It was a good way to inspire captains to be responsible. It taught us to assume responsibility for our teams," McCarthy said.

The council does not only include varsity sports captains, according to Boulé. "It includes every captain from every team at Blair. It's varsity and JV. If all captains are seniors, they must send a non-senior leader to the meeting," Boulé said.

During their sports season, the members of the council must also complete a service project. They must find a need in the community, and try to fill that need. They will have the opportunity to get Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for their projects. Whitney appreciated that captains will also put in work off the field. "It definitely gets the captains involved in something greater," she said.

The captains are planning to work as a team for their service project, an effort to clean up the area around Silgo Creek, which will take place from Sept. 20 to Sept. 30. "I think it's a good idea getting whole groups of people to participate in a big project. I'm actually looking forward to 'Sweep the Creek'. We plan to do competitions to make it even more fun," McCarthy said.