KC Royals Charities Scholarship Essay

Being the team captain for my high school volleyball team was, without a doubt, the most important and rewarding leadership experience during my junior and senior years. I am so grateful to have been able to transfer to my current school when I did and be given this amazing opportunity. This role has not only helped me develop valuable leadership skills but also taught me beneficial life lessons as well as life long relationships that have inspired me to further my education. Throughout my essay, I will discuss the values I have learned as team captain, the responsibilities I undertook, the challenges I have faced and how I overcame them, and most importantly, why this experience has inspired me to further my education.
This leadership role has expanded the list of valuable leadership skills that I have learned throughout my life. One of the most important values that I have learned is the importance of being a good role model. As the team captain, I not only have to be a good role model on the court but in the classroom as well. In order to be a good role model I had to practice being positive, being understanding, being studious, and balancing my sport with my academics, ultimately succeeding in both. Positivity can spread so easily and when you have a positive environment, then everyone on your team can succeed and feel safe and that’s what I had to do. I had to create this wave of positivity for my teammates so we could be a successful team. As the team captain I also have to understand where the girls are coming from whenever there is conflict on the team and I have to be able to see things through every point of view in order to have an impactful solution. Finally, being studious also ties in with being a good role model. If I am being responsible in the classroom, many of my teammates will follow. This is true because four of our varsity girls, including myself, received the Academic All-State Award this year and I couldn’t be more proud of them. These leadership qualities don’t just fall within a sports team, but any group of people working towards a common goal.
As the team captain, I faced the responsibilities of leading my teammates on and off the court and helping my coaches figure out what strategies, plays, and lineups would make us the most successful team. This included helping organize drills at practice, picking the lineup for games, and ensuring that every single one of my teammates were motivated and focused. One of my primary responsibilities was to uphold a sense of unity and teamwork among my teammates. Volleyball is not a sport where you can be successful individually, rather it is a sport where you succeed when you work as a team seamlessly. My main priority was to build strong relationships between myself and my teammates in order to build a sense of trust, be able to know their weakest and strongest points, and most importantly to be able to encourage and communicate with them. This helped us create a strong sense of community and sisterhood where we all felt supported and could be the best we could possibly be.
One of the biggest challenges that I faced was being able to help my team comeback from major setbacks and losses. It’s hard to come back from losses especially when you play your hardest and do everything you could and not dwell on the negatives. However, I had to face this challenge many times and I had to teach myself and my teammates to use these times as an opportunity to grow and improve. These experiences have taught me the value of perseverance and resilience which is important to have because you never know what problems await you in the future and you have to know how to face them head on. This mindset as well as the values that I have learned has taught me to approach my education with the same determination and flexibility. It has taught me to have confidence, that I can overcome any obstacle that comes my way, and to continuously set goals for myself and aim to excel academically.
Every single quality, challenge, responsibility, and setback that I have experienced being a team captain for my volleyball team has inspired me to further my education because it has shown me that I can overcome any challenge and that I am a leader. I have learned the importance of leadership and community in any group or organization and I am eager to use these skills in college and throughout the rest of my life. I will study biology and veterinary medicine and I believe that the values I’ve learned throughout this leadership experience will help me succeed and equip me with the knowledge I need to be a marine animal rescue and rehab specialist.
In conclusion, being the team captain of my high school volleyball team was a life-changing experience that taught me the importance of perseverance, leadership, teamwork, and communication. It has inspired me to further my education, utilize these skills, and continue to be a role model for others. I am excited to use these skills and lessons that I’ve learned to make a difference in the world and continue to influence and inspire others.