What Qualities Define a Leader On and Off the Pitch?

Top college soccer programs and pro clubs don’t just want players who are talented and athletic. You must also be a positive role model for your team, someone who sets a good example of how a person should behave on and off the field. These are the qualities of a leader, and that’s exactly what college and pro coaches are looking for in players, regardless of your position.

This means that in order to make it to the next level, youth players need to understand what separates a great soccer player from a legitimate leader. With this in mind, here are a few qualities of a leader that any player would be wise to emulate:

Leaders Work Hard

A leader is the hardest worker on the team. They train hard and play hard on a consistent basis, devoting 100% of their effort in every single practice and every single game. Why? Because leaders know their work ethic influences the work ethic of the entire team. When they quit, the whole team quits.

On the contrary, when they push themselves even though they are tired or hurting, the rest of the team does the same.

Leaders also work hard because they don’t rely on other people to set an example or push their teammates. They know it’s up to them. The team’s success depends on how hard they work, not how hard someone else works.

Leaders Have a Good Attitude

It’s much easier to work hard and play hard when you genuinely enjoy doing it, and that’s another key quality of a leader. When some of the most iconic athletes in the world are asked about their success, almost all of them say something along the lines of, “Well, I truly love this sport, so of course I’m going to be good at it.”

A leader feels at home on the field, and there’s nothing else they’d rather be doing. They don’t trudge through practice, counting down the minutes until they can go home. A leader shows up to practice with a smile on their face, promoting a team-wide culture of hope and positivity. They are respectful, kind, and supportive, because they want everyone else to be having just as much fun as they are.

Leaders Accept Mistakes

Resilience is arguably the most important quality in a successful athlete. Lots of soccer players can maintain momentum when their team is doing well. Only some, however, can be just as disciplined on the field when their team is losing.

A leader doesn’t let misfortunes or plain old bad luck inhibit their focus or attitude. When they make a mistake, they don’t get angry at themselves or their teammates. They view the mistake as a lesson, quickly discerning what went wrong and how they can prevent it from happening again.

Why is this important in a leader? Because it shows the rest of the team that mistakes are inevitable. They’re not something to be ashamed of. A winning team doesn’t fear mistakes, since this would make them harder to recover from. Leaders build winning teams by not getting flustered in the face of adversity and remaining as confident as ever in their team, regardless of how much goes wrong throughout the game.

Building Leadership in Your Athlete

The mental component of soccer is vital but widely overlooked, which inspired us to create Beyond Goals Mentoring. Through one-on-one mentoring sessions, we help players improve their resilience by teaching them to embrace adversity, since it’s going to happen to everyone sooner or later. So, if your athlete is having trouble recovering from previous mistakes on the field, let’s set up a mentoring session and begin building them into a more resilient, dedicated, and happier soccer player.