After being named captain for the 2022 season in volleyball, junior Sophia Nagorski said her history with the Park volleyball team was a key factor in her being chosen for the position next year.

“I’ve been playing high school volleyball since seventh grade and I’ve played varsity for the past two years,” Nagorski said. “I’ve been a known face in the program for a while and I worked really hard last year in order to get an honorable mention for the all-star team and I’ve kept the team together through a lot of hard moments.”

According to head football coach Jason Foster, in order to become captain the player has to make sure that they and their teammates are succeeding off the field as much as they are on the field. 

“Be accountable to yourself and others in your team,” Foster said. “Make sure that things are taken care of in the classroom and make sure you’re caring for others in the community as well.”

In order to prepare for the upcoming season, Nagorski is excited to continue uplifting her team’s companionship.

“I’m hoping to bring the team together more and I think that’s really fun,” Nagorski said. “So right now we’re planning our captain’s practices, which is super exciting.”

Junior  cross country captain Denly Lindeman said his dedication to the team when he wasn’t racing helped him become nominated for captain for the 2022 season.

“We as a team worked hard to build a great atmosphere and I always like to help out with the team and help organize things,” Lindeman said. “I thought it sounded fun so last year I applied to be captain and I got nominated.”

Foster said the main responsibilities of captains are to communicate important information to the team while keeping the team’s spirits high throughout the season.

“The captain’s responsibility is to make sure that all the communications have been sent out to the players and making sure that everyone is on the same page,” Foster said. “Another responsibility of the captains is keeping the camaraderie up and making sure that everybody stays engaged during practice times and during the film study and just meeting the overall functions of being a team player.” 

According to Lindeman, the best way for underclassmen to raise their chances of becoming captain in the future is to take on responsibilities of the captain as early as possible. 

“You can never start too early. My freshman year, I tried to help out as best I could with everything that I could just to try and take a leadership role,” Lindeman said. “You don’t need to be a captain in order to take on the responsibilities of a captain.”