A winning culture

The Captains’ Council promotes leadership and community for Big Red athletics.

By
Brian Muldoon
November 1, 2022
Male athletes in uniform, walking over a bridge

Building leadership, building culture and building community. These are all part of the game plan behind the Captains’ Council, an initiative implemented last fall by the Physical Education and Athletics Department. It brings together the administration and more than 70 Big Red varsity captains to discuss opportunities, challenges and ideas pertinent to Exeter teams.

“The first year of the Captains’ Council was a great way for us to get to know our leaders at a deeper level, have a two-way sharing of information and get the pulse of the student-athlete experience,” Director of Physical Education and Athletics Jason Baseden says. “The council is a place for students to talk to us about their experience and set the standard for what they want their experience as Exonians to be.”

This year, the council members joined proctors, student listeners and other student leaders on campus prior to the official move-in day to take part in leadership training workshops.

The Physical Education and Athletics Department also partnered with P/ATH, Progress Through Athletics, to further educate our students, coaches and the department on building a safe, equitable, inclusive and winning culture.

“P/ATH has invaluable tools and lessons that hit home to leaders in sports across all levels, high school through professional,” Baseden says, noting that the P/ATH curriculum touches on topics such as building confidence, identity, empowerment and being a great teammate.

“We want our athletes to set the objectives they have culturally, in the greater community, on their teams and on the field and have us, as the adults, give them the tools they need to reach their goals.

 

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the fall 2022 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.