Spider Leadership Initiative Leaders Of The Week Presented By CapTech
11/13/2020
Ally Steffen
Senior
Women's Golf
Champion Leader
Alden Mathes
Sophomore
Baseball
Rising Leader
How does it feel to be seen as a leader on your team and in our department?
As a senior I’ve now seen three years of leaders from this athletic department. What I’ve learned is that every athlete here is so impressive. You can’t just walk in and be a leader here, the bar is set really high. I’ve had many people to look at as examples of the Senior Leader I wanted to be on my team and I am excited for the opportunity to be that for my teammates. To stand out as a leader at this school you need to put in the extra effort even on the days you don't feel like it. I hope I am able to keep fulfilling that role on my team.
How does it feel to be seen as a leader on your team and in our department?
It’s a huge honor to be considered a leader on the baseball team and in the University’s athletic department. It is a really awesome feeling knowing that my teammates, coaches, and advisors trust in me to be a model student athlete.
What qualities do you think makes a good leader?
A good leader works when no one else wants to. A great leader gets their teammates to work even on the days they didn’t want to.
What qualities do you think makes a good leader?
A few qualities that make a good leader are responsibility, approachability, coachability, and determination.
What are you hoping to work on yourself to become a better leader?
I want to show up to every practice with a smile on my face and I want to leave every practice with a smile on my face. My team recognizes the power of a smile. I think its important to remember that we all cant be super heroes all the time, but it only takes a tiny bit of effort to smile.
What are you hoping to work on yourself to become a better leader?
To make myself a better leader, I want to work on stepping up in moments where leadership is needed. Whether that means bringing the energy to a 6:30 a.m. lift, helping my teammates through tough situations, or being clutch in an intense situation; I want to be that guy.
What are some challenges you have as a leader in different times like we have now with COVID-19?
The biggest challenge this semester has been vision. It’s hard to tell your teammates to work harder and give more when there is no guaranteed tournaments on the schedule. In prior years our goal has to been to win conference and earn a bid to regionals. All of our tournaments felt like a preparation for conference. In prior years the majority of our team had competed in conference, so the vision was there. This year over half of our team has never experienced a conference tournament so it is a harder vision to create for the team. This year we there is no specific event to focus your efforts towards. This year we are just motivating ourselves to keep improving with no specific goal and sometimes that is hard for competitive athletes.
What are some challenges you have as a leader in different times like we have now with COVID-19?
Some challenges being a leader during these different times include being strict to the protocols that are keeping us safe and encouraging my teammates to do the same. Also, without as much close interaction with my teammates, it has been much harder to develop a close friendship with them. But after a fall of working around these difficult situations, I am confident in our team and my role on the team, and I am very excited to see how we perform in the spring.
