Sustainability of Success in Sports Teams: Who Will Be the Captain?

Abstract

This research was carried out in order to reveal the “Team Captaincy Process” by deeply analyzing each phase of the team captain process. For this purpose, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 (3 female, 14 male) elite athletes and trainers determined using a purposive sampling method during a two-year study. As a result of the qualitative interviews conducted with the participants, there is a “Team Captaincy Process” defined under five themes: “Tasks of the Team Captain”, “Personality Traits of the Team Captain”, “Determination of the Team Captain”, “The Team Captaincy Process”, and “Termination of the Team Captaincy”. For this process, it has been determined that each of its phases is inseparably related to the other. Consequently, it is considered that the “Team Captaincy Process” can be used as a guiding tool by decision-makers for determining the ideal team captain who will meet the expectations of the whole team.