Lady Choctaws Soccer Emphasize Servant Leadership This Soccer Season

By Andrew Bizon

Parker St. Amant wears the captain’s armband against Dallas Baptists on Aug. 29 at Longabaugh Field. (Photo Credit: Grace Lewis, Mississippi Christian University Athletics)

Most collegiate soccer teams have two to three players designated as team “captains,” but Coach Darryl Longabaugh and the Mississippi

The Lady Choctaws huddle prior to their game against Christian Brothers University, Sept. 23 at Longabaugh Field. (Photo Credit: Grace Lewis, Mississippi Christian University Athletics)

Christian University Lady Choctaws are unique in that they have an eight-player leadership team. The team selects captains every spring based upon who they feel are the most influential players. Coach Longabaugh said that he has not had a leadership team of this size since MC was a Division III program. “We had a lot of problems with it then, because, you know, girls got power hungry and they wanted to control everything and do everything, which is not what I asked them to do,” Longabaugh said. He complimented this season’s team, describing them as “servant-oriented,” and said that although the team is not perfect, he could “show you 1,000 others that are imperfect.”

Longabaugh believes all eight leaders of the team complement each other and have their own strengths and weaknesses that create a healthy team balance. While the coaches run practice, the leaders’ job is to keep tempo, energy, and intensity up. They notice when team performance is not up to standard or when players are not putting in maximum effort. The leaders also “walk over to them and say, ‘Hey, listen, you know, this is what we’re doing. You can do this, but you’re not getting it done right now. Let’s, you know, let’s work on it and let’s get better at it.” Not only do they hold the team accountable, but the coaches ensure that the leaders maintain their responsibility as well. The leaders and coaches meet once a week to discuss how things are going and how the team can improve.

The eight leaders for the Lady Choctaws include seniors Amanda McFarlin, Paula Catalan, and Olivia Graham, along with juniors Faith Clark, Cooper Holmes, Brinslee Picard, Parker St. Amant, and Presley Pinkston.

Darryl Longabaugh speaks to the Lady Choctaws soccer team against Emmanuel University, Aug. 27 at Robinson-Hale Stadium. (Photo Credit: Grace Lewis, Mississippi Christian Athletics)