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Step 1
Lead the team in all practice and workout sessions. If the captain appears to be disinterested in training, you can't expect the players to feel any differently. A soccer captain should be the first one on and last one off the field during practice. She should make sure that every player sticks to the workout and diet. If a player is out of shape or not prepared, the captain must be ready to call her teammate out and, if need be, go to the coach about the situation.
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Step 2
Communicate with players throughout the game. It's important for the team that players call out passes, defensive scenarios and other game situations to one another. The captain should be the leader in this, scanning the field and yelling out anything he notices to his teammates. During a stoppage in play, the captain should try to communicate with one or two of the players closest to him about the game situation. Simply put, a soccer captain's voice should be as sore as his body after a game.
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Step 3
Talk to the refs about fouls and keep your players from doing so. Soccer officials will be quick to give a card to a player mouthing off. It is the captain's job to step in and pull her player away regardless of whether or not the teammate was right to argue. It's also the captain's job to speak to officials, even if she wasn't directly involved in the play. Remember to speak with the refs in a polite and respectful manner, though, since you do not want to get a card.
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Step 4
Know your place out on the pitch. The captain of a soccer team is often not the best player on the team. Just because you're the captain doesn't mean that you should attempt to play a ball that could have easily been handled by a teammate. At the same time, a captain needs to know when he must carry his team on his shoulders. A true team captain must be able to read every game scenario possible and must also know what to do to help propel his team to better play out on the pitch.
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Step 5
Look and listen for the coach during the game. This is especially important during stoppages in play. The coach may notice something that needs to be altered or may want to change the team formation. As the captain, it's up to you to notice the coach and to make any adjustments he wishes to make. A captain should also greet any new players that enter the game. This is good for more than just moral as that player may have a message to deliver from the coach.
