A team with only one senior and two junior starters is not supposed to exude confidence and strong leadership, but such is the case for the Virginia women's basketball team. Not only that, head coach Debbie Ryan has called this one of the best-led teams she has ever coached.
The leadership employed by the Cavaliers is different than the traditional style of leadership found on most teams. Typically, the seniors and juniors lead and everyone else falls in line. Virginia is in a unique situation, however, because of the lack of a veteran presence. As a result, each upperclassman has taken it upon herself to be a leader, creating a terrific level of commitment and cohesiveness in the locker room.
"You can see that they play hard all the time," Ryan said. "They've learned a lot about leadership in the past year, so I think that one of the things that's been great is that they've developed into good leaders over time."
Tri-captains Tiffany Sardin, Siedah Williams and Sharnee Zoll will be counted on to be the primary leaders of the team.
For Sardin, a native of Chicago, Ill., this will mark her third year as a captain of the team. Now in her final year, she is very aware of how important consistent leadership will be as the team develops throughout the year.
"We've got to be the ones that set the tone and make sure we're being great leaders out there for the young kids," Sardin said. "What we do, they're going to do, so we want to set a good example and go out and show that you've got to play hard for 40 minutes."
In all, the Cavaliers' roster is comprised of one senior, three juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. One of the most interesting players is sophomore Zoll. As the team's point guard, she is in a position of natural leadership, much like a quarterback in football. As she goes, so will the team, and Ryan is counting on the former high school All-American to emerge as a leader.
"She's got to set the tone both offensively and defensively," Ryan said. "It's her job to direct and get people in the right places. She's got to show an awful lot of leadership. There's a lot of different things that come with being a leader, but she seems to be up to the task."
With so many freshmen figuring to gain significant playing time early in the season, Zoll will be counted on to help reduce the effects of the inevitable growing pains the underclassmen likely will experience.
Williams was also quick to emphasize, though, how unified the team is. The weight of controlling the tone and play of the team will not fall on the shoulders of any one player.
"Our leadership is basically all the upperclassmen," Williams said. "We're basically trying to break in all the first years and kind of show them the ropes and pretty much get them on the same page as we are."
Williams also is upbeat that the team will come together as a unit quickly and will use the youth on the team as a launching point rather than a stumbling block.
"Because we're so young, we're so close," Williams said. "We're close in age, close together in terms of friendship. [The] chemistry on our team is excellent this year."
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