ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan water polo head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi announced that the team’s three seniors — Delaney Cleveland, Kim Johnson and Julia Sellers — will serve as team captains for the 2019 season.
The three seniors join a prestigious group of Wolverines to lead the program over the last 18 years. All three bring different leadership styles to the team and are excited about this season.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Sellers. “The really cool thing about us is we have such different roles that really help us balance out everything from someone who’s going to step up in the water, someone who’s going to step up in a social situation, and someone who people feel like they can come to. I think it’s going to make for a great year, and we have a great team behind us.”
The senior class has been a part of three straight Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championships and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) appearances and has had some excellent captains before them to learn from.
“I definitely have used previous captains to guide me on how to go about being a captain and go about leading everybody,” said Cleveland. “I have tried to be more vocal, communicating more with the young girls on the team and not just sticking to my class and even the class under me. I’ve dedicated myself and I care about this team more than anything, so it’s nice that I can feel like I can lead the team and set a good example for everybody.”
Just as they have learned from those before them, the seniors have also been learning leadership from programming presented to them both in athletics and at the University of Michigan.
“We do a lot of Strengths Finder work with our leadership development staff,” said Sellers. “It has helped us understand what type of person each individual is, and I’ve just started really paying attention to that. Understanding who’s a little introverted, who’s a little more extroverted, has really helped in and out of the water.”
Johnson learned from her older sister, Danielle, who was a U-M captain on the 2017 team. Kim is excited to apply what she learned not only from her sister but also what being in the Ross School of Business has taught her about leadership.
“It has been a process for sure,” said Johnson. “With what I have learned about leadership and different leadership styles in my major and everything that I’ve learned in the water polo setting from the previous captains, I can hopefully bring it all together to be the best leader I can be.”
The announcement comes one week before the team faces its first test this season with the annual Collegiate Cup exhibition tournament Nov. 10-11 in Irvine, California. The Wolverines will face the New York Athletic Club and Hawaii to start the tournament.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
