He does not sound like a very good captain!

A lot of people choose not to participate in sports because they’re afraid of being bad at it. I know I never signed up for any sports in middle or high school because it was drilled into my head that I’m not athletic, and I thought I would be a social pariah if I joined a sport I didn’t know the rules for. Despite what people say, Gen Z grew up in an ultra-competitive world. They were discouraged from participating in anything that they weren’t instantly great at, because their parents wanted them to be the best. When winning is everything, only the most determined teenagers will stick with an activity they aren’t naturally talented in, just because they like it! If you ask me, it’s much better to stick it out with something you’re not initially great at than to do something you’re naturally great at, but doesn’t challenge you in any way. You learn a lot more by improving than you do by being naturally gifted. 

The best way to improve yourself, whether it’s in a sport or an artistic pursuit, is to practice. You shouldn’t practice more than you can handle, but if you’re practicing running four days a week, you’re going to get a lot better at it than somebody who is only practicing once a week. It only makes sense for people who need to improve to practice more than people who are already good, but that doesn’t compute for the captain of this high school cross-country team. For some reason, he thought it was acceptable to host secret practices for the «fast» members of his team, while excluding the slow runners. He probably thought this because he’s a stupid teenager who doesn’t know any better, but his coach told him it wasn’t okay.