“The insights in this book are tremendous.”
BOB MYERS, GENERAL MANAGER
The Golden State Warriors
“The Captain Class is an awesome book. I find myself relating a lot to its portrayal of the out-of the-norm leader.”
CARLI LLOYD, CAPTAIN
U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
“The Captain Class really resonated with me. It will absolutely be part of my thought process as we continue to build our roster. Several of our players, coaches, and other executives are reading it too.”
RYAN PACE, GENERAL MANAGER,
Chicago Bears
“I’ve been involved with an undefeated high school team, an undefeated college team, and coached in two Super Bowls and the Captain Class made me think back to those teams. The captains were indeed characters with a bit of uniqueness and a certain grittiness. I realized after reading the book how little we really know about the characteristics of a great captain.”
PAT RUEL, OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
Seattle Seahawks
“The Captain Class is a great read. Sam Walker used data and a systems approach to reach some original and unconventional conclusions about the kinds of leaders that foster enduring success. Most business and leadership books lapse into cliches. This one was fresh.”
JEFF IMMELT, CHAIRMAN & FORMER CEO
General Electric
“Well-researched, wildly entertaining, and thought-provoking. In The Captain Class, Sam Walker presents compelling narratives about the secret ingredient to the greatest teams of all time – and quickly has the reader reexamining long-held beliefs about leadership and the glue that binds winning teams together.”
– THEO EPSTEIN
President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs
“The Captain Class is the best book I’ve read this year. A player’s raw athletic ability and their fitness for leadership are distinct and separate things.”
MIKE DUNLAP, HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
Loyola Marymount University
“‘Wonderfully strange and absorbing.’ The Captain Class is ‘informative, persuasive and great fun for anyone not only with a passing interest in sport but in mankind…. If it prompts coaches at all grades not to pick the star, self-appointed or otherwise, as automatic captain then it will also serve a valuable social purpose.'”
– DEREK FALVEY, CHIEF BASEBALL OFFICER
Minnesota Twins
“I couldn’t agree more with the premise of The Captain Class. Like the greatest athletic teams, every elite team and fighting unit I’ve seen in the military that has displayed consistent excellence over time has a leader like Sam Walker describes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the book develops a wide following throughout the military. I often refer to these character traits during developmental sessions with my officers.”
JASON ARMAGOST, U.S. AIR FORCE BRIGADIER GENERAL
Commander of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
“The most fabulous book on freakish sporting success and leadership traits commonly shared across the greatest teams of all time. I thoroughly recommend it.”
RICH BUCHANAN, PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR
Swansea City Football Club (English Premier League)
“In The Captain Class, Sam Walker gives us important and original insights into the mysterious ingredients of transformative leadership. A stunning mix of research and narrative.”
SUSAN CAIN
Author of the #1 bestseller Quiet and Bittersweet
“Over the years, many books have promised to reveal the secret of building successful teams. But now Sam Walker has actually gone and done it. He’s given us an idea-driven, myth-busting gem of a book that is insightful, useful and hellaciously fun to read. If you care about leadership, talent development, or the art of competition, you need to read this immediately.”
DAN COYLE
New York Times bestselling author of The Talent Code
“The Captain Class is a brilliant hybrid: one part detective story and one part leadership book, set in the world of sports, and dedicated to a fascinating mystery: What sets apart the greatest teams of all time? I’m not even a sports nut and I couldn’t put it down.”
DAN HEATH
Co-author of the New York Times bestsellers Made to Stick, Switch, and Upstream
“Sam Walker has unlocked one of sports’ greatest mysteries: the secret to the success of 16 team dynasties. On nearly every page, you’ll be shaking your head at another revelation about how a team’s dominance is hard-wired to the team captain’s leadership. The Captain Class is one of the most surprising, best-written—and fun—sports books published in recent years.”
DON VAN NATTA, JR.
ESPN investigative reporter, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author
“This the one book every single coach at every single level must read. They say a genius is someone who sees what everyone else sees, but thinks what no one else thinks. SAM WALKER IS A GENIUS! He has identified something that was in plain sight, but no one else noticed. As long as I teach, this book will be required reading in my sport psychology classes. Thank you, Sam, you did a mountain of research for the rest of us. ”
ROB GILBERT
Montclair State University
“Every so often, I come across a non-fiction book that is so well written that it becomes as impossible to put down as a first-rate spy thriller. The Captain Class meets that rare standard. Many of today’s teams are discarding captaincy as a purposeless relic and putting all of their resources into attracting star players and high-profile coaches. If more owners and general managers read this book, it may cause them to pay attention to this special class of overlooked leader. All in all, a terrific read, chock full of important leadership lessons for any organization that strives to be the best.”
KEVIN JOSEPH
author of The Champion Maker