The 2023-24 hockey season hasn’t even started and Air Force already has pulled off an impressive sweep.

Senior co-captain Luke Robinson’s selection as the Academy’s male Captain of Captains means the hockey program has had that honor in both school years of its existence. Fellow co-captain Luke Rowe was the first male Captain of Captains during the 2022-23 school year.

“When you think about all of the wonderful young leaders at the Academy, that’s pretty cool to have them come from the hockey program two consecutive years,” coach Frank Serratore said.

What is Captain of Captains?

The Captain of Captains program is a key component and enabler of the Team Captain Enhancement Program (TCEP). That is the athletic department’s signature cadet-athlete leadership program for team captains across the Academy’s 28 varsity sports.

“The Captain of Captains leads the monthly TCEP meetings and handles the agenda for those,” Rowe said. “It’s a liaison between Athletics and the Cadet Wing. If there is a discrepancy in policy and athletes aren’t able to make it down to an athletic event because something’s going on on the Hill, the Captain of Captains will be that mediator to try to make sure athletes are taking care of their athletic responsibilities and their cadet responsibilities.”

Air Force wrestling coach Sam Barber is a coaching representative on the leadership team and a founding member of the program.

“It’s 100 percent athletics specific, and the idea is to teach transferrable skills that the athletes can use in their military careers,” Barber said. “Overall, it’s a pretty impressive group. Every single captain is impressive. It’s crazy to think about having 4,000 of these types of individuals at the Academy and this group rose to the top.”

Hockey Program Is Leadership Breeding Ground

Barber said the hockey program is a logical spot to find elite leaders for a couple of reasons.

“You expect this with hockey at Air Force because it’s built into how their coaches try to recruit,” he said. “And both players came from junior hockey, so they were two years older than most athletes in their class. Both players are very mature. Coach Serratore has a great culture in his program, and these two have bought into that.

“They’re mission-first, values-first guys, and they embody all the attributes of leadership.”

Rowe was ecstatic that his teammate was voted the honor this year.

“It’s a huge honor,” he said. “The fact that Luke Robinson is now the Captain of Captains, it’s awesome to see him grow and develop sas a leader. We’ve seen it on the team with him going from assistant captain to co-captain. He’s such a stud, and he deserves it.”

>>READ: Rowe Makes Most of Difficult Situation

Rowe Led Way for Robinson

Robinson said he has a built-in advantage in that he has been teammates with Rowe, a three-time Falcons captain, for all four of his NCAA seasons.

“I’ll give credit to Luke Rowe,” Robinson said. “He’s been a fantastic mentor. He helped me with the process and encouraged me to go for the position. He helped me with the speech that I gave to the other captains.

“Once you’re elected by the other captains, the selection has to be solidified by the vice director of athletics. It’s a really cool opportunity, and I’m looking forward to making some positive, meaningful changes for cadet-athletes. That’s the main goal.”

Now the hockey program has two formally recognized leaders of leaders in the locker room.

“What does that tell you about the level of person and leader we have times two?” Serratore said. “We’ve had some great leaders during my time here — Max Hartner, Dylan Abood, Paul Weisgarber, Jacques Lamoureux. I don’t ever remember having two of that caliber at the same time.”

©First Line Editorial 2023