2020 National Tournament: North Carolina State University

[EastStroudsburg13]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Just want to point out that while strong coaches do not necessarily equate to a strong team, the fact that your example references a "water quality coach" indicates that you have a top 1% coaching staff. The spectrum of coaching involvement is wide, and most nationals-quality teams have very involved coaches. Contrast that to the majority of teams that don't make states and have only one coach, two if they're lucky.

[EwwPhysics]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Just want to point out that while strong coaches do not necessarily equate to a strong team, the fact that your example references a "water quality coach" indicates that you have a top 1% coaching staff. The spectrum of coaching involvement is wide, and most nationals-quality teams have very involved coaches. Contrast that to the majority of teams that don't make states and have only one coach, two if they're lucky.

We have 4 coaches and only 1 is a science teacher... (though one is a Tech Ed teacher which is obviously good for builds). I agree that most of the better teams probably have a lot of really involved coaches, maybe even one for every event, but this isn’t the case for all of them! Coaches are part of the equation, but the biggest factor is definitely student motivation.

[EastStroudsburg13]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Just want to point out that while strong coaches do not necessarily equate to a strong team, the fact that your example references a "water quality coach" indicates that you have a top 1% coaching staff. The spectrum of coaching involvement is wide, and most nationals-quality teams have very involved coaches. Contrast that to the majority of teams that don't make states and have only one coach, two if they're lucky.

We have 4 coaches and only 1 is a science teacher... (though one is a Tech Ed teacher which is obviously good for builds). I agree that most of the better teams probably have a lot of really involved coaches, maybe even one for every event, but this isn’t the case for all of them! Coaches are part of the equation, but the biggest factor is definitely student motivation.

I think you misunderstood me. Even 4 coaches is more than average. Student motivation is absolutely a factor, especially if the difference is between "doing well" and "excelling", but I think many of you underestimate how important coaches are. Often they can be the difference between even having a program in the first place or not.

And the whole "science teacher" bit is overblown, one does not need to teach science to be a good Science Olympiad coach. There are many good examples of good coaches who teach other subjects (and not-so-good coaches that teach science).

[Name]

My middle school only has one coach, and our HS only has one real coach (with a couple other teachers willing to stay afterschool with us). The middle school coach kinda guides you through the event, while in HS your kinda on your own to learn your events.

Especially in middle school, I feel like a good coach is especially important to doing well. While motivated kids is obviously also important, they only bring in short term success at best, and a good coach is essential for long term success. I've seen middle school teams do very well for a couple of seasons because of very motivated individuals, and then sorta crash after they leave, while middle schools with good coaches tend to have prolonged success.

A good HS coach is probably slightly less important. Usually HS teams are more captain ran anyways, and its probably up to them moreso then the coach to get the team to do well. As long as the coach has a good system set up, it should be fine, in which case the motivation and dedication of the students are probably a significantly bigger factor in doing well.

[MadCow2357]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Can't comment on the content of what you're actually saying, but I'm confused, are you a coach or competitor?

[twig]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Can't comment on the content of what you're actually saying, but I'm confused, are you a coach or competitor?

I'm both a coach and a competitor, I coach Meteo occasionally and compete for it. Rip I have to coach again next year as a freshman sigh

[SilverBreeze]

In my honest opinion, coaches are not what makes the team strong itself...
It's about the motivation and dedication that the students have to do the events. My team as well doesn't have tryouts and we only get one day a week (Saturday) because most of the coaches are busy with the real world. This year has been one of our strongest years...except for that one year that we got an overall score of 32 at regionals[(don't know if he was lying) For example, our water quality coach is actually an ecologist and he does this for a living. We let anyone in because they want the learning experience even if they don't get an opportunity to compete or if their parents force them in. I joined Scioly because of pure interest, but I didn't know what it would take to win. Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this. "If you really want to make A team or go to states with all of us, you'll need to work hard in order to get there. I can always help you along the way... but you're on your own." I also tell them to stop nagging me as well...
I might even become captain next year because of what I have done to help the team and my bonds with almost everyone except a couple of them, that's nice to know

Yes, it's super unfair to the partner who is consistently working really hard on scioly, while the other partner is doing who knows what... Exactly my situation this year. That's why I've was telling my partners to work harder because I'm was sick of carrying them at almost every single comp. Now, I guess I'll have to solo everything, and that's totally fine with me.

Can't comment on the content of what you're actually saying, but I'm confused, are you a coach or competitor?

A lot of teams have students that are either currently competing in those events or used to compete in them coach newer/younger students so the team can be strong after they leave. It's a great way to learn and leave a lasting impact on the team when it's voluntary... But when you're threatened with being replaced by the students you're coaching if you choose not to teach them, and they don't really want to learn... well... I will leave it at I am glad my house has not burned down after Crime Busters flame tests. Also no one lost an eye to HCl. Yay!

[MadCow2357]

Now I'm a coach... who knew that I would be one haha. Even as a coach, I would have to say that my students are way too reliant on me, and I keep telling them this.

Can't comment on the content of what you're actually saying, but I'm confused, are you a coach or competitor?

I'm both a coach and a competitor, I coach Meteo occasionally and compete for it. Rip I have to coach again next year as a freshman sigh

Understood lol - the word "coach" threw me off because that usually implies to me an adult who is involved with the administrative duties of a team. How beneficial is student coaching/mentoring to your team, just curious? (I was on a smaller team so we never had this type of system in place rip)

But when you're threatened with being replaced by the students you're coaching if you choose not to teach them, and they don't really want to learn... well... I will leave it at I am glad my house has not burned down after Crime Busters flame tests. Also no one lost an eye to HCl. Yay!

Seems a bit extreme - plus, why would your coaches replace someone who has actually done the event with someone who hasn't even been taught?

[SilverBreeze]

But when you're threatened with being replaced by the students you're coaching if you choose not to teach them, and they don't really want to learn... well... I will leave it at I am glad my house has not burned down after Crime Busters flame tests. Also no one lost an eye to HCl. Yay!

Seems a bit extreme - plus, why would your coaches replace someone who has actually done the event with someone who hasn't even been taught?

Would you rather have an experienced student who has never done chem events before do it for one year before they graduate or bring in a new team of sixth and seventh graders, if neither of them have done those specific events before?
I was also confused by the logic of encouraging four students to build two builds together for the sake of teamwork if invitational performance determines who makes the Regionals teams... That being said, we had more coach support and involvement than most teams, and we did get a say in which events we were put on.

Sorry if my wording was excessive, I just found middle school frustrating, even though I enjoyed SciOly as a whole.

[SilverBreeze]

How beneficial is student coaching/mentoring to your team, just curious? (I was on a smaller team so we never had this type of system in place rip)

Other people can provide more information on this than I can, but from my limited experience, it definitely helps but isn't a huge improvement over the student studying on their own. If they do not want to learn, they will not listen to you, but if they do want to learn, they would have found the information themselves. I think this applies less for builds and labs, where online information on builds is not plentiful(or I just didn't look hard enough), and it can be helpful to have someone show you how to run a lab versus watching a video and trying to figure out an optimal strategy by trial and error. It also helps students that are in-between, where they are open to learning but lack the dedication to research on their own.
It mostly provides motivation, I think, to have someone track your progress and nag you if you're slacking off.