Starting up a team

[Valerie Huang]

Hi, could anyone give me advice for starting up a team? I'm wondering how the teams for each event work and really any advice in general would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

[Dimar Family]

I would say don't think too much about it and just dive in! You'll learn as you go. Best of luck!

[Kelly Bell]

I agree - don't overthink it.  Dive in.   See if your state director can put you in touch with an experienced coach that can perhaps talk you through the first few weeks and help you understand how your state does tournaments:  Does your state follow the national tournament block schedule?   Any trial events added or events your state doesn't run?  Is there a discounted registration fee for new teams or smaller teams?  Having a local mentor will give you someone to ask questions to.   OK, you've got your rag-tag bunch of kids.  If you have 15 or fewer students and 5 or fewer or them are 9th grade (or 7 or fewer are 12th grade if high school), you've got your team (if you've got more than this, you can register more than one team for your school or have a few of the younger kids be alternates).  

Call a meeting after school, with parents in attendance if possible.   Explain what SO is and how a team of 15 or fewer students compete in 23 events at a tournament.  Give parents schedules, emphasizing that these date(s) are required.    Introduce the events to the students and have them rank them somehow (perhaps indicate their top 5 favorites and indicate up to 3 that they simply don't like at all).  You can also ask if the kids or parents have any special equipment or knowledge (a workshop, a parent with chemistry background, a balsa forest, etc) and if they have any one on the team they really want to work with (privately, parents can indicate if there are any partnerships that should be avoided).  Take this information home and attempt to give each student 2 events, with one being from their Top Five and none from their Hated Three.   It's OK to give a student an event alone (except Write It Do It) but part of the fun and challenge of SO is working with others - so aim to give each student at least one event with a partner.   Create a bulletin board or online document with openings, organized by whatever block structure your state uses (so that one student doesn't get assigned to two or more events that are only tested during the same competition hour).  As the year progresses, students can sign up for open events or to pair with a buddy on an event with an open slot.

Make sure everyone has access to the official rules and ask here if something is hard to understand and a veteran will answer.   

Check in with kids to make sure they are making some progress.

Google is your best friend: scioly has forums and wikis while soinc has rule clarifications and changes as well as some resources.

A good goal for the first year is ... survival.  Be sure to celebrate when the season is over.  Of course, you'll celebrate any medals or trophies or making it to state, if that happens, but just hanging in there is a huge accomplishment.   

Many of the kids will "get the bug" and want to sign up for the second year!  And they'll bring their smart friends.

Good luck to you.  HAVE FUN.