Tips for Coaches
What's a coach to do? If you have reviewed your membership materials
and are wondering, What do I do next, here are some tips. Keep in
mind that everyone involved should have fun.
Create a practice schedule and set basic rules.
Stress the importance of attending meetings and practice sessions.
Set down rules for good sportsmanship and constructive criticism.
(Remember: There's no such thing as a bad idea)
Encourage team members to work cooperatively.
Teamwork is on the basic principles of Odyssey of the Mind. Al teams
go through growing pains, but members will learn to work together
as time goes on.
Do not help the team solve the problem. The coach's
role is to help team members develop problem-solving skills, not
to help solve the problem. Before adding your input, ask yourself
if it would create or improve an aspect of the team's solution (outside
assistance), or if it would enhance the team members' creative problem-solving
abilities (good coaching).
Learn about the spontaneous competition and present practice
spontaneous activities regularly. Books of practice problems
are available from Creative Competitions Inc.
Read the Odyssey
of the Mind Program Guide and stay up-to-date with problem
clarifications. Refer to the guide often and check
clarifications on a regular basis. Be aware of the clarification
cut-off date for your regional tournament. If you don't know the
date you should consult your materials or contact your local coordinator
or regional director.
If an aspect of your team's solution seems questionable,
it is not outside assistance to suggest submitting a problem clarification.
The cutoff for submitting questions is March 1, 2002.
Arrange a performance for the student body and faculty.
Let the school see what your team has learned through Odyssey of
the Mind. This is also good rehearsal for teams before they go to
official competition, and it helps them feel comfortable performing
before an audience.
Provide copies of the Odyssey
of the Mind Program Guide to all your judges and the problem
description to you long term judge(s). Encourage your judges
to study the materials prior to Judges' Training. Doing so will
enhance the training and help them to be better judges.
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Learning to Coach
The Coaches'
Handbook, a comprehensive guide for coaches, new and veterans.
Provided by Virgina Odyssey of the Mind.
Your Judges
We recommend that each team recruit more than one long-term judge.
Each coach should give copies of the following to each of their
team's judges well before Judges Training. These materials were
provided to all school Coordinators who should forward them to all
coaches in their membership.
Ensure that your judges study the problem and program guide and
bring them to Judges Training. Doing so will enhance their training
and help them to be better judges.
Tournament Guidelines
Please review the Tournament
Guidelines. Odyssey of the Mind is about kids having fun and
exercising their creativity, but please help your team to conduct
themselves appropriately during tournaments.
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The most important thing for a coach to remember is that
Odyssey of the Mind is an activity for students. Teams must
succeed and fail on their own merits, and achievement is rated
on effort, not necessarily on results. The role of a coach
is to offer guidance and encouragement to team members. Coaches
are to teach team members how to open their minds to new ideas,
how to accept the suggestions of others, and how to evaluate
potential solutions. They are not to give the team ideas or
tell how to solve a problem. Responsibilities of a coach usually
include recruiting, selecting and training team members. Other
responsibilities include:
explaining the long-term problem to the team,
supervising all practice sessions,
conducting brainstorming sessions for long-term and spontaneous
problems,
holding and evaluating spontaneous problem practice sessions,
helping the team obtain the materials and knowledge necessary
to solve the long-term problem,
contacting your local Odyssey of the Mind organization for
information,
registering the team for competitions,
accompanying the team to competitions, and
representing the team if a problem occurs.
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