Coaches
Coaches and parents of middle school and high school quiz bowl teams are invited to participate in the Texas Quiz Bowl Camp. Coaches’ activities are facilitated by members of the Texas Quiz Bowl Camp including Adam Escandell, Jason Flowers, and Chris Romero each of whom is associated with national championship teams.
Some of the activities that the coaches will participate in are described below:
Take Special Coach’s Courses
Coaches can participate in sections for quiz bowl statistics and learning theory. Each course will provide subtle and deep coaching insights that are immensely helping to developing teams.
Participate in a daily coach’s roundtable
After all you have seen, you will need to debrief too. Jason and Adam will again be with you to discuss what you have seen. Other pertinent quiz bowl coaching topics (e.g., fundraising, player recruiting, question resources) can also be discussed. Bring your questions.
Observe Student Courses
Each day each student will take two courses on subjects like Biology, Military History, and Poetry. These courses are designed to teach students how to learn for quiz bowl. We encourage coaches to observe a course or two and take notes on what you observe with our students and instructors. We also encourage you to put yourself in the students’ schools. Dive into your courses material and see if you can practice learning the way they are learning.
Practice with other coaches
It is one thing to watch quiz bowl matches and encourage students to stay positive or focus in tight contests. It is another to facilitate a quality and efficient practice. Our staffers will model good practice techniques for coaches by asking you to be players for a hour each day. There will be no students in the room, just adults practicing to be good coaches.
Monitor a small group
Each day our students will break up in groups of 8-12 to debrief with their counselors. We will assign each coach to a small group. You will see the inner workings of our camp and be a part of a small presentations (on quiz bowl strategy and theory) to the groups by our most accomplished player-staffers.
Observe practice with advanced students
One period each day some of the best high school players in the nation will come together to practice. You are invited to watch and see how some of the best practice. We ask that you not interrupt practice to ask questions, but if you want to ask the players questions later (e.g., what clue were you buzzing on, why did you do it that way), you are welcome to do so during break times.
Monitor Tournament Games
Each night students will be assigned to team to play in 5-round mini tournaments. You are encouraged to watch games and take notes on what you see. In particular, you will want to try to spot small mistakes that the students are making. If your team were to make similar mistakes, how could you encourage them to improve?
