코칭센터

Coaching Odyssey of the Mind teams is a fun and rewarding experience, although at first it may seem intimidating.  Below are a few tips that will help new or experienced coaches get started for the program year.

• Hold a parent meeting early in the season. During this parent meeting you should do the following:
• Ask parents of team members to list their scheduled commitments and then distribute a calendar. To avoid possible conflicts like vacations, holidays, parent-teacher conferences and the like, consult the school calendar of events before drafting your practice schedules. Include Odyssey of the Mind tournament dates.
• Explain the importance of attendance by pointing out that for a student to gain the full benefits from the program, he or she must be a continuous part of the team’s solution.
• Explain the Odyssey of the Mind philosophy.
• Describe the Odyssey of the Mind process.
• Enlist the parents’ assistance in providing snacks for practices, acting as chauffeurs, serving as judges, assisting at practices, providing an extra pair of hands and volunteering at regional competition.
• Get a commitment from the team members and their parents – include a review of what you expect from them. (Handouts: Expectations, Student & Parent Contracts)
• Explain and stress outside assistance. Help parents understand outside assistance. Like the coach, they can’t volunteer solutions.  Use them as information resources and for teaching students the skills necessary for the problem solution.
• Read the entire Odyssey of the Mind Program Guide. Even if you’ve read the guide before, read it again this year.  It’s revised every year, with rules updated, and new rules and information added.  Refer to it often throughout the year.  This could make a big difference for teams.
• Set basic rules and decide on a practice schedule. Stress the importance of attending meetings and practice sessions.  Set down rules for good sportsmanship and constructive criticism.
• Encourage cooperation. Teamwork is one of the basic principles of Odyssey of the Mind.  All teams go through growing pains, but members will learn to work together in time.  Everyone’s idea is important to the group.
• Be sure the team solves the problem on its own. A coach is to help team members develop creative problem-solving skills, not help solve the problem. Before giving any input, ask yourself if it would add to or improve the team’s solution (outside assistance), or if it would teach better problem-solving skills (good coaching).
• Learn about the Spontaneous portion of the program and practice it at every team meeting. Books of practice problems are available at odysseyofthemind.com/shop/.
• Stay up-to-date on problem clarifications. Check odysseyofthemind.com/clarifications/ on a regular basis.
• Suggest submitting a problem clarification if your team is unsure of an aspect of its solution. Be sure to re-read the program guide to avoid unnecessary questions.  Cut-off for submitting questions is February 15th.
• Copy and distribute materials to all team members.
• Set ground rules – it is better to have too much structure at first, as you can always ease up. It is decidedly more difficult to get stricter after your team becomes accustomed to more casual operating procedures.
• Brainstorming is one of the basics of the Odyssey of the Mind problem solving process. Before beginning work on the long-term solution, practice and review these rules for brainstorming with the team
• Odyssey of the Mind is not unlike an athletic team preparing for a big game because it is a team effort, the season is long and everyone must contribute consistently and continuously.  It is crucial for team members to attend every practice.  Coaches need to keep in mind that the Odyssey of the Mind is a hands-on program for kids and a hands-off for adults.  The team must do all the work.  If a breakdown occurs during a competition, the team must fix it.
• There is a time limit of 8 minutes for the long-term problem.  This includes the set-up time, as well as the team’s solution presentation.  The 8 minutes does NOT include the take down and clean-up time after the problem is presented.  In technical problems, (Problems 1, 2, and 4) the team will be stopped when time runs out.  In performance problems, (Problems 3 and 5) there is an overtime penalty.  In this case, the team may finish its presentation and if it exceeds 8 minutes a penalty will be assessed (5 points for each 10 seconds or fraction thereof).  When the entire solution is in the form of a performance, there is nothing worse than stopping the team’s performance before it is finished.  This does not allow for the “punch line” or climax of the story.  Since the time limit is 8 minutes, you should encourage the team to end in 7 ½ minutes or less. There have been outstanding teams that have taken the full time only to find that they had “show-stoppers.”  The audience applauded so loudly and so long that it forced the team to pause, which led to exceeding the time limit resulting in a penalty.
• Long-term technical problems are stopped at the end of the competition time period.  This is stated in the problem itself.  The coach should point this out to the team. If a technical breakdown occurs, the team should know which team member will be responsible for trying to fix it as time continues. The team must stop after 8 minutes have elapsed on technical problems because teams could easily exceed all reasonable time limits if a technical component does not work.
• Long-term problems may seem overwhelming at first. This should be expected by the coach and team.  A good way to handle this is to break down the problem into a series of smaller problems.  As a coach, you should be comfortable with the intent of the problem before the team looks at it.

A few reminders…

• Having a good attitude when you are with your team cannot be overemphasized. You will set the tone for the team’s approach to their problem…at least for the first few meetings.  Be positive!!!
• Food is a magical substance – it not only encourages teamwork and creative thinking, but makes work fun.
• When tired, take a break – sometimes the best solution to the problem is to take a break.
• A good coach will try to teach the team members to ask the right questions –not just any question, but one that will address a specific problem or condition that needs to be addressed.
• Coaches can improve the team’s performance by not allowing the team members to waste their creative energy by blaming others. The team creates its own solution and if something goes wrong, it is the team‘s responsibility.   Remember Murphy’s Law: “If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.”  The team should have a crisis management plan in place so it knows what to do when something breaks down.
• The coach should encourage shy members to participate. They often are the ones with the best ideas but are often reluctant to propose them.  Thousands of kids have emerged as stars while beginning overly quiet.  Sometimes getting shy kids to open up is the most difficult yet most rewarding experience a coach will encounter.
• Teams should be told that better ideas will normally replace ideas that come early in the year. What seems like an acceptable solution today may be replaced by a better idea tomorrow.  The coach must also accept that he or she may not directly tell the team which idea to pursue.  The team may change and adapt its solution time and again.  In the end, the team should have been guided to produce a solution of which they are proud.   A good coach will provide that guidance without providing Outside Assistance.
• Coaches should answer a question with a question rather than giving an answer. For example, if asked, “Which hat do you like better” the coach should say something like, “Which one do you think goes best with the theme of the solution?”  This encourages the team members to think independently.
• Keep the team on track – allow your team the time and luxury of fantasizing, but bring them back to reality. If the team members imagine a solution to the long-term problem, they can probably build it, but cost limits, size limits, time limits, etc. must be considered.
• Pay attention to details – have the team read and reread the problem and rules. Help them understand that the problem solutions will be judged according to the stated rules.
• Teach your students the creative problem-solving process and use it throughout the problem solution.
• Help them expand their minds, dig deeper, and come up with more creative ideas.
• Help them give and take constructive criticism of IDEAS but avoid insulting and insensitive personal remarks.
• Admit you don’t know everything and encourage your team to get “guidance” from others.
• Help them to learn how to evaluate their ideas and progress continually throughout each aspect of the problem solution.
• Go over the score results with the team after a competition to help it improve in the future
• Set a good example of adult behavior and by all means be a good role model for your team and others.
• Don’t step in on their disagreements. Let them work it out as part of learning to work as a team.
• Don’t limit creativity by setting restrictions that are too tight or which reflect your own vision.
• Don’t get disturbed when teams make mistakes along the way. This is part of the learning process.
• Don’t complain about other teams, coaches or judges.
• Don’t allow teams to prepare a problem solution which knowingly goes against the Spirit of the Problem or any of the limitations given in the problem itself. READ, READ AND REREAD THE PROBLEM AND THEN READ SOME MORE.
• The coach must be the rock, the motivator, the resolver of social conflicts.
• Don’t dispute a judge’s ruling without explaining why to the students. Always be sure your dispute is valid and the team wishes to carry it further.
• Keep time management as a coaching priority. Make teams stick to schedules; encourage them to estimate how long things will take.
• Learn to recognize burnout, and when to lighten up. Over the long season, morale and fun will be important.
• Make a commitment to the team. Ask your team members to make a commitment to each other.
• Remember that the difference between good solutions and excellent ones is in the details and embellishments.
• Practice spontaneous as much as you work on long-term and style.
• Teach contingency planning. Encourage your team to think about backup materials, tool kits, and how to recover from unexpected problems.
• Have the team set goals. Write them down and place them in clear view.  Coach them on what kinds of goals are helpful.
• Be ready to be psychologist, parent, doctor, lawyer, referee, friend, co-conspirator, or counselor as needed.
• Have a checklist for loading, staging, tasks, etc.
• Encourage team members to do some thinking outside of meetings – at home, for example – and write down their ideas.
• Try to have each team member initially generate several possible solutions (or partial solutions). Help the team to see how pieces from the different solutions can be combined.
• Have fun with the team members – help the team laugh when things go wrong. Help them develop an “Oh, well, back to the drawing board” attitude.   Keep them on task, but don’t chide them for failures.  Every failure means they learned a way it won’t work.
• Praise the team members – when the team members have done their best, no matter how they placed at the tournament. Tell them how proud you are of them.  Sometimes tears of defeat can turn into smiles just by knowing that you, someone who has become one of the most important people in their lives, think that they are great.  That’s what it’s all about anyway!
• Coaches should try to serve as role models for the team members. It is important that they remain optimistic and maintain their patience.  Henry Ford said that there are no failures, just opportunities. Coaches need to be enthusiastic and open-minded to suggestions.  Coaches should strive to make learning fun!
• Relax and enjoy seeing these young, creative minds at work!