Loyalsock Township School District

Do’s

• Be prepared and look for opportunities to improve.
• Practice with different materials. Learn how to optimize their use: i.e. cutting paper, using tape….
• Get to know your teammates’ strengths. Assign the verbal and the hands-on groups ahead of time.
• Show teamwork:
  • Encourage one another
  • Be positive
  • Show humor
  • Designate a problem reader
  • Designate a time keeper
• Listen to the problem. Do not start solving until you know the entire problem.
• Read over the problems: a copy will be provided for you. Focus on what they are asking you. Assign a team member as the problem “expert”.
• Have one team member with a watch. If allowed, give countdown.
• Understand the grading of the responses. Build a strategy that will give you the most points.
• Speak loudly and clearly
• For verbal problems: have a backup answer so if someone takes your answer you can fall back on that for example mine is movies and books.
• Keep a couple answers on your fingers count them literally on your fingers and use them as you go.
• Do use adverbs, adjectives and proper names, accents, acting and singing in verbal responses
• For hands-on problems: do think of strong shapes when building structures—triangles pipes
• During competition: make eye contact with the judges as you walk through the door and introduce yourself (it tells them you are not afraid). If you give a handshake, make it firm.

Don’ts

• Be late.
• Be absent-minded or sleepy.
• Be unprepared.
• Assume that you know it all.
• Yell at your team; it doesn’t show good teamwork (never, never, never).
• Use inappropriate language or make weird noises.
• Argue with the judges, no matter what they say.
• Ask questions just for the sake of asking.
• Talk if it says no talking/communication.
• Spend too much time planning and not enough time left for testing after building
• Rely on inspiration to come to you on verbal
• Mumble, if they can’t hear you, your response may not be counted or you may have to repeat it.

Do’s

• Expect the unexpected (in Omnia Paratus)
• Adapt, improve and overcome
• Create your own list and review it frequently of “Strategies for Success in Spontaneous”
• Go over all the important points to remember during spontaneous, make sure you repeat them A LOT!
• Review the strategies you have thought of every time you practice spontaneous, that way they know what to do when it comes down to competition time.
• Encourage the team to get everyone involved.
• If your team has difficulty with a problem, ask if they want to try to do better.
• When practicing, use “Repeat”, “Inappropriate”, “Give another answer”, even if the answer is not, just to get the team used to hearing these terms.
• Be ready on parent’s exhibition with long term solution as if judges were scoring.
• Ask questions, that keeps kids awake.
• Let kids vote who is on spontaneous.
• Have Fun!

Don’ts

• Wait till last minute to start practicing spontaneous it is just as important as long term (remember that).
• Determine spontaneous leader.
• Mumble directions
• Expect instant results

• Have your spontaneous teams pre-established so that you don’t need to fuss over who will do a problem. If a team member does not wish to participate in spontaneous, let that member tell you, and that is acceptable.
• Separate your team into teams of verbal and hands-on, have your team choose who they think would be best for the job. How to:
  • Team does hidden vote for everyone
  • Team members identify their own strength
• Use all seven members for all problems until selection is made (optionally in January).
• When selections made, use the selected five team members for practice and let the two remaining judge. Occasionally, let another team member be the alternate.
• Understand grading.
• Do go over spontaneous problems before the competition. This helps get your team in a creative mindset.
• Support each other.

Coaches

• Teach the kids to speak loudly and clearly
• Have the team practice as often as possible

Teams

• Always work together.
• Focus on point values.
• Use time wisely.
• Plan before you attack a problem.
• Discuss with each other all your ideas and be kind. Listen to each other because you are judged on how well you cooperate with each other.
• Have a team member keep track of the points and where you will get the most points.
• Try to think out of the physical and beyond what you can see and touch.
• Use famous things and people as a reference for verbal problems.
• Have back up areas/ideas in case you can’t think of anything. These should be things that you know a lot about such as Broadway, soccer, or Marine Biology.