Los Angeles Odyssey of the Mind
  Coach Checklist


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This is a detailed coach checklist.

While many of the documents on this site focus on the philosophy of Odyssey of the Mind, this list specifically focuses on the nuts and bolts of the operation. Please don't let those nuts and bolts become everything... but they are an important part of being successful.

Contents:

  1. Required Registrations and Fees
  2. Optional Orders
  3. Beginning of the Year
  4. First Few Meetings
  5. Mid Year
  6. As the Tournament Approaches
  7. If You Made it to State Tournament

Required Registrations and Fees

  • National Membership Registration
    • Do this over the summer or at the beginning of the year.
    • Register online here
  • State Membership Fees
    • You should receive an email from the state board giving you information about the state dues.
    • Pay these by December please.
  • Regional Tournament Registration
    • Register for the tournament in January and make sure to pay by the due date listed on our tournament page.
    • Register online here
  • Judges Registration
    • You must find a volunteer judge for each team you are sending to the tournament.
    • You have to include the judge name and email address in your tournament registration. (Above)
    • The judge must register on the national site. Instructions are available here.

Optional Orders

  • National Problem Pins
    • Order online from the national site.
  • Regional T-Shirts
    • Order by early January.
  • State T-Shirts and Pins
    • Order info given to teams advancing to state.

Beginning of the Year

  1. Talk with the school administration to let them know the program is happening. Obtain their support for the program.
  2. Find someone to coach.
  3. Advertise to the students. Possible suggestions include flyers and posters. Word of mouth is often highly effective.
  4. Meet with parents. Hold a mandatory meeting at the beginning of the season. Be sure to stress the outside assistance rules. (The simplest parent rule is: Parents may not discuss the problem solution with the team at all.)

First Few Meetings

  1. Talk about teamwork and do a few teamwork activities.
  2. Talk about outside assistance. Tell the team not to discuss the problem with their parents.
  3. Talk about budgeting and cost. Stress that nobody should buy anything without checking with their team members.
  4. Stress that attendance at all meetings is very important.
  5. Explain the rules of spontaneous and practice some.
  6. Talk about the problems they can choose. (Note: Some coaches withhold this step until they have held a couple of meetings, just to make sure the team won't change.)
  7. Teach creativity
    • Yes, it can be taught. Always encourage the team to think outside the box!

Mid Year

  1. Did you pay your state dues?
    • (You should receive an email form the state association. If not, ask us)
  2. Did you set a hard deadline for completion about one month before tournament?
    • Try to make this a demonstration to the student's peers... that adds an incentive to get done early and makes a huge difference.
  3. Make sure you're keeping up with the clarifications for your problem.

As the Tournament Approaches

  1. Make sure you have contact information for your volunteer judge. You'll need it to register for the tournament.
  2. Ask your team if they want to make a team team T-Shirt.
    • Have them design it.
  3. Register for the regional tournament.
    • Register in January
    • Register online here
  4. Ask your team if they want to order regional T-Shirts and Pins.
    • If so, be sure to get the pre-order in on time (Pre-ordering gives a significant savings.)
    • If you miss the pre-order, you can still get them the day of the tournament.
  5. Assign a parent to make sure lunch and snacks are available on tournament day.
  6. Hold a pre-tournament meeting with parents, or send them a letter. Be sure to discuss:
    • We have a sample letter online.
    • Outside assistance
    • Everyone is a winner
    • Arrival time (Early!) and departure time (Late - after awards ceremony)
    • Be sure to congratulate your kids (We mean real congratulations, not "It's okay honey")
  7. Go through the 20 questions list with your team.
  8. Assign a parent to plan a post-tournament celebration sometime the week after the tournament.

If you Made it to State Tournament

  1. Things you need to do right now (Immediately... within the next day!)
    1. Congratulate the team! (and the coach!)
    2. Either (a) make hotel reservations for the Friday night before the tournament and the Saturday night of the tournament or (b) have parents make reservations individually, but make sure they are made immediately!
  2. Things to do soon
    1. Plan how to ge the team and props to the tournament.
    2. Schedule practices between now and the tournament.
    3. Be sure to use those score sheets to improve your solution!
    4. Visit the state website at http://www.calomer.org
    5. Register your team via the "Member Area" at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com
    6. If you want to order pins, be sure to send them in by the deadline.