Coaches

In Odyssey of the Mind the coach plays a limited, but important, role. Each Odyssey of the Mind team must have at least one adult, 18 years of age or older, registered as its head coach. Having a co-coach will lessen the demands assumed by one person.

If you want to coach a team, please send an email to: orendaodyssey@gmail.com. If your child is participating in Odyssey of the Mind, he/she will be placed on your team.

Who Can Coach?

Anyone! Coaches come from all professions and from all walks of life. Coaches or Co-Coaches can be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, or even high school or college students. Our goal is to place every child who is interested in participating, however we are limited by the number of available coaches.

Role of the Coach

Coaches must remember that Odyssey of the Mind is a “hands-on” activity for students and “hands-off ” for adults. It’s important that teams create their solutions without the help of others. There is value in letting teams succeed and fail on their own merits, especially when achievement is rated on effort, as much as on results. You, the coach, will offer guidance and encouragement, and teach team members how to explore possibilities, listen to others, learn from failures, and evaluate solutions effectively. However, you are not to give the team ideas or solve the problem for it. You will be amazed at what students can do on their own and, in the end, you’ll be proud they did it themselves. And the students will amaze themselves and build self-esteem from knowing they did it on their own.

As the coach you will provide supervision and handle logistics such as scheduling meetings, making sure paperwork is done properly, getting the team to competition, teaching them how to solve differences, and so on. You’ll want to make sure the team understands the limitations of its long-term problem and oversee brainstorming and spontaneous practice sessions. When team members get an idea, you can make sure they obtain the skills required to carry out that idea. You’ll provide moral support. And . . . if something goes wrong, the team might need to rely on your guidance to help them make things right without actually fixing the problem for them. Be sure to read and re-read the problem and clarifications. Make sure the team reads them as well and recognizes what is being scored.

Training

Capital Region BOCES has made several materials available to guide you through the coaching process. The Odyssey of the Mind website also provides valuable information.

Fees

The fee for one child per coach or co-coach will be waived!

Commitment

Coaches and Co-Coaches must be available to attend the practices (based on the schedule you arrange with the team). All Primary and Division 1 Coaches MUST be available to attend the Regional Competition on March 5, 2022. Division 1 team Coaches should also be able to attend the NYS Odyssey Tournament on March 26, 2022, in the event your team advances.