How to Start a Team

Coaches come from all walks of life. Although teams must have the support of the member school or organization (see the Membership Registration for a School or Organization section on the Register page), coaches do not have to be teachers. Frequently, a child’s involvement in the program will generate the interest of the parents. Often, parents will start the Odyssey of the Mind program in their child’s school and assume a coaching role as a way to get involved in their child’s education.
If you're a coach trying to put together a team, here's one path to getting started:

Generate interest. Become familiar with the year's long-term problems so you can present the ideas to the students. Ask teachers, school administrators and parent groups to identify creative students who might enjoy being on a team or might benefit from a hands-on approach to learning.
Form a team. Ultimately, the sponsoring school's or organization's administration controls each membership, but the coach is responsible for selecting the best students for the team under the guidelines set by the administration. It’s important to recognize that all students can benefit from participation in Odyssey of the Mind, and that performance in the classroom does not directly correlate with success in the program.
Meet the parents. Hold an initial meeting of team members and their parents. Most parents will support their child’s involvement in the program and want to help. It is important, however, that you let them know their limitations. Make clear the rules for outside assistance. Stress that their children will reap the full benefits of creative problem solving if they create their solution themselves. Parents need to understand what will be expected of them regarding money, time, transportation and so on. Inform the parents of competition dates well ahead of time so they can avoid schedule conflicts. Also, getting to know the parents is a way to learn about the skills, resources and facilities they have to offer. Parents may be willing to teach skills — such as carpentry, sewing and dancing — or supply general information on subjects such as engineering and scientific principles. They also are a good resource to serve as judges, scorekeepers or tournament assistants.
Make a schedule. After you’ve met with parents and discussed convenient times to meet, set a schedule of team meetings. You might want to meet one day during the week and on Saturday mornings for a couple of hours. As competition season draws near, you’ll probably want to increase the frequency of your practice sessions. If you can meet as a team only once a week, make this a planning session where all team members give input into the solution, then assign tasks to specific team members that they can work on at home. For example, one team member could write one skit scene and another member could write another. One could make a costume, another could build a prop, and still another could create music.
Read, read, read! Read the Program Guide, in addition to the problem limitations that pertain to your team's chosen problem. If you didn't receive a hard copy from your sponsoring school or organization but your sponsoring school or organization has provided your membership number, you can download these documents from the Member Area of the national Odyssey of the Mind site. Most questions you will have will be answered in these vital materials.
Train your team. Once you get the logistics in place, it’s time to start training your team. Because students work in teams, they’ll need to learn how to work cooperatively. They will solve problems using their creativity, so teach them how to think more creatively. Consult your Program Guide for team-building and creative-thinking techniques, and check out the information and resources in our Coach Zone.
Register the team. For details on how to register your team, see the Team Registration section on the Register page.