Thank you for stepping up to bring this enriching educational program to your community! We’re here to support you—feel free to reach out if you need any assistance. Don’t forget to sign up for our Coach Trainings throughout the season, where you’ll have the chance to meet our region’s expert coaches in sessions designed for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. You’ll also find plenty of helpful resources on this site, as well as on the State and International pages. Explore the site, and let’s get started!
The Top 10 Things To Know As A Coach
- Coach Training is offered throughout the Region. The session is Saturday, November 2, 2024. All coaches are encouraged to attend. You will learn so much! See the details.
- The Odyssey Program Guide is critical in getting your Odyssey of the Mind experience off to a great start. It includes tips on how to start a team and what to do at meetings. It defines commonly used terms in the problems and details how to fill out a cost form. It discusses the types of Spontaneous and gives sample problems. You will miss a lot if you don't know what's in the Program Guide. It can be viewed digitally. Hard copies can no longer be purchased.
- Public Clarifications are statements published by the International Problem Captains (IPC) that lend further clarity to a portion of a problem. Teams can not fully solve their problem without understanding all the clarifications for their problem. Please be sure to regularly view the latest Public Clarifications. You need to know them, and they can be updated throughout the season up to World Finals!
- Teams can also ask the International PCs to clarify the problem for them. There is a clarification submission process. Any clarifications submitted about team specific solutions to the problem will not be distributed publicly. The deadline to submit a clarification is February 15.
- Review the Coaches Checklist for critical information regarding judges, registering the team for the regional tournament, and child abuse clearance requirements. There is a link to the checklist at the top of this page.
- Coaches (or coordinators) are responsible for registering the Team, the Judges, and the Volunteers. Be familiar with the Judge Guidelines for your Regional and State PA Tournaments so your team is in compliance. Non-compliant teams risk getting a penalty against their scores.
- There are a lot of resources for coaches on this website as well as many others.
- Competition Forms (Style, cost, team required list, outside assistance, etc.) are available from the international website in the downloads bar in the Members Area.
- If a team advances to State Finals, coaches are encouraged to attend the Advancers Meeting after the Regional Competition. It will be held via Zoom the following day. You will receive important info about States.
- Coaching a team is exciting, exhilarating, and nerve-wracking. You will laugh, you will cry, you will GROW! Enjoy the ODYSSEY!