I am coaching a Science Olympiad event with 3 kids including my daughter. Our head coach does things differently. Instead for assigning the team and the team alternates, she makes us, event coaches, choose towards the end as the who should be in the team and who should be alternates. We were at a different school last year so my prior experience was the traditional way.
I know I have to put together the best team possible based on commitment, performance and abilities. Especially since they would likely be competing against kids 2 grade levels higher (Not necessarily sure whether that is good or bad). We fall under the 3rd to 6th grade category and the kids on my team are all 4th graders.
There will be a district event and a regional event. The district event will be on May 3rd and the regionals on March 25th.
My candidates:
1) My daughter - She has the advantage of being familiar with my teaching style and I have the advantage of having an easier access to her if need be. She is currently the strongest candidate and is the one who picks up the material the fastest and retains the information as well.
2) Kid B- Shows up on all meetings and is a very good candidate. Even shows up at meetings during break. Chances are, I will have more access to this candidate than Kid C.
3) Kid C-Has missed a couple of meetings. She is currently my weakest link but we are a long way from March. Retention of the information is significantly behind compared to the other 2 kids. She also a candidate on 2 other events. (The other 2 kids are only involved in 2).
Currently, I am leaning on My daughter and Kid B for the regional event and with the time frame the roster can change. With that in mind, should I still send my strongest candidates for the district event or send Kid C with my daughter so she too can be involved? I am honestly hoping that Kid C gets picked at her other 2 events but there is no way of me knowing. I just don't feel like crushing a kid's spirit.
Our event is Anatomy.
TIA
Your kid and Kid B are showing up every meeting. Easy way to draw the line.
I think your choices of your daughter and Student A are correct. If student C isn't coming to all of the meetings and isn't putting in the same effort, I would keep them as an alternate. I wouldn't think of it as 'crushing a kid's spirit' but more an opportunity for them to decide how committed they are to the team.
Much like in any team sport, the best performers play more often. Period.
It seems like you've made an unbiased assessment of the students involved. Students A and B are the ones you choose, with C as an alternate.
This puts you in a really awkward position, with one of the kids being your daughter. I wish it weren't set up that way -- that it was oriented more toward teamwork. But just looking at attendance issues and retention of information, your daughter and Kid B sound like the strongest candidates.
Great topic (anatomy, I mean), btw!
