The pressure of competition can feel overwhelming, but for the Academic Bowl Teams at Columbus North, it’s just another opportunity to shine. As they prepare for their upcoming season opener, the team is faced with the challenge of balancing rigorous preparation with the stress that comes with the competition.
Sophomore Brian Wei, a member of the English Bowl team, shared how the group prepares for competitions.
“A team can prepare by making a list of things that need to be reviewed or taken care of,” Wei said. “Then the team wants to come together in groups and review the material using the list as a guideline, expanding on topics if needed.”
Senior Arjun Pattel, a Social Studies team member, details his experiences with such team collaboration.
“Our team supports each other by working together and collaborating when we answer practice questions on the book,” Pattel said. “For example, if the captain of the team doesn’t know the answer to a question in the book, then a supporting member can chime in and state what they believe is the correct answer.”
Wei explained how the team relies on each other during competitions.
“Stress is something that naturally comes to everyone,” Wei said. “The comforting part is that the team and I have done everything possible to prepare for the competition. What happens, happens, knowing that we tried our best.”
Head Math team coach Mike Spock explains how he works to minimize stress amongst his team members.
“We just keep it relaxed in the room,” Spock said. “That’s how I treat my classroom most of the time anyway, and we’re all working together at it. We try to not make it too stressful, other than the stress of, you’ve got 20 seconds to answer this question. So we have fun with it, we joke around.”
First-year English coach Ali Viewegh has a similar approach with her students.
“I just try to go into it as chill as possible,” Viewegh said. “If they don’t do well, it’ll just be a learning opportunity for me to do better [as a coach] next year.”
Viewegh added that for her, creating a supportive atmosphere was important.
“I try to keep it light with snacks and jokes,” Viewegh said. “Having that intrinsic motivation and the desire to be there makes all the difference.”
Wei extended the idea of teamwork and explained the value of team chemistry.
“Our team is relatively small, meaning that everyone has gotten to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Wei said. “Our team is also made of people from all different grades and backgrounds, bringing in unique experiences and ideas about the material.”
Spock explained that he believes the team’s effort in training will set them apart from others.
“I think the effort that they put in [sets them apart],” Spock said. “They’re going to go in there prepared on these topics. They’re hopefully not going to have to guess at any of the questions. It’ll just be a matter of, could we solve this time?”
Pattel added that he believes the team’s dedication will aid them in success.
“I think the thing that’ll set us up best for our competition is the dedication our team has to the book and the competition,” Pattel said.
Viewegh emphasized that she’s proud of the team and is looking forward to the future of Academic Super Bowl.
“We’re just happy with whatever happens, and we’ll learn from it for next year,” Viewegh said. “We’ve just got such an amazingly talented group of students.”
