Don't blink. Don't miss a second, I tell myself, half asleep, stumbling on to the bus in the dark. It is 4:30 am and they forgot to turn the back parking lot lights on. There is a line of cars with their headlights on, facing the bright yellow school bus, providing some illumination, as suit cases roll across the sidewalk. Parents are hugging their children and spouses. I have three of my children going too, so I have shuffled them to the back of our transportation and hugged my youngest son and my husband good bye. They wave as they pull into the darkness. A head count later, and we ourselves pull away and begin our journey to the airport.
At first, there is silence, it is welcoming. But then a giggle, another giggle, and students begin to rouse and get excited. The conversations infused with laughter and anticipation. Security, breakfast and we are in line, luggage in tow. As we stand in line to board, we hear an announcement wishing "Beckendorff quiz bowl team good luck at their nationals tournament." There is a cheer from the crowd. It is nice to be recognized. Boarded and approaching the runway, the guffaw is still in full swing. But, shortly after we are airborne, I see heads nodding and placed down on tray tables. A quick nap before we land in Chicago. Fifteen students, each with a parent or two. 37 of us total. The journey begins.
The group disperses, half on one hotel trolley, the other has to wait for the next one. It is cold. 42F and dry. It is the first thing most of us notice. Even at 4:30 am it was in the 60's in Houston. Our first day is fun and relaxing. My children and I venture around Chicago, visit the Art Institute, Millennial Park and downtown. We ride the E and my boys get to experience a subway, for the first time. It is awesome to have a mini-vacation day before the tournament begins. It is a family day for all. Then in the evening, students play scrimmage games to get into the mindset of quiz bowl. It is just for fun and it helps them relax and ease into the next two days of competition.
Competition day, rapid succession of eight games, with some buys in between. Lunch and laughter. The team I am coaching, is very competitive but also laid back, this is my mindset as well. Keep moving forward, lean in, but have fun. If you don't relax a little you will burn out very quickly. I am keeping in contact with parents, who are mentoring the other two teams, they are winning and losing but doing great. Having fun. In the end, the other two teams don't make the playoffs, but decide to play the consolation rounds the following day, to get more experience for next year. The more you play, the better you get. The A team, makes the playoffs and are very energized after the last game. Again, family time awaits. Everyone goes their separate ways.
I order Giordano's deep dish pizza and the boys and I eat in our room watching TV. I need to decompress, and regain my voice. I have just gotten over bronchitis and my voice is starting to wane again.
The playoffs begin 8:30 am, we win another 4 matches, losing our fifth. This puts us in 13th place. We are given a trophy and my students are disappointed at first, but get excited to have made 13th place. We lose to a really good team, but barely. This makes them proud. We have hours until we have to be at the airport, so I ask all my players to attend other matches and watch. Watch and learn. It strengthens your skill to play, but watching a great team can make just as strong of an impact. They meet me a few hours later, with tales of power players and quick buzzing. They all speak of strategies they discovered to improve their own skills. Goal accomplished.
Airport, dinner. Chortle and chuckle. I sit, in the back row of seats at the gate, watching my students and parents mingle. They are all smiling and happy. We did great. We did not win every game, but we didn't lose all of them either. Every player had fun. Parents watched games and learned strategies, to help their child, to become better players. That is what I call a success. Three days in Chicago and now we board our flight and are homeward bound. We carry with us an experience, one of challenge and competitiveness, but also, one of family and friends. Half of this team will participate next year, the other half are off to high school. A bittersweet ending to two years, with some of these amazing students.
13th place is a magic number. It is a holder, a number that puts our score in a category. But, it is a just a number, a place marker. Every laugh, smile, moment of frustration, concentration and success, is what takes this adventure to the next level. Reflection is so very important. I had students and parents write a reflection of the trip. Every single one was positive. Win or lose they all said, it was the experience, the excitement and energy of playing that made the trip worthwhile. This made me happy.
My motto for quiz bowl is "Keep moving forward, lean in and focus on the game." Not win. But enjoy the experience. My goal is for my students to have integrity, play hard, be humble and have fun. If this is in place, the win will come more often than not. 13th place out of 191 teams. Top 6% percent in the nation. I think that this year at least, 13 is our lucky number. Next year, lets shoot for top ten.
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