UIL Academics will travel to Burnet March 24 and 25 to compete at District. The events on the first day are Computer Science, Literary Criticism and Science; the rest of the events are on the second day.
“Some of the strategies we’ve worked on going into meets include brainstorming ideas before starting to write, becoming familiar with current events, history and literature that they find interesting that they can apply to prompts, and getting ideas on the paper before worrying too much about revising structure,” Ready Writing coach Dondi Hinds said.
Literary Criticism coach Nathaniel Brayton said his personal goal is for his team to advance to Regionals.
“The last two years, we have missed it by 1 point,” he said. “I have always sent individuals to Regionals but not a team.”
During invitationals and practices, coaches give their students advice to compete better. Hinds said her students’ strengths are being able to analyze a quote and give relative evidence that “require high-level thinking”.
“Their strengths definitely outweigh their weaknesses, but if I had to name one [weakness], I would say that although they always connect each idea to the thesis, they sometimes don’t connect the individual ideas to each other,” she said. “This isn’t required, but it’s the next-level of sophistication.”
Coaches remind their students to be confident in their own abilities.
“I always tell our kids to keep their heads up and walk with confidence,” UIL Academic Coordinator and Speech & Debate coach Judith Ann McGhee said. “As far as the competition knows, they are the experts in their event.”
Senior Yanina Gonzales Villegas is practicing remembering exact dates of events to use during competitions.
“[It] can be a little bothersome since in both of the events that I have done (Ready Writing and Social Studies), being able to remember dates is incredibly helpful,” she said. “I also try to stay away from direct quotes in Ready Writing, unless I know them by heart, since I always end up forgetting the exact words and end up writing a Frankensteined version of the quotes.”
Brayton said there’s not a specific strategy he teaches students at Literary Criticism, it’s “rote memorization.”
“Their strengths are how naturally smart they are,” he said. “Many of my students would absolutely destroy me if I had to take the same test. For most of them, I am just a guide.”
While each student has their own events, they all come together to compete as a team.
“I feel that the strength of our team is in the culture of positive teamwork they exhibit,” McGhee said. “Everyone cheers everyone else on, no matter the event.”
McGhee’s personal goal for the UIL Academics team is to come home as District Champions.
“We have a big presence of seniors on this year’s team – I would love for that experience to carry us to Regionals and State – and it all starts at District,” McGhee said. “One piece of advice: Go do your best. If you’ve given all that you can give, no one can ask any more of you!”
In addition to practices, students also set their own goals to push their limits.
“Going into District, I hope that I will be able to improve compared to my performance last year,” Gonzales Villegas said. “As long as I feel I’ve improved, I will be happy.”
Hinds’ advice for her students is to be confident in their writing because they “are great writers” and “don’t let any self-doubt get in their head.”
“I know that their personal goals are to place high enough to go on to Regionals, and I would love to see them achieve that,” Hinds said. “I have every confidence in their ability to do that. My own personal goal for them is that they write their hearts out and are proud of what they put into it.”
With their sights set, the UIL Academics team plans to give it their all.
“I am proud of every single Badger who shows up for their event, their coach and their team,” McGhee said. “No matter the outcome, Badger Nation is proud of them!”
