About Topics in Academic Junior High Decathlon

Hi there,

I've been captivated by Academic Junior High Decathlon since I attended my first one in 1999. There was something about the event that connected with me in a time when there were only two activities for middle school students: sports and Academic Decathlon. There was something about an event which honored hard work through academics that clearly rewarded students for their efforts. 

After serving on my school's decathlon team in the 8th grade I took my decathlon interest to a new level by helping to coach. This blog is about some strategies, ideas, and other assorted topics in Academic Junior High Decathlon (yes, I know some documents come out calling it Junior High Academic Decathlon, but I go by what the logo says.) I hope to also stimulate some dialogue about the event since there is no other venue to do so. I am by no means an expert in the subject, but I've come to some insights in my years with the event and across different (arch)dioceses. I also happen to be a teacher of social studies and occasionally other subjects. 

Throughout the years I've coached pretty much every subject except for individual math and the music based Fine Arts (which hasn't happened in some time). A brief summary of what I've done is:

2004-2008 Assistant Coach at St. Michael School, Poway - Diocese of San Diego

2011-2013 Head Coach at Transfiguration Catholic School - Archdiocese of Los Angeles

2013-2014 Logic Coach at De Marillac Academy - Archdiocese of San Francisco 

You should expect to see a post every weekend. If you have some strategies or other ideas you would like to share, please contact me and I can get there on here. 

I am not currently affiliated with school nor the California Catholic Schools Superintendents Committee - I'm just an enthusiast. The ideas I post here should not be considered a reflection of the views of the school I have coached at in the past. 

-Armando