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My team is really talented this year! we have a chance if we can get to work and stop being idiots on building days in the shop.... We had invitationals this weekend, and didn't win b/c we diddn't have all our building events finished. We brought home a few metals, and knocked back our biggest competition a few times, so i'm feelin good this year!

Hopefully another good year for shadyside though our team is kind of bad this year

I previously wasn't expecting it. This year's team is no the best team we had, but since our performance at the Rustin Invitational, I am gaining confidence.

I hope so. Our team has a lot of fresh talent, but many of the masterminds that took us to Nationals in the past years are now on the high school team. Last year with a completely new team for Division B, we got 3rd at state for Indiana by 5 points, losing our spot. Now this year we lost some really good members, but we have a lot more talent as well, and we're out for blood. We're determined with that Nationals spot, and give it our best fight. We lost to our biggest competitor at the Northridge Invite by a total of 10 points and we did not compete in two events, so I believe our chances are really high.

Well, if we don't win states... let's just say I have a bet going with three other people.

Mason and Mentor looking strong as well in Ohio

SuperAJ wrote:Our team would have to beat Solon or Centerville. We can do it!

We can probably get 4th at states. To get to nationals, we would have to beat Magsig and Mentor Memorial, which is improbable.

We will probably not. IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy) often gets third at States, because we have New Trier and Stevenson. Enough said.

Hahahahahaha . . . yeah, right!! The best our school has ever gotten at State was 2nd, but we've never won

I just wanted to say, after reading a few of these negative posts about how your team has no chance because some "powerhouse team" is going to make it out from your state doesn't really make any sense to me. Every year is a new year, period. This means that previous results mean nothing - they're merely a (weak) predictor of future results. Be the change you want to be! There have been so many "upsets" in the past few years at states that anything is bound to happen.

Do you guys know what place Solon Middle School got at nationals the year before they first won in 2008? Well, they didn't even make it to nationals in 2007. Just think about that for a second. People think that Solon has been such a powerhouse in the past few years that they forget that every team has to start somewhere. I remember in 2007 the sinking feeling after getting 3rd at states, and I never wanted to feel that again.

Other schools have done the same; just look at Marie Murphy, Daniel Wright, and Meads Mill all rising to the top relatively quickly. Meads Mill hardly even had a Science Olympiad team in the ages before, and now they're suddenly a top 5 contender at Nationals again. Division C is similar - look at Mounds View and Adlai E. Stevenson improving quickly so fast (credit to Luo!), So, getting better as a team, at whatever level, is far from impossible.

A word of advice to those who want this change to happen practically: events come in and out every year, but the culture of an SO program lasts. Studying for events as an individual takes you only so far, because you can only do so many events. What truly matters is changing the attitude of the team as a whole; if you can get all 15 people motivated to do their best in each and every event, you will see improvement. This won't make you a national title winner overnight, but if you set realistic goals and keep your team motivated, your team will do better. There aren't too many secrets in constructing a successful team.