Grab those buzzers, time for tossup question #1! 

The Warren Township High School scholastic bowl team has begun their 2021-2022 season. Scholastic Bowl is a lesser-known activity at Warren. Each team plays 5 players at a time and competes to answer the most number of questions correctly to score points. Think Jeopardy crossed with Family Feud. 

After a year of online practices and competitions, the team is eager to get back into the swing of in-person matches. Coaches and students alike have many thoughts to express and everyone involved is excited and happy to begin a new season.

Varsity coach Mr. Miller and junior varsity coach Mr. Lencioni, who have coached the team for 20 and 5 years, respectively, were both asked for their perspectives on the new season. 

Both coaches enjoy the relationships they build with the students. It was extremely tough to bond during online learning so the coaches are happy to be back in person. Mr. Miller was asked how the team is looking this year. He responded with “I think that we will be pretty solid. We have a senior heavy crew this year, which is always a bonus.”

He then discussed how he will beat the teams that usually have the upper hand on Warren. He said, “Our students here at Warren are our strength, so getting the right kids out of the team is part of it. Finding students willing to expand their knowledge outside of their traditional comfort zones is important as well.” The key to victory will be studying and playing the right players at the right time. 

Mr. Lencioni was asked about his team as well. He is impressed with his team this year. JV is usually where kids learn the game, learn the strategies, and develop their skills. “I feel like this year is going to be good. My students aren’t buzzing in too fast or going against the rules, sometimes a problem for JV. I think we could communicate more for bonuses. Some standouts are some late freshmen additions. Also, I have a couple of students that are not in the honors track and those students come with some different skills usually. Other standouts are a few of my players who are making their own question sets to practice.”

With Warren being in such a competitive conference with schools such as Stevenson, Mundelein, and Libertyville, it is tough to achieve our conference wins. Mr. Lencioni was asked how he is planning to beat those teams, and he said, “When we play our more competitive teams, I think it is important to be more aggressive on buzzing in.  So, I will coach my team to not wait for the entire question, which is my usual strategy. There will be blowouts where we are on the giving end, and probably also on the receiving end.  However, most matches come down to a question or two”.

 Both coaches are very excited for a new season and intense matches for their players.

The players were also interviewed. The varsity team has shown their skills in practice, but is ready to take themselves to compete against other schools. Senior player Vaibhav Joshi, “VJ”, was asked some questions about the team.

When asked about what he missed from in-person competitions during the last season, he said “being with the team, on the table, leaning over to people and hearing what they have to say, bouncing ideas off of each other was the best part of it. Having that in person connection with everyone was what I missed. We all missed being in the moment and answering questions as a team.”

VJ being one of the captains and top players always has the team’s success in mind. But this year, he has some different goals. He stated, “My goal for this year, as cheesy as it sounds, is for us to have fun and enjoy being together again. Our memories together and how we build each other up is more important than any placement. That being said, I would like us to get top 5 at regionals and get at least 100 points against Stevenson.”

He is also very eager to see the juniors on varsity step up into leadership positions: “In the past, the leaders among our class have generally been Jacob, Theo, and I. While all of us are likely to still be captains, I wouldn’t be surprised to see people like Akshaj and Blaise to try being captains. We need underclassmen to gain the confidence to hold the team up when the class of 2022 is gone, and I have no doubt they’ll succeed.”

All individuals who are involved are ready for a new season. They have different predictions, but similar goals: have fun and put our full effort into winning this season. The Scholastic Bowl team is ready to show off their skills and win their matches.