Thursday, March 3, 2011

Academic Challenge

Academic Challenge, or Ac. Chal., as the kids are calling it these days, is one of the best kept secrets of Chagrin Falls High School.  This selective club is the high school equivalent of the Skull and Bones, the secret society at Yale University whose members have included George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and William Howard Taft.  Or, rather, it was - Ac. Chal. was unfortunately disbanded this year by Coach Josh "D.J. Mixmaster" Maas.  Mr. Maas, the faculty adviser for the club, told me last year that we would not have Academic Challenge this year.  When I asked why, he responded, "Because I don't like to lose."  As bad as this sounds, Mr. Maas is right - we never stand a chance against most other schools.  It's not that we lack intelligent students.  The problem is that our Academic Challenge team members are all involved in sports or other extracurricular activities.  However, at Solon, for example, kids on the team do Ac. Chal. and Ac. Chal. only. 

I have discovered the secret that will ensure our future success, though.  For years I have heard legends of a time bygone when our team achieved great things.  But these seemed to be just mythical tales of better times, twisted by time and proud students.  Recently, though, I heard something that forced me to reconsider my opinion of past Academic Challenge teams - rumor has it that a certain Ms. Serensky was once an integral part of the squad.  A coach.  Coach Serensky.  It has a nice ring to it.  Imagine the possibilities with Mr. Maas and Ms. Serensky together at the helm of our team.

The most intriguing aspect of this is the idea of Ms. Serensky in a social setting (sort of).  Take last year, for example - we had a chow down after one of our competitions for Ac. Chal., and we invited Mr. Maas.  And he actually showed up.  He spent a few minutes talking to parents upstairs, but then came downstairs to hang out with the kids - that was where he felt more comfortable, playing ping pong and watching t.v. with us.  Just imagine playing ping pong with Ms. Serensky.  Brought to you by the one and only Academic Challenge.

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3 comments:

  1. Mary BethMarch 3, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    Alex, I would just like to say that I remember a time when Ms. Serensky coached AcChal. Admittedly, I have always been an Academic Challenge wannabe, I tagged along with my sister freshman year and showed up intermittently, if at all, sophomore and junior year because of select choir and frequent tardiness. But I do remember Ms. Serensky bringing a lot of fun to the group, even though I felt so scared as a little freshman surrounded by juniors and seniors and their equally intimidating teachers. But now as a senior, I can safely agree that ping pong with Ms. Serensky would be quite fun

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  2. Christian LMarch 3, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    Despite the fact that I would contribute literally nothing in terms of success to Academic Challenge, I would join just to witness what you have laid out before us in this post. "Coach" and "Serensky" is like peanut butter and jelly, a timeless cliche that still manages to reflect the truth. I bet Ms. Serensky is an exceptional ping pong player as well -- all the while her world class skill has remained a secret to us. I actually really want to join/start Academic Challenge now, if for nothing else just to provide moral support.

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  3. John ShoemakerMarch 10, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    The moment Ms. Serensky signed up to coach a athletic/academic team I would drop everything that currently filled up my schedule and join the squad. Not only would it be one of the funniest times I've ever had, I also think it would exist as one of the most motivating. I'm not sure I know a person who can pull the best out of someone better than Ms. Serensky, or in this case Coach Serensky.

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