This past weekend started off right for University Interscholastic League (UIL) teams of the state. On Jan. 25 the school hosted it’s annual UIL academic meet with fifteen different subjects, although this was not like any other academic meet.
“I was a little bit nervous about the upcoming meet,” journalism and spelling coach Stacy Short said. “The most schools we have had at a meet was ten schools including most district meets, but this time we had about thirty schools.”
The meet was expected to have a bigger turnout due to the change of dates. In past years the meet fell the same weekend as region band, causing there to be a smaller turn out of schools. The move to Jan. 25 possibly allowed more students to attend.
The attendance amount can also be owed to Argyle’s low entry fees. With most school charging ten dollars per student, school can’t always afford to attend.
“The other thing that we do differently is we recycle trophies for our meets,” Short said. “The first place winner might not get a traditional academic trophy, they might get something with a huge football on it that says first place editorial writing; that’s our reputation. People have started coming to get these weird strange trophies. We are the recycle trophy meet. The kids seem to love it.”
Even though there were a lot of schools, the Argyle coaches remained confident about their students and their ability to perform.
“I have had kids go to State every year since 1999,” Short said.”It’s no different for any of the other academic coaches here at Argyle. I knew when I came to Argyle that I needed to do whatever it took to push my kids to win. I spent hundreds of hours in preparation and research that first year and it paid off. I had never coached journalism before, but I still took four students to state. Winning is just expected here.”
Something that Argyle also takes pride in their UIL meets is how well everything is run. Because many of the coaches that come to the meets return every year due to the great “hospitality and food”, they are familiar with Argyle’s process and procedures, which helps the meet run smoothly.
“We have a lot of parents and other coaches who are always offering to help that keeps things organized,” chemistry coach Kimberly Kass said. “Every one is just willing to pitch in and help.”
There was an overall feeling of nervousness for the upcoming competition, but no one really seemed that concerned.
“It was a very positive meet,” Kass said. “I am very proud of how our kids performed.”
