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Durant Odyssey team takes world title
by Suzanne Rook, Wake Weekly Associate Editor
Luis Zapata calls it the Wow Factor.
That's when Luis, a Durant Road Middle eighth-grader, hears an idea so great, so creative, so off-the-wall fantastic that his team just has to incorporate it into its Odyssey of the Mind skit. And Luis knows a good idea when he hears one. In three of the last five years, Luis and two of his OM teammates -- Jackie Dilio and Jaime Cordes -- have have gotten their team all the way to world competition. Last weekend the team took top middle school honors for their problem and were named world champions. Wow! Odyssey of the Mind -- OM for short -- is a competitive program that asks teams of elementary school through college-age students to solve given problems using their creativity. "By tapping into creativity and through encouraging imaginative paths to problem-solving," OM says, "students learn skills that will provide them with the ability to solve problems -- great and small -- for a lifetime." This year, Durant Road Middle sponsored six teams. Two moved past regionals to the state-level contest. Only Zapata, Dilio and Cordes's team -- which tackled the Classics ... Put A Spin On It problem -- advanced to worlds. There, the team, which also includes Jessie Ammons, Kryssi Fischer, Zoe Hansen and Michael Neese, beat their closest competition by more than 50 points. Classics wasn't their first choice, but it seemed to suit them best. To solve the problem, the team had to create and present a skit "about the creation of a work of great human achievement." The performance had to include an original reason for the work's creation and a "spin session" that gives the more commonly accepted reason. In addition to a skit, teams must work on a "spontaneous" problem, which tests their brain power in all sorts of interesting ways. Spontaneous problems can range from creating structures using unique building blocks to telling a story backwards. While brainstorming during their regular after-school and Sunday meetings at the Cordes's, the group settled on the ancient monument Stonehenge as their great human achievement. But while working on their problem, the group realized that they could solve a second OM problem just by enhancing their skit. Kathy Hartenstine, Durant Road Middle's academically gifted student coordinator who has overseen the OM program for eight years, says she's seen teams tackle two problems at once -- but never a team in this age group. "The fact they were able to do that was phenomenal," says Hartenstine. Luis says while thinking of ways to better the skit, he noticed that the Fooled 'Ya problem called for illusions. "I remember saying 'Hey, that's interesting,'" said Jaime. Harness the energy Getting the team in a room is like watching one body with seven heads. There's lots of talking, laughing and interrupting, but, ultimately, they all go where the feet decide. Just so long as the coaches keep their two cents to themselves. Jaime's mom, Ginger, has been coaching since 17-year-old son Michael was a fourth-grader. One year, Ginger coached two teams -- Michael's and Jaime's. Along with Luis's mom, Pat, Ginger keeps the team motivated. Giving ideas or suggestions, critiquing and helping are major No-nos. "It's extremely hard," says Ginger of the no-helping rule. But when they're finished, she says, "They did it and they're so proud; they've learned so much. They get so much out of it -- that's the best." The Cordeses' living room (known as OM Central) still looks a fright, says Ginger, describing how the team used the room for storage and practice. But she's used to the OMers antics. OM, she says, builds confidence; makes participants "more trusting in their judgment, trusting they can make things happen. "Before, Jaime was shy. She didn't want to get up in class unless she knew she was right." Now, Ginger continued, her daughter is willing to take risks. There is no formula for putting together a successful OM team says Jessie's mom, Jan Ammons. Ginger says it takes committed students, dedicated parents, a bit of luck and the blending of personalities. "It takes a full year to develop that chemistry." Chemistry, it is. And maybe some magic. The Classics skit used all sorts of puns, plays on words and twists and turns. The result is dazzling. Using characters such as the mute Silent Knight; Cupid, a novice angel trying to get her wings; Horse who speaks with a raspy voice and the Sole Man, whose cape is covered with shoe bottoms, the team created an intricate web that draws the viewer in. Just one showing isn't enough to catch the entirety of the performance. Hairy Angel (Jaime) is Cupid (Zoe's) guide as she works to get her wings. There she encounters Silent Knight (Michael) and Horse (Jackie), who help her as she seeks to explain Stonehenge. Luis prefers to go for the laughs, playing Sole Man and Nancy Druid (a character whose name is yet another gag). Jessie and Kryssi play the book characters who breathe life into Cupid's explanations of Stonehenge. The group is close-knit and supportive of one another, but it's clear that the three long-timers -- Luis, Jaime and Jackie -- are the driving forces behind the team. The three friends are so close, so ensconced in OM, that they all plan to attend Southeast Raleigh High next fall -- and continue in OM. During the year off from competition, the trio say they missed OM. "It lets our creative juices flow," says Luis.
Last Updated On: June 5, 2003
Copyright 2003 The Wake Weekly