I appreciate all of the students who responded to my challenge and prodding
with so many wonderful memories!
In the second year that we had seniors who went through the Physics First program as freshmen won, for the first time in school history, the
University of Alabama High School Physics Competition in 2013
Coaches Commentary on the
McGill-Toolen Physics Team Victory in 2013!
[comments made after Ash Wednesday school wide Mass]
[comments made after Ash Wednesday school wide Mass]
The accomplishment of the McGill-Toolen Catholic High School Physics Team in 2013 is an experience without comparison in more than thirty years of my personally observing, teaching and coaching at the high school level. This team made me a witness to how God influences, uses and nurtures character and talents of those who are willing to be his servants. These competitors responded to set backs, prepared for challenge, encouraged each other and risked losing.
What were the challenges facing the McGill-Toolen Catholic High School Physics Team? McGill-Toolen is placed in the Private school division. Private schools often have resources which allow for greater individual attention during training (with tuition more than 3 times higher than McGill-Toolen) and more time for competition preparation (boarding schools often have multiple evening sessions dedicated to Physics) which explains the consistently high scores. The Large Public Schools (such as Hoover)can have a populations of students 3 times larger than McGill-Toolen with a much larger pool of students with talent and motivation. The Science and Math Magnet Schools draw only students with an interest in science who also have the very highest of standardized scores. Schools from areas of the state (such as Huntsville) with a disproportionate number of students of parents who are scientists and engineers is an additional challenge.
Most of all, as is the case with most first time accomplishments any team, the competitors had to perform better than any one from McGill-Toolen before them. Allowing yourself to risk effort at becoming the best is one of the greatest challenges in life for anyone.
The A-Team and the B-Team from McGill-Toolen High School in 2013 won over all schools in all divisions. This was an outcome I considered so unlikely that I wagered away my beard and my hair. I was wrong (and happy to be corrected!)
Jacob Jagiello (a junior) and alternate to both A & B Teams led a C-Team which unofficially won 3rd place in the private school division but was not awarded the plaque for technical reasons (duplicate team member roles).
The B-Team which finished second over all schools was led by senior Silvio Piccini and anchored by Collin Phillips (a junior). Silvio, Collin and Jacob all worked tirelessly and unselfishly with younger Physics Team members through the last two years. These members were destined to help a team this year and included freshman Logan Robinson and Connor Kusch who qualified for the B team by scoring among the top nine out of 51 aspiring team members in early January on a qualifying test.
Another freshman, Chris McDonald, qualified to be on the A-Team by qualifying and then, under great pressure, maintained the highest performance on a series of Physics assessments. A key member of the A-Team was senior Jantzen Lee who joined the team this year for the first time and helped put the school over the top with his outstanding team play and with an outstanding individual score.
I can not do justice in describing the impact of Seniors Kevin Kusch and Allen Davis. They had three years of "coming close" (winning 4th in the freshman year, 7th the sophomore year and 4th again in the junior year). These two showed faithfulness and persistence in remaining with the team but they also demanded more assessments, more drills and more study by team mates in the final days. Kevin and Allen relentlessly pushed team mates to correct errors and redo assessments with any eye for improving mastery. The result was an A-Team that dominated all other schools and teams (except the McGill_Toolen B-Team which was only 1 question behind).
Kevin Kusch could have decided to focus preparation only on the individual scholarship test but he did not. He encouraged and pushed everyone to improve. Kevin ended up obtaining the highest score on the Physics Test given to all 300 competitors who aspired to win the full four year scholarship. Allen Davis came in 10th among all competitors. Kevin and Allen won "Top Individual Honor" and both qualified for the full four year non-contingent scholarships sought by all those at the competition.
The "1st Place School" trophy is given to the school that has they highest combination of team scores and average individual scores. There was no doubt, when that trophy was lifted, which school was going to win. McGill-Toolen Catholic High School started the day in the Holy Spirit chapel in prayer and then posing for a picture in front of a statute of Jesus' baptism.. The team ended the day with applause by those who had come to win but now saw a special group of competitors from a part of the state that rarely wins.
In a certain sense that trophy belongs to our whole community. It belongs to those in our academic departments who helped hone reading, math and the reasoning skills that lead arrive at the truth of a solution. It belongs to our athletic departments whose example and high of expectations lifts our expectations. It belongs to our community that provides science facilities allowing us to nurture science reasoning skills by DOING science day in and day out. We also have a faith which birthed the discipline of science. We recognize that this achievement was, like Physics itself, a gift from God. Do now we give our creator, the source of light and truth. the glory he deserves.
Glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy spirit!
Glory be to the father and to the son and to the holy spirit!
(read after the Ash Wednesday Mass on February 13, 2013)
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In all the material above it is important to remember that the views expressed by me here, on any website or in any publication do not represent the views of
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School,
Archdiocese of Mobile or any part of the Universal Catholic Church.
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