The Pride is in the Tradition. It's the Pocahontas Mock Trial Slogan. And anyone who has gone through the Mock Trial program here at PAC knows the meaning behind it. But that is difficult to explain to non-mockers.
Mock Trial is like no other competition I've ever observed. In sporting events, you watch the scoreboard and see who is ahead. The clock winds down and there is a final score. If you win, you move on. If you lose, you are done. If your team is doing well you can sit back and relax. If they aren't you stand up and cheer. In Mock Trial, you compete in three rounds. At the end of each round a team wins and a team loses, based on judge's points, but you are not told who the winner is. You just gather yourself and continue to the next round, where you perform again and hopefully score enough points that you've won. They power match the rounds, so all winning teams face other winning teams. Eventually there will be only 4 undefeated teams. But they don't tell you. You have to wait. And wait. And wait. And you are exhausted.
And of course there is the ongoing analysis. "Oooh, I think we beat that team, they were using notes." "That attorney was a sassy-pants." "I feel good about this trial." "That team wasn't very good, so does that mean we lost the last round? But they are good enough to have beat someone else." Discussions that are always made, but that no one has the answers to.
They put everyone in a big room and John Wheeler, the head of the program, comes in and talks way too long. All everyone wants to hear is who is going on to the final four. But you politely listen to John. And then they start handing out trophies. 10th place. 9th place. 8th place. With every place called, your stomach gets sicker and sicker. You don't want your name called. Because if not, there is a chance you are in the final four who will compete the next day. 7th place. 6th place. Sicker and sicker. Like I'm going to throw up any minute sick. 5th place. The worst place to get because it's oh so close to making to the semi-finals. If you are from PAC, you laugh at teams that cheer when they get 10th place. Yes, an honor. After all. hundreds of teams started the season and only 32 make it to state. But if you are from PAC, nothing short of a state championship is good enough. That is the Pride. That is the Tradition. That is what the program stands for...hard work that gets you to the level of being recognized as one of the state's best programs..year after year.
This week was the state competition for PAC. Three teams made it to state. One team came home with a 7th place trophy. That trophy represented the official scoring. However, anyone who was at that competition knows that we in Pocahontas are the true state champs again this year. You see, Team Law faced a very young Urbandale team in the third round. Good enough to be there? Definitely. Good enough to beat Law? No. Everyone in that room knew that. Except. The. Judges. Yes, the judges had us losing by 4 points.
I have used a basketball analogy. Imagine Duke playing Iowa Central. Duke is clearly the better team. And they are winning. But at the last second, an Iowa Central player throws up a desperation shot as the buzzer sounds and it goes in. Disbelief. Agony. Heartbreak.
As they announced Team Law as earning the 7th place trophy, everything around me became silent. It was the silence of disbelief. How? How? How? could this be true? It just made no sense. The final teams were announced but it didn't matter. The hearts of anyone who knows the pride and the tradition were ripped out and crushed. Tears. Lots of tears. And rightfully so. It still doesn't make sense.
The final four included a team from Robins, the Urbandale team who beat Law, a Dowling team that beat Justice, and a Marion-Home School team that beat Order. Evidently it wasn't our year. The clear favorite was Robins, whom we have a great deal of respect for, and mostly the same team we beat in the finals last year. They beat Urbandale and faced Marion in the finals. I remember saying all day to people that there was no way Marion would win. I watched that team when I watched Order. They were good, and clearly won the trial against Order. But THEY WEREN'T THAT GOOD.
Then last night I found out that Marion beat Robins. I was speechless. The agonizing pain of losing to Urbandale returned. All I could do was shake my head. I just can't wrap my head around it.
My heart aches for Team Law, especially the seniors who were part of the State Championship team last year. Their mock trial experiences are over. And in a way that no one could see coming.
The tears that flowed on Wednesday night and into yesterday represent the pride and the tradition. The devastation of knowing that we were better than any of the final four teams, except in the eyes of two judges, represents the pride and the tradition. The anger and the sadness and the yearning to still be competing represent the pride and the tradition.
Mock Trial is a family. The teams become unbelievably close. The parents become close. The alumni still follow the tournaments. Once it is a part of you and you understand what "The Pride is in the Tradition" means, it never leaves you.
And as frustrating and agonizing as the last few days have been, I'll be back there next year watching. Because that's what Mock Trial does to you. You hate it. But you love it more.
I would like to say thank you to coaches Ryan Seelau, Laura (Schultes) Seelau, and Chris Vrba. The number of hours they put in to make our program the best in the state is inconceivable. Thank you also to all the former mock students and parents who volunteer their time. Thank you to the followers who always support the teams.
Congratulations Teams Order and Justice. You performed well and represented our school with pride.
And Team Law: You truly are the State Champions again.
Mock Trial is like no other competition I've ever observed. In sporting events, you watch the scoreboard and see who is ahead. The clock winds down and there is a final score. If you win, you move on. If you lose, you are done. If your team is doing well you can sit back and relax. If they aren't you stand up and cheer. In Mock Trial, you compete in three rounds. At the end of each round a team wins and a team loses, based on judge's points, but you are not told who the winner is. You just gather yourself and continue to the next round, where you perform again and hopefully score enough points that you've won. They power match the rounds, so all winning teams face other winning teams. Eventually there will be only 4 undefeated teams. But they don't tell you. You have to wait. And wait. And wait. And you are exhausted.
And of course there is the ongoing analysis. "Oooh, I think we beat that team, they were using notes." "That attorney was a sassy-pants." "I feel good about this trial." "That team wasn't very good, so does that mean we lost the last round? But they are good enough to have beat someone else." Discussions that are always made, but that no one has the answers to.
They put everyone in a big room and John Wheeler, the head of the program, comes in and talks way too long. All everyone wants to hear is who is going on to the final four. But you politely listen to John. And then they start handing out trophies. 10th place. 9th place. 8th place. With every place called, your stomach gets sicker and sicker. You don't want your name called. Because if not, there is a chance you are in the final four who will compete the next day. 7th place. 6th place. Sicker and sicker. Like I'm going to throw up any minute sick. 5th place. The worst place to get because it's oh so close to making to the semi-finals. If you are from PAC, you laugh at teams that cheer when they get 10th place. Yes, an honor. After all. hundreds of teams started the season and only 32 make it to state. But if you are from PAC, nothing short of a state championship is good enough. That is the Pride. That is the Tradition. That is what the program stands for...hard work that gets you to the level of being recognized as one of the state's best programs..year after year.
This week was the state competition for PAC. Three teams made it to state. One team came home with a 7th place trophy. That trophy represented the official scoring. However, anyone who was at that competition knows that we in Pocahontas are the true state champs again this year. You see, Team Law faced a very young Urbandale team in the third round. Good enough to be there? Definitely. Good enough to beat Law? No. Everyone in that room knew that. Except. The. Judges. Yes, the judges had us losing by 4 points.
I have used a basketball analogy. Imagine Duke playing Iowa Central. Duke is clearly the better team. And they are winning. But at the last second, an Iowa Central player throws up a desperation shot as the buzzer sounds and it goes in. Disbelief. Agony. Heartbreak.
As they announced Team Law as earning the 7th place trophy, everything around me became silent. It was the silence of disbelief. How? How? How? could this be true? It just made no sense. The final teams were announced but it didn't matter. The hearts of anyone who knows the pride and the tradition were ripped out and crushed. Tears. Lots of tears. And rightfully so. It still doesn't make sense.
The final four included a team from Robins, the Urbandale team who beat Law, a Dowling team that beat Justice, and a Marion-Home School team that beat Order. Evidently it wasn't our year. The clear favorite was Robins, whom we have a great deal of respect for, and mostly the same team we beat in the finals last year. They beat Urbandale and faced Marion in the finals. I remember saying all day to people that there was no way Marion would win. I watched that team when I watched Order. They were good, and clearly won the trial against Order. But THEY WEREN'T THAT GOOD.
Then last night I found out that Marion beat Robins. I was speechless. The agonizing pain of losing to Urbandale returned. All I could do was shake my head. I just can't wrap my head around it.
My heart aches for Team Law, especially the seniors who were part of the State Championship team last year. Their mock trial experiences are over. And in a way that no one could see coming.
The tears that flowed on Wednesday night and into yesterday represent the pride and the tradition. The devastation of knowing that we were better than any of the final four teams, except in the eyes of two judges, represents the pride and the tradition. The anger and the sadness and the yearning to still be competing represent the pride and the tradition.
Mock Trial is a family. The teams become unbelievably close. The parents become close. The alumni still follow the tournaments. Once it is a part of you and you understand what "The Pride is in the Tradition" means, it never leaves you.
And as frustrating and agonizing as the last few days have been, I'll be back there next year watching. Because that's what Mock Trial does to you. You hate it. But you love it more.
I would like to say thank you to coaches Ryan Seelau, Laura (Schultes) Seelau, and Chris Vrba. The number of hours they put in to make our program the best in the state is inconceivable. Thank you also to all the former mock students and parents who volunteer their time. Thank you to the followers who always support the teams.
Congratulations Teams Order and Justice. You performed well and represented our school with pride.
And Team Law: You truly are the State Champions again.