Academic Superbowl coaches Matt Dillon and James Ziegler have turned the responsibility over to their students in terms of preparing for the events and digesting the material.

Recently, the team captains, along with their respective teams, met with Dillon and reviewed some of the source material and developed a general plan for the competition. After hosting the first team meeting, Dillon said he hopes to have the subject squads meet approximately every two weeks in February.

“The club has basically just started up. We’re only just getting into things,” Nicholas “Nick” Muller, social studies captain and senior, said. Although being a subject squad captain is a great responsibility, Muller said he acknowledges the opportunities and rewards that result from participation.

“Academic Superbowl is a great opportunity for students that have a passion for a certain subject area to show off their skill in competition, work with other students that hold a similar passion and learn additional material that you wouldn’t be exposed to in class,” Muller said.

Dillon agreed with Muller that the benefits of Academic Superbowl are numerous.

“Colleges look for student participation in the school setting,” Dillon said, “and when they’re looking for that involvement in school, this is something different that shows leadership in prospective students.”

As captain of the social studies squad, Muller is responsible not only for digesting the reading himself, but also for directing his fellow teammates and clarifying the material for them as well. Each respective team is given material to learn and memorize in preparation for the competition, in hopes that each team member will specialize in a certain area of study.

In addition to his regular textbooks, Muller said he will be reading an extensive history book that spans from colonial America to the Revolutionary War.

“You really need to enjoy a certain subject and be willing to go into greater depth in a subject than one would at school,” Muller said.