I’ve worked a number of years as assistant coach in various High Schools. I would come in with my chess expertise and teach the students. Chess students seem to like my stories and my ability to explain chess positions (I’m an ex-expert, now about 1900). But last year, I took a position as head coach at a newly opened High School. In the state of Illinois, scholastic chess is played with 8-board teams. We had six players, and only half of them participated on a regular bases. So how does one promote chess to High School students? I’m open to suggestions as to how I might attract and recruit students for our chess team. I do fairly well with the more serious chess players, but sometimes I appear to expect too much from those students just wanting to have fun. Any suggestions?
Steven Craig Miller (chess coach at Lincoln-Way West HS in New Lenox, IL)
Well, I’ll tell you what would have worked for me. I was active in a lot of school activities, including the Strategic Simulations Club (we mostly played Diplomacy), but I never joined the high school chess club. I liked chess, but I wasn’t good at chess, and the people who were good at chess liked playing chess against other people who were good at chess, not teaching people who weren’t good at chess to be better. So I never set foot in the chess club.
If I had known that there was someone there whose mission in life was to turn me from a lousy chess player into a good chess player, there’s a decent chance that I might have gone. But all I had to look forward to was being clobbered over and over, and having no idea how to change that.
The moral of the story is, you need to communicate to potential members, “You don’t have to be good at chess now. We will help you get better.”
Of course, then you need to make good on your promise.
Here are some suggestions. You may have already done some of them. The assumption I’m making here is that you are not in the high school full time as a teacher/coach.
Focus your effort on Fall recruitment. Starting a chess club in the Spring is difficult due to existing sports and other club commitments.
Most high schools communicate a list of club activities available at the high school to incoming 9th graders. Make certain chess club is listed.
Many high schools have a club day fair in September. Make sure you have a table manned by kids along with yourself. Set up a board or two for blitz. Go and talk up the kids in the math and science clubs.
Make friends/connections with teachers in the math, science and AP programs. That is where most of your chess kids will come from. If you have a kid playing chess already who can take flyers to their own AP/math/science classed, that will help greatly.
Do not push team or individual rated competition. Many kids will not be interested in that. Let the kids learn chess and socialize. You’d be amazed how many girls and guys will be looking to connect and bring friends to connect socially. This is probably the single most difficult thing for chess coaches, especially those who are good players and competitive themselves, to understand. Those who are more competitive will find their way to competition. Let them express interest and then work with them toward that end. Remember, with bright kids you are competing for limited time in their academic/social lives. If you can’t make it fun, you’ll have two strikes against you from the start.
You might also see about getting mention of the chess club in the school paper.
Another idea is posters throughout the school with the time, date, and room of the chess club meetings.
I know that a few years ago the New Lenox library use to run the odd tournament at the library. You might see if that is still going on with the idea of recruiting future players [i.e. not yet HS aged] for the school club. At one time the library even brought in a Master Alburt Chow for a simul, and there is another Master that lives in New Lenox.
I think you will need to develop general interest in chess before you can advance to the ideas of a ladder or team play in a high school. Most importantly you need to stress that you don’t expect the new players to win immediately. It will take time for them to graduate from gross blunders to only major blunders.
On the flyers, advertise that all are welcome, regardless of level. Also offer food and coffee. Munchkins and a box of Joe work well with high school kids. Also, on the day of club meetings, have an announcement read in the morning and afternoon if possible as reminders to the kids.
It goes without saying that you should get administration approval for any flyers/posters that you put up.
I couldn’t agree more. In the chess club I’ve started, I’ve had to restrain myself from trying to make them more competitive. Many of them seriously are there for the social reason. But, by drawing them in with that aspect (not that I actually drew them in…the other players did), some of them have discovered that they want to take the game further.
