Senior Simone Green was selected as a National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) Player of the Week on October 31. Simone was nominated by former teammate Sophie Lyman ’22 for the many contributions she has made to her teammates and the program overall.
Sophie noted Simone’s boundless enthusiasm and dedication to quiz bowl in her nomination. “She cares deeply about the game and all who play it, as evidenced by her work coaching the Paideia middle school team,” Sophie was quoted as saying.
Simone has been a member of the quiz bowl team since 7th grade. Quiz bowl coaches Wilson York and Rand Wilson acknowledged Simone’s investment in her teammates, especially younger players as a coach for the JV and Junior High teams. Rand had the following to say about Simone: "I have never known anyone as passionate about the sport as Simone, nor anyone as dedicated to their teammates. Simone works hard to be a top player in her academic specialty, which is literature. Simone puts in long hours studying for tournaments and has even attended residential academic bowl summer camps to improve as a player. She has grown, not only to be a top player on our A team, but as a senior, she is also one of the best literature players in our state. She also gets very excited when tournaments have questions about her passions in the arts and pop culture, especially musical theater. Simone constantly volunteers her time to mentor younger players, lead practices, help organize logistics for tournaments and act as an assistant coach at our JV and junior high tournaments. Simone also serves the larger academic team community by volunteering as a tournament staffer, reader or judge for JV and junior high tournaments, jobs typically reserved for adults. She is responsible for recruiting many of our players and has played a special role in encouraging the growth of our female players in a sport that is overwhelmingly demographically male. Simone has not only strengthened the particular squad she plays with, but has made invaluable contributions to our program and made an impact that will be felt for years to come."
Congratulations, Simone, and thank you for your contributions to the academic quiz tournament community at Paideia and beyond!