Mr. Zachariah Mussmon and Mrs. Katelin Rock are both new teachers to MTHS, but are still involved in the school community—more specifically, Quiz Bowl. Mussmon is a gifted teacher and the Quiz Bowl head coach, and Rock is a gifted and business teacher as well as the assistant Quiz Bowl coach. Mussmon coached Quiz Bowl at Elizabethtown Area High School prior to beginning his career at Manheim Township, and Rock is entirely new to Quiz Bowl.
“I think I wanted to help coach Quiz Bowl because it’s a way to get involved, but also there was a need there, and I saw that by helping [to coach] it provides more opportunities [for the students],” Rock said.
Although Mussmon is also new to MT’s Quiz Bowl team, he has high hopes for the team this year.
“It’s kind of tough because there’s a lot I didn’t know about [Quiz Bowl], so there’s going to be changes like there are any time coaches change, but the goal is to keep the winning tradition alive,” Mussmon said.
An important aspect of Quiz Bowl for both the coaches and students is the knowledge and opportunities it provides for students.
“[Quiz Bowl] gives students the chance to utilize the knowledge that they have and gain more knowledge that is just so rare to know today. They take a lot of time to study and get ready for the matches, so it’s just really good exercise for their brains as well,” Mussmon said.
Students in Quiz Bowl put a lot of effort into being prepared for their matches with the help of Mussmon and Rock. Not only can Quiz Bowl strengthen students’ brains, but it can also provide the chance for new friendships to form.
“Especially in a context like [Quiz Bowl], it’s always good to have a friend that can carry your team in a trivia match, but a lot of the knowledge that they have is very applicable to real life and careers,” Mussmon said.
The Quiz Bowl students of MT perform at a level which leaves even the coaches impressed.
“[One of my favorite things about Quiz Bowl is] seeing how much smarter the kids are than me, honestly. These kids are a thousand times more intelligent than I will ever be. I mean, it’s unbelievable. It’s impressive to see how quick they are,” Mussmon said.
If anyone is interested in joining, contact Mussmon or Rock with any questions.
