Although coming off an extremely successful year in 2020-2021, finishing 3rd in the Capital Area Math League, the RHHS Math Team is seeking to avoid any sense of complacency.
Notably, the team has brought in Dr. Brian Graca with open arms to be co-advisor of the club, a decision that is already paying dividends for the team.
According to returning coach Daniel Czuchta, “Coach Graca definitely ups the energy level among the team and his experience teaching the students in younger years helps keep them engaged and interested.”
Dr. Graca comes from a tenured background coaching Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor Track for the Terriers and such experience provides the team with vital experience in the realm of competitions.
“His competitive nature is hard to turn off and his experience coaching applies well in the Math Team setting because he knows how to help strategically choose the A (varsity) Team,” Czuchta added.
Junior Devesh Karthik, a former runner under Graca’s Cross Country team and member of the Math team, agrees with the positive nature of Graca’s ambitions: “Having Dr. Graca as a coach is quite the experience. He pushes us as a team to be the best we possibly can, and is set on winning. It’s a very competitive, yet welcoming environment, and I’d say Dr. Graca plays a big role in that.”
As for Czuchta, this is his second year coaching the team. Finally being in person, he’s happy to have a more collaborative and interactive environment among the group this season, “Everything flows this year. I had to consult previous coaches last year but this year I know what to expect.”
Karthik went on to say that being in person has helped contribute to the success of the team.
“It’s significantly easier to collaborate on problems and just socialize in general. Even though our actual meets aren’t at other schools, our current situation is much better than last year.”
A lot of this collaboration that the junior described is headed by an experienced senior group, who are accustomed to the regular functions of the Math Team from previous years.
Out of all the grades, the seniors are by far the largest class, and since only two seniors are allowed to compete on the A-Team per meet, for the rest of the seniors, some of their most significant contributions occur during the practices.
“They help keep everyone sharp and prepared,” Czuchta acknowledged.
Yet, perhaps more importantly, the RHHS Math Team is leading a precedents throughout the entirety of the Rocky Hill Math community: “Everyone can see math can be fun, once you strip away the negative connotations and see the enjoyable problem solving aspect in it,” Czuchta said.
All in all, the team currently sits in 2nd place in the Capital Area Math League which encompasses 20 teams total and are currently the best performing “small” school.