The first academic competitions of the new year kick off Saturday with UIL teams competing at Flower Mound High School and DECA students taking part in the District Career Development Conference at Haltom High School.

“Each team has been meeting with their coach and practicing getting ready for specific events leading up to this first practice meet of the year,” UIL Coordinator Jeff Schrantz said. “Traditionally there’s been really strong competition at Flower Mound and a lot of people there make it to state.”

Due to past performances at UIL and the students taking part this year, Schrantz also believes that his students will perform well in competition.

“I anticipate that we’ll do well,” Schrantz said. “All that I expect is that students show up and do their best and we just see where the chips fall.”

The DECA team has put in similar preparation for their meet and while students already took the exam portion of the test, students have yet to complete the interview portion.

“The biggest thing I’m sure they’ll struggle with will be the anxiety of speaking in front of a judge, so they’ll be really intimidated and they might speak too fast or too flow or freeze,” campus DECA Coordinator Chris Ham said. “Besides that, I’m pretty sure they’re all going to do well. Last year, 49 students went to district and 45 qualified for state. I’m sure this year will be the same.”

While some participants are competing in the DECA district competition for the first time, others may have an advantage based on past experiences.

“Having competed in DECA last year is immensely helpful in letting me know what to expect and how to handle difficult role plays and performance indicators,” sophomore Kanika Kappalayil said. “Some skills are acquired through trial and error and just pain experience, so I feel more confident in my abilities since I’ve grown a lot since my first time competing last year.”

For some competitors, the communication benefits of DECA can help an individual in the future.

“DECA competitions really help mold you to be a more confident and polished version of yourself,” Kappalayil said. “Being thrown into problem solving situations with little time and having to then perform under pressure in front of a judge force you to think on your feet and outside of the box. Not only that, but then to have to communicate your unique ideas to another individual raises the stakes. You have to be passionate as well as eloquent to be successful in conveying your proposals.”