Jane,
My dd10 has done OM for three years. This is the first year she isn't doing it and it is only b/c the coaches for her team decided to select a different problem that wasn't what the team chose (long story) and dd decided that she would rather attend a family event on the day of the tournament that she had otherwise been willing to skip than do a problem that wasn't at all of the type she enjoyed.
I've coached twice. My perspective is as follows:
* It's great for creative expression and for kids, like my dd, who are good at coming up with novel ways to approach problems.
* It depends on who is on his team. If he gets a team full of kids who can't focus or who are set on ideas that don't comport with his way of doing things, it may not come out how he'd hope, but it does help with learning how to deal with different ideas and still come away with some product as a team.
* The coach(es) are vital. If the coach can't help these elementary kids stay focused and organized, it can deteriorate into what you fear: kids messing around and getting nothing done. I view assisting with organization and staying on task to be a big part of the coach's job with elementary teams.
* If you have a lot of focused bright kids, they could learn something b/c you could help them research ideas they have or find experts to give them info on ideas. Most of the time, it isn't so much an academic learning experience as it is a fun experience for creative thinking, though.
Is the school asking you to coach a team or be the school coordinator? There is a big difference. The school coordinator needs to deal with paperwork and timelines for all teams at the school. A coach needs to ensure that the kids fill out all of the paperwork and turn in forms and payment for things like T-shirt to the coordinator on time. The coordinator also arranges and informs parents of the trainings for their various volunteer jobs. Each child on the team needs to have his/her parent volunteer to do something: coach, tournament volunteer, etc. If you are both the coordinator and the coach, you'll need to assign jobs, coordinate with the district to figure out the times for the judges' training, etc.
Make sure you know how much they are asking you to do!
