For coaches.

Coaches improve the quality of practice. They do not become a fifth team member on contest day. The Case Competition materials are written so a teacher, alumni mentor, or club chair can use the same words the students see.

Coach the argument, then the theatre.

Ask for the governing question and the recommendation sentence before you look at colours. If those are weak, slide design is a distraction. When you do review slides, edit titles, not clip art. Make the team speak the deck with slides turned away from them.

A weekly cadence.

• Week A: 15-minute drills, no slides.
• Week B: 90-minute archive case, recorded pitch.
• Week C: feedback against the public scorecard; rebuild only the governing slide and the model.
• Week D: Q&A clinic. The coach asks only follow-ups.

Rotate roles each cycle. A team that always lets one person model and another person talk will fail the first time the talker is sick. Watch for domination, silence, and invented numbers. Require sources on the page.

Feedback that students can use.

Replace “be more structured” with “your second slide is a table of contents; put the action there.” Replace “add more analysis” with “you never tested the rider response to a fare rise.” Be kind about nerves and strict about logic. Do not leak a live brief if you are also a judge.

Point students to how to compete, training, and the insights on slides and roles.