“California Gurls” (yes, that is how it’s spelled) by Katy Perry plays at full volume from the tiny speakers of a student’s phone as the school bus bounces over the bumps of a highway outside of Epworth, Iowa. Both City High’s A team, coached by Dolores Silva, and South East Middle School’s A team, coached by Carson Tuttle have just won their respective divisions at the West Dubuque Quiz Bowl Open tournament.
Tuttle was beaming during the interview while jammed on a bench at the front of the bus, recalling the memories he had in the three years since he brought Quiz Bowl to the ICCSD.
“I’ve always been a big fan of trivia, and I have my own music trivia team that I play on with a group of friends of mine every week. I have this big music trivia competition that I go to every single year in Quincy, Illinois. I had a real passion for trivia and for, you know, just being able to have fun answering questions, and I had a friend of mine who coached Quiz Bowl and told me what it was like,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle approached a small group of his students and asked if they would be interested in joining a new Quiz Bowl team. They accepted and started practicing soon after. A few months after starting, the new team drove to Epworth to compete in the middle school division of the 2022 Western Dubuque Open.
“I remember our first tournament was at West Dubuque High School, where we just played, we came in second place after a close, crushing defeat from Anamosa, and after that, they kind of became this team of legend, our rivals, if you will. But sadly, we didn’t see them for the rest of the year, so we didn’t have a chance to redeem ourselves,”
The number of students in the program has drastically increased since its inception three years ago. According to Tuttle, there were five students at the first practice, but now over 30 students attend practices.
“We just had a tournament today where we brought six teams of kids and 27 of our kids competing in the same tournament. It’s grown so much, and I obviously can see that it means a lot to our teams and our community, doing this whole Quiz Bowl thing. I’ve seen it just grow and grow each year. I think the community and the joy and the positivity, the whole thing has just been infectious,”
Tuttle claimed that he had little to do with recruitment, saying that the students did most of the work for him.
“They’ll invite their friends to come to practice. It’s so funny that now, I have so many students who are younger brothers and sisters of former students who were on the team and joined because of what their brothers and sisters experienced doing it themselves,”
Beyond trophies and titles, a big part of Tuttle’s involvement in Quiz Bowl is the enjoyment students get out of the program.
“I think watching students have fun and get a question right and get excited. It’s just that look on their face. When a team is able to come together and win a game, it’s just so much fun. I just enjoy watching how much joy the kids get out of it. I think many people think that the program’s competitiveness is because of me, but it’s really because I want the kids to experience the joy and the excitement of doing well. After all, I think having fun and being successful are the same,”
Tuttle recalled fond memories of the team’s inaugural season. He had assembled a strong team to try and win the state championship and ended up being successful.
“One of my favorite memories is our first year. Our team won the state championship with [Jethro Michaelson (‘27)], Daniel [Drollette (‘27)], Madeline [Fischer (‘27)], and Felix [Cook (‘28)]. That is always going to be a really powerful memory for me, of just like, ‘I never thought I could do that.’ I never thought that I could be a part of something that wins a state championship in something, and that was just really cool to be a part of that,”
Southeast has also attended the Middle School National Championship in Chicago both years thus far. Tuttle expressed that going there was something very few teams got to do and that he was very glad to be a part of it.
“Another moment was being able to watch you City High students take up the mantle and continue to do Quiz Bowl and continue to be successful, that just makes me so proud. Being able to see Nico [Vergara-Vanegas (‘28)] and Felix’s faces when they walked into the cafeteria and I got to see them for the first time after winning that tournament, it was just so cool. It’s just so cool to experience those moments with kids that used to be on your team,”
Tuttle admitted that he tries to coach in a very easygoing and fun style. He said that the most important thing was that the students had fun, learned, and gained confidence in themselves, never feeling unwelcome or that they had done something wrong.
“The thing about Quiz Bowl is that sometimes it’s a measure of how strong your team’s academic knowledge is and sometimes it’s just random things happening that you can’t control. Sometimes you get that question that’s about ancient Sumerian civilization and sometimes you get that question about Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It doesn’t do any good to get frustrated or get too competitive because it’s a silly game. When it really comes down to it, all we can do is stay positive and play our best,”
For Tuttle, winning has never been the most important part of his time coaching Quiz Bowl, instead, it is about what students can take away from their involvement past their time in the club.
“The main thing I’ve seen in my students since starting Quiz Bowl is them gaining so much confidence, particularly in themselves. We’re a group of people that likes to do nerdy things and that are excited about, you know, finding out every capital of every country in the world or talking about which Russian author wrote this novel and stuff like that. Seeing kids really starting to gain confidence in themselves, it’s the biggest thing I’ve seen. I’ve also seen the formation of friendships and just people finding their people,”
Tuttle was glad to create the kind of community he had during his time as a student and feels optimistic when thinking of the future of his creation throughout the Iowa City Community School District.
“The future is very bright with the kids you guys have coming to City that love Quiz Bowl. I can already see it happening, the fact that having [Jethro] and Daniel being two of my first Quiz Bowl students and Ace [Drumbarger (‘27)] being one of my first Quiz Bowl students, and now being able to play on a team with Nico and Felix. In a couple of years, you’re going to be able to play with these kids who are seventh and eighth graders right now. I just think that we’re gonna continue to do well, to grow, have fun, and experience a lot of good days,”
Tuttle encouraged students who were unsure about joining the program to attend a practice or tournament to see the environment and see if they would enjoy it. Those not wanting to play can choose to sit, watch, build lifelong friendships, and celebrate the accomplishments of their team.
“I just want [my students] to know that they’re brilliant, they’re capable, and they’re able to accomplish things together. I’m just thinking about this because my team just won a tournament and beat the team that beat them in the last tournament. They improved so much over just three weeks, and that comes from believing in themselves and trusting themselves. I hope that they can believe in themselves and in each other to reach their goals.”
