I began coaching Odyssey of the Mind teams in 1995. I am reasonably certain I never will again. Before I explain, allow me to make a few points.

First, I'm getting old. The time has come for me to step down.

Second, the young people I have coached—especially this year—have been delightful. You have given me far more than I have given you.  I have loved working with you. As near as I can figure I have coached something like 50 of you. Many are Facebook friends who will read this. You are wonderful. Thank you for letting me take part in your lives. I mean it.

Finally, this is not sour grapes. By the grace of God we have met with great success. We have finished 6^th, 10^th and 24^th in the whole, wild world. We have won four state championships. I am proud of this. And the reason I write it is not to brag, but to prove that my point below comes not from envy, but from experience.

Finally to my point: the second reason for my retirement is the cheating I see condoned by the OM system. I know these are big, angry words. I have prayed about whether to convey them. In the end, I believe somebody needs to say it and there are few people better qualified to do so.

Over the years I have watched certain teams cheat again and again. I refer not to inadvertent breaking of the rules. Anybody can make a mistake—especially in an endeavor as detailed and pressure-packed as OM. Six weeks ago I became aware that something I had done on behalf of my team might have broken the rules. I asked the powers that be and learned that indeed I had. I immediately took action to rectify the situation. No, I refer to intentional, cynical cheating. And I refer to an organization that enables it.

This weekend I watched as the coach of another team tried to rally her kids. She and they (older teens) were crying.  They stood in line behind a team from one of the schools that repeatedly cheats. Every person in the room—coaches, youth, parents, judges—could tell at a glance this other team had broken the rules. To take one of any number of violations, every member of every team signs a paper that says they have not spent more than a specific number of dollars on their presentation. The team in question had obviously spent seven, ten, twelve times more than the limit. They also employed a technical device explicitly prohibited by the rules. But because they are very well connected to the OM hierarchy, they got away with it.

OM is supposed to value creativity. And it does: it values creative cheating, Again, I know these are strong words. I do not believe the people in the OM hierarchy mean for one second to enable cheating. But they do. Their whole positive-thinking, self-esteem, “It's all about the kids” mentality blinds them to a fundamental fact: the system they have created rewards cheating. Uber-competitive people from uber-competitive places are taking advantage of their naiveté. Unless they somehow develop the courage to enforce the true spirit of their rules, this will never change.

And that is really, really sad.