Why This Team Thinks the World of Its Coach : Education: Members of West High School's Academic Decathlon team say the secret of their success is George Floratos, who has inspired and motivated them.

By LORNA FERNANDES

Nov. 13, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Like any coach, George Floratos gives his team pep talks before competition.

But when he prepares the team, he doesn’t use the traditional X’s and O’s familiar to football strategists. Instead, his chalkboard is covered with the names of musical masterpieces and chemistry formulas--the game plans for this team’s success.

Floratos coaches Torrance’s West High School Academic Decathlon team. And under his lead, the nine-member team has scored highest in the county for two consecutive years; last year it ranked second in the state.

On Saturday, West High will compete against 66 schools for the county title at the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon to be held at San Gabriel High School in San Gabriel.

Floratos, 53, has been described by some administrators as the secret of the team’s success. His students agree.

“Mr. F is the consummate coach,” said Nikhil Chanani, a senior at West High who is the only returning member of the decathlon team. “Every high school has nine students who can qualify,” but the strength of the team depends on the coach, the 17-year-old said.

Floratos, who teaches biology, downplays his role and attributes his success to one thing: a commitment by the students to academic excellence.

“I’ve made mine. If they want to succeed, they have to make theirs,” he said.

Team commitment begins in March when Floratos handpicks students who qualify academically and have the right attitude, personality and maturity for the intensity of the competition.

“It’s a gut feeling,” he said of the selection process.

For eight months the team prepares by memorizing dates, solving equations, writing essays and practicing speeches in front of mirrors. The students meet with Floratos for at least 10 hours a week--five in the classroom and at least five at his home every Tuesday and Thursday evening--to study material from entry-level college economics, biology and calculus classes, and take practice tests in fine arts, social studies, language and literature.

To meet national decathlon requirements, Floratos divides the team into three groups of three students each--the A, B and C teams--roughly corresponding to their academic levels.

In the competition, each of the teams answers questions in six areas. They also write essays, give speeches and are interviewed by judges. The final event is the Super Quiz, a game show-style contest that is the only competition event open to the public.

When Floratos took over as coach of the decathlon team in 1987, he said he felt compelled to know as much, if not more, than the team.

After almost six years, he said, he has learned to relax.

“My role is to put the team together, put the content together and motivate the kids,” he said. “I don’t have to have all the answers. If we don’t know, we look it up.

Floratos’ ability to motivate students was what struck William Bawden, principal of West High, when he was trying to fill the vacancy left by the former decathlon coach.

“He knows how to inspire students,” Bawden said. “Kids rally around him and enjoy working with him.”

Although coaching consumes Floratos’ evenings, some weekends and most of the summer--except for August, which is reserved for family vacations--he said he has never regretted his decision.

“This has revitalized my career,” he said. Today, after 21 years of teaching at West High, there is never a dull moment.

“It’s a turn-on; it’s a reason to go to school,” he said.

Born in New York City, Floratos and his family moved to Torrance when he was 17. He attended the former Mount Carmel High School in Los Angeles, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Oklahoma and later earned a master’s in science education from Cal State Long Beach.

He got hooked on teaching while tutoring students while he was a junior in college.

“I started realizing it was fun to tutor. Not only was it good money but it was challenging--it was teaching me to communicate and to help people learn,” he said.

Although Floratos has never been on a decathlon team, he believes his students submit themselves to the grueling study schedule because, like him, they are addicted to competition.

“When they put themselves on the line to compete, they are risking failure, losing--or in this case not winning, and that’s self-imposed pressure,” he said.

Stephanie Haussman, an 18-year-old freshman at Caltech, remembers the pressure before winning the county championship at last year’s decathlon.

But “(Floratos) doesn’t push too hard,” Haussman said. “He makes very sure to keep it fun and light enough so you don’t burn out.”

The team admits feeling the pressure of repeating as county champions, but as the competition has drawn near, they say Floratos has relaxed.

“I think the idea was that if we started off early, we wouldn’t have to rush at the end,” said Ed Chao, a 17-year-old team member. “(Floratos’) philosophy is that we do it because it is fun. When it stops being fun we stop doing it.”

To his students, Floratos is a teacher, coach, mentor and father-figure.

“He’s a very caring human being,” said Shira Franco, a 16-year-old junior. “He’s not only a coach but a friend.”

After months of intense study the team spent the last few night meetings at Floratos’ home, playing none other than Trivial Pursuit. After an hour of board games, Floratos arranged for a nurse practitioner, Nancy Siskowic, to teach the adrenalin-pumped team some relaxation techniques.

With dim lights and instrumental music in the background, the youths sprawled around the fireplace in Floratos’ living room.

“We’re winding down from studying now and focusing on staying healthy,” Floratos said. “If we don’t know the material by now, it’s too late.”

But he is confident that the team will take high honors once again.

“I feel they’re ready. They’re where I expect them to be. . . . I’m finally sleeping at night,” he said.

Sample Decathlon Questions Some sample questions used by the West High School team to prepare for Saturday’s academic decathlon . :

1. Botticelli’s “Head of Flora” is a detail from:

a) the Sistine Chapel

b) Dante’s Inferno

c) “The Birth of Venus”

d) “Primavera”

e) an illuminated manuscript

2. Use VSEPR theory to predict the geometry of the NH3molecule.