HAMPDEN – Combine the strategy of chess, the improv of drama and the rules of law, and you will come pretty close to what high school mock trial is all about, according to Katharine King, teacher coach for the Hampden Academy Mock Trial Team.

Add to that a lot of hard work and determination, and you may understand what gives the Hampden Academy Mock Trial Team the edge that is propelling it to a national competition for the fourth consecutive year.

In December, the team won the Maine State High School Mock Trial Championship by beating out 22 high schools, and on April 1 it began preparing a new case to represent Maine at the National High School Mock Trial Championship, May 10-13 in Dallas.

The competition is intense at the national level. The entire 18-member team makes the trip. Eight compete and the rest are there to take in the experience for the next year.

Forty-eight teams from across the United States and as far away as South Korea and Guam meet for two days and five rounds of heated cross-examinations, opening and closing statements and witness remarks, according to Jim McCarthy, lawyer and coach to the team.

None of it is scripted, and once the trials begin the students are on their own without the guidance of coaches, said King. It’s all about teamwork and personal ingenuity.

“The students have to adapt to something that comes up – which something always does – and they have to communicate with each other,” said King.

“It’s not about regurgitating the law, it’s about understanding the law,” said Sam Wood, third-year team member.

Often during competition weekend, the competing members of the team are up at 6 in the morning and don’t go to sleep until midnight.

The Hampden team really has to work hard to reach the level of the other competitors, according to Wood. “These teams are the best of the best. It can be really hard to crack a witness or shut down a lawyer because they are all so good in nationals,” he said.

Before heading to Dallas, the students practice two or three hours a day, seven days a week, in addition to studying countless hours on their own for mock trial. And of course, they continue to be responsible for carrying out their day-to-day homework, sports and other after-school activities. Time management is key.

“It’s been far more demanding than any sport I’ve been on,” said Sophie Kelmenson, fourth-year team member.

But the team seems to be in agreement that mock trial is worth all the effort.

“[Mock trial] helps you think on your feet,” said Jenn Wilson, in her first year on the team. The experience helps with confidence, analytical thinking, the ability to communicate and interact with other people, and with general life skills.

“It honestly makes you smarter,” said Logan Deane, also a team member.

The reason the team is No. 1 in the state is clear: the combination of a team that works together, individual resolve, dedicated coaches, proud parents and a supportive community backing the students.

The students are there to support and mentor each other; they know what each of them goes through to juggle their obligations and perform well in mock trial. Fellow members are also there to explain concepts in a less technical way, said Kristina King, team member.

And of course the parents are there for their children: “My husband and I will be traveling again to Nationals with the team in a few weeks … we couldn’t pass up another opportunity to see hundreds of high school kids from all over the country at their very best and brightest moments … We will be there, cheering. Go Maine!” parent Robin Wood wrote in an e-mail.

However, a bulk of the praise goes to the coaches. The students were quick and sure to applaud King, who undertakes the task of organizing the team. And lawyers Bill Devoe, attorney with Eaton Peabody in Bangor, and McCarthy, assistant United States attorney, take time out of their daily lives to guide the students in courtroom procedure, giving constructive criticism and teaching law as an ethical study.

“Without them [the coaches] we would crumble,” said King. “They redefine volunteers.”

The attorneys agreed individually that they believed the program benefited everyone and was certainly worth the additional commitment.

“It is a wonderful balance for me to work with the high-achieving, social, academically and athletically involved youth through the high school mock trial program, because that balance gives me the hope for the future of the country that I don’t get through my work as a prosecutor,” said McCarthy.

The students are taught by the coaches to be respectful but also to “stick to their guns,” and in the end Hampden Academy puts forth a “smart, polite, and well-performing team,” said Sophie Kelmonson. “It’s kind of like a family after a while; we get to see the kids grow after years of working with them,” said Devoe. “[They develop] skills that they can apply to any walk to life in any setting, and that’s what’s rewarding to us, is to see them blossom as part of the process,” he added.

Team members are: Ryan Asalone, Jarrod Bouchard, Jacob Cravens, Logan Deane, Ka-tie Foster, Jessi Hackett, Jason Hamilton, Sophie Kelmenson, Kristina King, Rachel Lawler, Tao Mason, Rylee Rawcliffe, Savannah Sargent, Jack Swalec, Lauren Swalec, Emily Tarbell-Reynolds, Jenn Wilson and Sam Wood.