Ag Skill Demonstration LDE Coaching Kit | FFA LDE Practice, Scoresheet & Script

📦 Instant digital download • PDF file • Licensed for classroom/personal use, not for resale

Every fall, somebody ends up coaching the Skill Demonstration team. Usually it's the advisor who's also running Chapter Conducting, Quiz, Creed, and a barn full of show projects. The kids are willing, but nobody knows what to demonstrate, how long it should take, or why the team that "looked great" placed seventh.

The Ag Skill Demonstration LDE Coaching Kit is a 33-page coaching system that takes a team from "What should we demonstrate?" to a timed, polished, judge-ready demonstration. It was built around how the Texas FFA Agricultural Skill Demonstration event is actually scored. Two items, Explanation of Skill and Performance of Skill, carry 400 of the 1,000 points, and every section of this kit is aimed at helping teams earn them. You get clear teacher directions, an annotated example script, an answer key, and practice tools you can hand to any teacher or officer who sits in as a judge.

It works for Greenhand and Senior division teams, first-year coaches, and veteran advisors who want their Skill Demo team to stop being the afterthought.

What's Included

A. Advisor Quick-Start

• Event at a glance: team size, time window, penalties, the no-live-animals rule, dress, and eligibility
• "Reading the Scorecard Like a Judge," showing where all 1,000 points live, plus five coaching takeaways
• Twelve common point losses, each with the fix
• 6-week and 3-week coaching timelines

B. Topic Selection

• Eight-filter guide to choosing a winning topic
• Topic idea bank covering animal science, vet skills, plant and soil, floral, ag mech, food science, natural resources, and ag business
• List of trap topics to avoid
• Topic decision worksheet, plus a completed sample with coaching notes

C. Script-Building Workbook

• Demonstration blueprint that maps each segment to the scorecard items it earns
• Time budget planner
• Hook and introduction builder
• Materials and safety plan
• Step builder for 8 steps (what, how, why, and the common mistake for each)
• Industry connection and summary page, with clean-up choreography
• Two-column script draft
• Team role and participation map

D. Annotated Example Script

• A complete original demonstration (Balancing a Grower Ration with the Pearson Square), timed to 15:45
• Coach's notes beside every segment
• Answer key for all of the math

E. Planning & Practice Tools

• Demonstration planning sheet and host confirmation checklist
• Table layout and judge sightline grid
• Failure backup plan
• Timing and rehearsal log with a penalty reference
• Original practice scoresheet
• Practice feedback cards
• Video review sheet

F. Contest Day

• Advisor checklist and team packing list
• 15-minute warm-up routine
• Post-contest debrief

Also included: a teacher guide, a recommended print plan, TEKS alignment, and terms of use.

How You Can Use It

• LDE team coaching. Follow the 6-week or 3-week plan straight through.
• Classroom project. Run the topic and script sections as a group demonstration project in any AFNR course. Your strongest group becomes your contest team.
• Team tryouts. Use the idea bank for a quick 3-minute mini-demo tryout.
• Sub plans. The topic selection and script-building pages work as independent team work days while you're at another contest.

Why Teachers Like It

• It teaches students to teach the skill, which is what the biggest scorecard items reward, instead of turning the demo into a skit.
• Every team member gets a real speaking role and hands-on role, mapped on paper before the first run.
• The failure backup plan prepares teams for the dull blade, dead battery, or spilled feed that shows up on contest day.
• The practice scoresheet lets any adult give useful feedback, even if they've never judged the event.

TEKS Alignment

Aligns to Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (§127.30) and Agricultural Leadership, Research, and Communications (§127.47) for communication, teamwork, safety, and leadership. The technical content aligns to whichever AFNR course the team's skill comes from. A course guide is included.

Please Note

This independently created resource is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National FFA Organization, the Texas FFA Association, Sam Houston State University, or any contest provider. It does not reproduce official scorecards or rules; the practice scoresheet is an original coaching tool. Event details were checked against the Texas FFA LDE Rules posted September 2026. Always verify current rules and download the official scorecard from texasffa.org each season. The example script uses a fictional chapter and students.