THE COACHING PROGRAM

Working With Your Coach

A 1-on-1 program built live around your student's exact starting point — no rotating mentors, no group cohorts.

1-on-1 Coaching Programs

The coaching program at Recursive Dragon is built around two fundamental tenets.

  1. Every student has a different level of coding and problem-solving experience, which steadily improves over time.

  2. The only way to improve at algorithmic programming is by consistently solving problems and learning from them.

After assessing your student's current level, your coach builds a customized syllabus around their specific gaps and goals. Your student works with the same coach throughout their entire journey — from wherever they're starting, through USACO Platinum. Sessions combine short lectures with active problem solving, working through a solution together in real time. Readings and homework between sessions keep the momentum going.

Our pricing


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ABOUT USACO

The USA Computing Olympiad

Recursive Dragon was founded to help prepare students for the USA Computing Olympiad: the premier high school algorithmic programming competition. Through the coaching program, your student works directly with their coach — not a rotating roster — taking a meaningful step toward mastery of data structures and algorithms.



USACO DIVISIONS

One coach, from Bronze all the way to Platinum.



Bronze (8057 students)

At the bronze level, students build on their programming fundamentals, designing relatively simple algorithms to solve various problems. Students are exposed to fundamental techniques like sorting and recursion.

Silver (2216 students)

At the silver level, students begin learning real-world data structures and algorithms. Students learn how to process data using sets, efficiently find items via binary search, and traverse graphs via Depth First Search.

Gold (721 students)

At the gold level, problems often require multiple steps combined with key deductions. Students learn data structures like Fenwick Trees, Disjoint Set Unions, and more, along with famous algorithms like Dijkstra's Algorithm.

Platinum (247 students)

At the platinum level, problems become extremely challenging, as the full array of techniques and algorithms used in competitive programming can appear. The top 24 contestants are invited to the USA National Training camp.




Frequently Asked Questions


  • Can you guarantee that my student reaches the USACO Platinum division?

    While personalized coaching is a great asset, and helps maximize the chances of success, ultimately your student will need to have a passion for the material. Additionally, your student must have the perseverance to spend, at minimum, the hundreds of hours required to reach the Platinum division. Some students spend years and never reach the Platinum division, while others can attain it in about 1-2 years.

  • How are programs priced?

    Programs are priced by the student's current USACO division and the outcome we're targeting, not by the hour. Every program includes weekly 1-on-1 sessions and the full support system, and students move to the next program tier upon promotion. See our programs for details.