The teamwork, the life lessons, the scoring and the outcomes are what make it a sport. But in this competition, the mind replaces physical skills, a courtroom is the playing field, and the law is the object ball.

Mock trial competition may just be the most nontraditional sport you've never heard of.

"The purpose is to teach students about the trial law process," said Brian Schlee, the coach of the Conestoga Valley High School (CVHS) mock trial team. "They are learning about the legal process and having fun doing it. It's also a way to introduce the legal process to those who might be interested in the law. There's a lot of real analysis and a lot of real legal talk."

The CVHS mock trial team practices, rehearses and employs role-playing techniques to simulate lawyers - for both the prosecution and the defense - and witnesses. During the 30-minute timed competitions, which take place locally at the Lancaster County Courthouse, 50 N. Duke St., Lancaster, the students present their arguments in front of jurors made up of volunteer local attorneys and a real-life Lancaster County judge.

Mock trial teams compete against one another, and their performances are judged by legal professionals using a scale-of-10 rubric scoring system.

"What you see often with some of the good teams, they have great characters," said Schlee. "They'll write lines into affidavits and get the adults at the trials to chuckle. You are allowed to costume, but you can't use props. We can dress like the individuals we are portraying, but that's as far as we can go."

"To me, mock trial is a combination of speech and debate and adding a government element to it," said junior Gwen Unruh, CVHS' mock trial president. "The activity is very enjoyable, and it has helped me with my critical thinking skills. You get to meet people who love learning about the law. I think it's a great way to apply what we're learning in our classes. It's really, really fun, and it develops companionship."

During the regular season, mock trial teams are presented with one civil trial case, which is written by actual lawyers. This year, the CVHS mock team has been tasked with a simulated civil case of medical malpractice involving a mother, a family physician, a misdiagnosis and trichinosis.

The CVHS mock trial team received this year's regular-season case problem on Nov. 7, 2025, and had until Jan. 10 to prepare its prosecution and defense. The eight- to 10-week mock trial season, which ends in the spring, includes local, regional, state and national competitions.

"Speaking to a judge and speaking in front of jurors, I think that's one of the biggest skills that mock trial teaches," said Schlee. "Public speaking skills are transferrable to anywhere. There's legal writing, and the critical thinking skills are huge. You have to explain things in layman's terms and qualify witnesses as experts, and getting jurors to remember things can be tricky. A lot of it is just understanding how the law works. It's just fun to play other teams and see how each team interprets each case and how they portray it."

Currently, there are 16 CVHS students in grades nine through 12 involved with the mock trial team.

"(The students) enjoy acting. They enjoy performing," said Schlee. "Not only do our students come from the drama department, they also come from the marching band. Some are just off the football field. We have students who are involved with other activities here at CV. We have students from all walks of life. They're just kids who want to have fun and learn about the law. They all come together to form a great mock trial team."

Other Lancaster County schools that field mock trial teams include Lancaster Catholic, Lampeter-Strasburg, Penn Manor, McCaskey, Lancaster Country Day and Cocalico. In the state, mock trial team competition is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and nearly 300 teams from hundreds of high schools compete.

CVHS has been fielding a mock trial team for nearly 20 years.

"There's no substitute for a real competition environment," said Schlee. "As the year goes along, the students get more comfortable in their skills. I love working with the kids. Mostly, it's about helping the kids grow."

For additional information, go to http://www.pabar.org/site/For-the-Public/Mock-Trial-Competition.