When Dev Shah won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2023 and Faizan Zaki took the title last year, they posed for remarkably similar photos on the confetti-strewn stage. Standing next to them, beaming, was a bespectacled man in an aloha shirt, holding up a copy of his book Words of Wisdom. For Scott Remer, the champion spellers' coach, posing for a picture was more than just a celebration. It was a business necessity. While nearly every National Spelling Bee champion over the past 15 years has worked with a coach, the 32-year-old Remer is the country's only full-time pro for elite spellers, per the AP. Most coaches are former spellers who are still in college or even high school.
When the field of 247 spellers at this year's bee—which begins Tuesday and concludes Thursday in Washington—is cut down to 10 or so finalists, it's all but inevitable the group will include multiple Remer students. "He's probably one of the most influential figures in spelling over the past 10 years," said Shah, now 17. Remer has coached five national champions, and since the bee emerged from the pandemic disruptions of 2020 and '21, he has scaled up the coaching profession. He claims 34 spellers as his students this year and has worked with no fewer than 29 during each of the past four bees.
He charges more than other coaches: up to $180 for an hourlong private lesson. If spellers finish in the top 10 and earn a cash prize, he receives up to 10% of their winnings, which he calls "a performance-based bonus." Many spellers and their families believe Remer is worth it—despite, or perhaps because of, the intense personality that emerges during his lessons. "I try to be tough but fair, and I also try to modulate my teaching methods, based on the kids' needs and the kids' personalities," he says. "Whether I'm always successful at that is I guess an open question." Read the full story.
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