The Coach Connection is here to provide quick and optimistic tips, hacks, and support in Q&A format to help inspire and assist Speech and Debate coaches.
This year, the focus of Coach Connection will be to provide new coaches with helpful resources.
I’m going to give you an overview of some really fabulous coaching resources from the 2020 Online Wyoming Coaches Conference that you can start using to help your Speech and Debate Team today!
A note about the conference: Jackson Hole Head Speech and Debate Coach and WHSFA president Londe Gagnon, Cheyenne East Head Speech and Debate Coach Marcus Viney, and myself were the 2020 Wyoming Online Coach Conference hosting committee - but a lot of awesome coaches and folks were integral to the success of the conference. I will be referencing some of these folks and their work, but be sure to check out www.wyospeech.org (HERE) for a full list of the presenters at the conference. We have some amazingly talented and generous coaches in our Wyoming community - and I feel blessed to be a part of it.
In no particular order, here are NINE immediately useful coaching resources from the 2020 Online Wyoming Coaches Conference. Each title is linked to a Google Document with the resource.
1. New Coach Manual: This is a valuable resource for new coaches that goes through the ins-and-outs of coaching Speech and Debate in Wyoming. From team building and organizing practices to the nuts-and-bolts of registering your team in tournaments - this guide is an excellent starting point for a new coach. Originally the brainchild of Greybull Speech and Debate Coach Joel Kuper, this document recently benefited from a number of adds and updates from Jackson Hole Speech and Debate Coach Peggy Gagnon who presented to new coaches at the conference. This really is one of those must-see-and-use resources for new Wyoming coaches.
2. Mack Kramer’s Debate Resource Compendium. Mack, friend of the podcast, is a recently graduated Rock Springs competitor who now debates for the University of Wyoming Team. Mack has been collecting free online resources for improving debating skills and researching resolutions for a while now… and they've made it possible for all of us to reap the benefits of all their collecting. This is a great document for debaters and coaches to use when seeking awesome free stuff to help debaters learn and improve. Mack will be adding new resources soon! (Also available on https://wyodebateroundup.weebly.com/)
3. The Debate Resources Presentation with Marcus Viney, Matt Liu, and Mack Kramer. This 35 minute video session is full of debate resources for all levels of coaches. Marcus goes through some Basic Debate Resources - including his website punchydebate.org, Mack goes through some intermediate Debate Resources - including the Debate Resource Compendium, and Matt Liu - Director of UW Debate highlights more Advanced Debate Resources in this excellent presentation!
4. The Keynote Banquet Speaker, Dr. Tommie Lindsey. Dr. Lindsey, longtime coach for James Logan High School (Union City, CA) and Vice President of the NSDA Board, is one of the most celebrated and successful speech coaches. Dr. Lindsey delivered an inspirational message filled with hope and help for coaches at all stages of their journey entitled “Leaving a Legacy: Sustaining a Diverse and Competitive Speech and Debate Team.” This is definitely a great inspirational resource for coaches. 5. Allen Pino’s Online Competition Tips. This video starts with a fire hair flip from East Coach Allen Pino… and then Allen goes on to provide a wealth of tips for online competitors to consider for this upcoming season. Don’t miss Allen’s top shelf advice!
6. Speech Resources with Marcus Viney and Ashley Schulz. Marcus provides resources and approaches for Platform events, while fellow East Coach Ashley lays out a bunch of ideas and resources for Interpretative events. There is some super useful and genius stuff in this presentation to check out!
7. Policy Debate for Beginners with Matt Liu. In addition to his Advanced Debate Resources, Matt lays out a solid path for beginner Policy Debate coaches and competitors. Matt’s accessible and useful guide is a great starting place for any coach who wants to dive into Policy Debate.
8. Understanding Tabroom with Emily Farwell. Buffalo Speech and Debate Coach - Emily Farwell takes coaches through the basics of Tabroom for adding students, registering for tournaments, setting up tournaments, and more. Emily’s presentation is invaluable for all of us who are planning to run virtual tournaments this season. If you need a good starting place for understanding tabroom, you should definitely watch and re-watch this presentation!
9. WHSFA Virtual Tournaments Best Practices Guide. This guide is a valuable resource for coaches who are looking to run and compete in virtual tournaments this season. It will continue to evolve as more virtual tournaments take place and the community adjusts to challenges - and additional resources will be added as they are created. Be sure to give this best practices guide a place of honor on your computer.
There you go! Nine immediately useful coaching resources from the 2020 Online Wyoming Coaches Conference - and I hope they will all be useful for coaches right away. Best of luck to all coaches and competitors as they kick off their 2020-2021 seasons!
If you have a question that you would like discussed on the Coach Connection, message me on the webpage or shoot me an email at lylewiley@gmail.com.