The Culture Has Shifted

Often when talking about Needham High School’s competitive teams, the immediate focus goes to athletics, like the football team. Academic teams like Speech & Debate and Model U.N. often get overlooked. Even within this subset of clubs, there is one that I believe that gets little to no attention. I believe that many people are unaware of the existence of the NHS Mock Trial team, of which I am one of three captains. Mock trial is a competition where students participate in a realistic trial that simulates the experience of the courtroom. Students play the role of lawyers and witnesses and try to win their case using the legal techniques that they have learned over the season. These contests take place against other high schools as part of a statewide competition.

The NHS Mock Trial team was in a difficult spot at the end of last year, coming off an unsuccessful season in which the team won two trials but ultimately failed to make it past the preliminary round. To make matters worse, the team was in a challenging situation that threatened the very existence of Needham High’s own mock trial team. The team was composed of over 50% outgoing seniors. This was particularly concerning because there were no juniors on the team, and the underclassman had little to no experience with Mock Trial, other than a few exceptions. To top the situation off, the longtime advisor and two longtime attorney coaches for the team decided to officially retire from coaching. This seemed like a death sentence for Needham mock trial, as the few experienced members left of the team were faced with the task of finding a new advisor, new attorney coaches, and almost an entirely new team in time for the next season. After hours and hours of work we were able to form a phenomenal new staff in time for this year's season, but we are still looking for new members to strengthen the team.

Despite all of these struggles, my co-captains and I know that this year will be an even better year for the NHS Mock Trial Team. We want to focus on fostering the spirit of collaboration, rather than individualism. We feel that working together as a team will elevate Mock Trial to a more competitive level. One of the most important things to us is team chemistry. If you join the team this year, we can’t promise you success, or that it will be easy, but the other captains and I can promise you three things. The first is that you will learn a lot about the law. Over the course of the season we will be teaching you about Massachusetts law, and techniques you can use in the courtroom with the help of our attorney coach. At the end of the season, we can assure you that you’ll at least know more about the law and legal system than you did at the beginning of the season. The second thing we can promise is that the mock trial team will be a passionate and caring community. The team is made up of great students and teachers that will help, and encourage you to be your best. Culture is our first priority, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that you are growing as a legal mind, feeling at home in our community, and having a great time. Our final guarantee is that you will enjoy your time. The people at helm of the team, and the longstanding members in the mock trial community are very fun and kind people that I have had the pleasure of working with on countless occasions, and as long as they’re on the team you will have fun. The road to glory starts here. Go Rockets!