Tips for Helping Your Student

Support for Your Competitor

Being the parent of a Speech & Debate student is a heavy burden and quite a commitment.  Sometimes the early morning drop-offs, late evening pick-ups, practices and never-ending discussions about global politics, nuclear war, and economy can be quite taxing.  Our parents are AMAZING!!!!  Despite all of the expectations, parents still always ask what they can do to further support their competitor.  The following is a list of things that you can do to further support your Speech & Debate student:

1.       Engage your student in meaningful discussions and debates.  While we know our students can be a bit argumentative, even…stubborn, sometimes, as they progress through Speech & Debate courses, they should start to refine their style and be able to explain all of the complex arguments that they are making in their cases to you.  Force them to use “non-debate” terminology in their explanation.  This makes them develop a better understanding of their own cases. 

2.       Support their commitment.  Uninterrupted practice time and ability to attend tournaments are critical components to success in this activity.  To that end, please make an effort to schedule doctor’s visits, dental appointments, etc., outside of practice time.  Additionally, unless otherwise communicated by the coach, practice will not end early.  

3.       Purchase a laptop for them.  As your student becomes more advanced, the need for a laptop becomes more important.  Not only is paperless debating and speaking better for the environment, it is also more cost-effective for you and our team.  We decrease the amount of paper and toner purchased to print debate cases and extemp articles by storing them electronically.  Additionally, as your student gets more competitive, having paperless files will be far cheaper for airline flights!

4.       Prepare for the possibility of future out-of-state travel.  Each year, Varsity members (not in first year of competition) of the HHS Speech & Debate team travel out of state for one TOC qualifying tournament.  It is good to be prepared for this possibility.  Parents are expected to pay for airline costs and a portion of the hotel fees when trips like this occur.  

5.       Invest in and Make Summer Camp a Priority.  Your student probably already attended a camp here at Hendrickson before we even started school.  HHS is very fortunate to host an excellent summer camp right here at home that is required for all our team members.  We go to great expense to provide this option to all members of our team, even though most schools do not, because we have a deep commitment to equity of opportunity in this activity that is so essential to a successful democracy.  Please plan your summer accordingly.  

Varsity level competition in speech and debate is extremely rigorous.  As such, following a student’s novice year of competition, students should attend a college facilitated debate camp during the summer.  Summer camp is a requirement for returning debaters.  Not only do these universities view debate summer institutes as recruiting tools to attract students for their college debate teams and general student body, the camps are often used as long-term scholarship auditions for future students.  Debaters who attend university camps also have a significant competitive advantage.  These camps range in price from about $1500 to $4000.  Many offer scholarships to attend to debaters who have demonstrated a successful career prior to application.  Begin planning ASAP.  Suggested camps for each type of debater in our program are listed on the Hawk Speech & Debate website under the “Debate Camp Recommendations” in the For Team Members section.  

6.       Come watch.  Though Speech & Debate is not typically considered a “spectator sport,” it should be!  Please join us at a tournament to cheer us on and watch your student.  You can find schedules/directions at www.joyoftournaments.com if you know the name of the school and the date of a tournament.  Upon arrival at the school, find the Hendrickson Team at one of the tables in the cafeteria.  Tournament etiquette holds that once a round begins, no one should interrupt it so be a few minutes early for the round you wish to watch. If your student isn’t comfortable with you watching them, please let one of the coaches know and we will find an appropriate round for you to watch. 

7.       Contribute and Join. We have a very active Booster Club whose sole purpose is to support the activities of the students on the team.  There are roles ranging from active leadership positions to less involved event specific volunteers.  The stronger the booster club, the more opportunities exist for your students.  Additionally, it is a great resource for networking with other parents whose students are experiencing the same things as yours.  Booster meetings are held quarterly on the following dates: August 22, October 24, January 23, April 24 at 6:30 pm (immediately following practice) in room A104.  Come, join, participate!