One Clap Speech and Debate

Send us Fan Mail

Class of 2020 Valedictorian of Hot Springs County High School, Breeze Petty has been a lover of debate for her whole high school career, but Congressional Debate waltzed into her life last minute - just in time for her to catch Nationals last year and sweep her off of her feet.  Breeze came on the One Clap Podcast to recount the journey from Congress skeptic to a master of the gavel.

One Clap Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Hot Springs County High School Class of 2020 Graduate and two-time National Qualifier, Hannah Hu, despondent from an extremely long wait for her Animal Crossing edition Switch en route from Germany, came by for a visit on the One Clap Pod to chat about Oratory, Informative, and why tournament snacks are overrated.

One Clap Blog

Send us Fan Mail

While the Wyoming State Online Speech and Debate Tournament was an event that required the help and support of many coaches, competitors, community leaders, and judges, three people were especially foundational to the planning and technical execution of the tournament and registration: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate; Nick Ryan, Liberty Assistant Director of Debate; and Londe Gagnon, Jackson Hole High School Speech and Debate Coach and WHSFA President.  These three co-directors of the tournament came on the One Clap Podcast to share some terrific insight into what it took to make the Wyoming State Speech and Debate Tournament happen, what we learned from the event, and how students and coaches can prepare for the National Speech and Debate Tournament that will be held online this summer.

One Clap Blog

Make sure to stay tuned in to the Wyoming Debate Roundup Blog for updates about debate practice for Nationals and all things Wyoming debate: https://wyodebateroundup.weebly.com/

Send us Fan Mail

Like many Speech and Debate programs in Wyoming, Rock Springs High School Speech and Debate works hard to build Policy Debate Teams that can compete both on the Wyoming circuit and nationally.  For the first time on the One Clap Pod, a coach and competitor came on the show together. Rock Springs Policy coach, Jeremiah Etcheverry, and Senior competitor, Hanna Crockett, shared their Speech and Debate experiences and then discussed Policy Debate specifically.

Senior Hanna Crockett, who recently qualified for the National Tournament this year in World Schools Debate, is a Rock Springs CX competitor who has a dynamite growth mindset, hopes to learn and grow as much as possible as a debater, and devours Coffee Nut M&M's to kick her debate energy to the next level.

Jeremiah Etcheverry is a former college debater who now coaches Policy Debate at Rock Springs.  Jeremiah is passionate about helping his Tiger Debaters be the best they can be at every level.  Additionally, he enjoys weird Cheese It flavors and believes strongly in the importance of an ice cold soda at every tournament.

One Clap Podcast Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Zach Bearnson, former competitor and assistant coach at Torrington High School, and Lyle had a nostalgic conversation in Ep. 9 of the One Clap Pod.  They recalled some fun nuggets about Lyle's coaching ignorance at the beginning of his coaching career at THS.  They also had a light discussion about Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Zach’s experience with competition and coaching, and we reminisced about all the bad food they'd devoured at tournaments along the way.

One Clap Pod Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Rachel Christoph, Coach of the Cheyenne South High School Speech and Debate Team, crashed the One Clap Podcast to talk about the inception of a nonprofit organization to help struggling competitors get free and quality speech clothing for competition (Suit Up, Speak Out) and what it was like to host and organize the Wyoming Coaching Conference in Cheyenne last fall.  

For more information on Suit Up, Speak Out, visit the Facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/suitupspeakout/

If you'd like to reach out to Rachel to talk about Suit Up, Speak Out or contact her about the possibility of some individual coaching, her email is: [email protected] 

Send us Fan Mail

Callie Firminhac, the Wyoming Original Oratory State Champion in 2017, competed in Speech and Debate at Torrington High School for two years.  Callie jumped on the One Clap Pod to give some quick perspective on how she approached topic selection for Original Oratory, what she remembers most about her time in competition, and why she thinks Speech and Debate is such a powerful outlet for students.

In a quick and fun conversation, Callie discussed the oratories that she performed, including her oratory about Quiet Courage (inspired by "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain) and the Pain Paradox (in which she explored the ways in which pain can be a blessing).  Callie also reflected on the power of Speech and Debate as an activity to prepare students for the world beyond school and extolled the virtues of the easy-to-eat-in-a-time-crunch granola bar.

One Clap Podcast Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Riverton High School Speech and Debate Coach Becca Pierson is all about building perseverance and grit in her competitors while at the same time finding ways to give them feelings of affirmation and inclusion in a team community.  She brought her creative mind to the pod to talk about some of her methods to build team cohesion and show students that their hard work and dedication matter.

One Clap Podcast Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Two-time National Qualifier at Green River, former college debater at EWC and UNLV, and former Assistant Coach at Torrington High School, Haley Lauze-Reyes took time to talk to Lyle on the One Clap Pod about her experiences in Speech and Debate, the reasons why Policy Debate rocks, and why orange juice and Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles are the perfect snack.

One Clap Podcast Blog

Send us Fan Mail

Lyle talks with Matthew Liu on the One Clap Pod this week. Matt is the Director of the University of Wyoming Debate Team and the Co-Director of the Online Wyoming State Speech and Debate Tournament now scheduled to run this April.  Matt shared his debate journey, talked about the superiority of Hufflepuffs, described the way that online tournaments can be successful, discussed technology that could be useful to online competitors, explained some of the advantages, opportunities, and fancy dining possibilities involved with college debate, and told me specifically about his debate program at UW. 

Check out all of the great resources from Matt and his team at their website: https://wyodebateroundup.weebly.com.  Be sure to look at the Online Debate Guide or Webinar if you have more questions about online competition.

Feel free to reach out to Matt via email if you'd like more information about the University of Wyoming Debate Team at [email protected].  

Thank you to Matt for all of his hard work with the Wyoming State Tournament and for coming on the One Clap Pod!