Yesterday I spent 15 hours of my Saturday at a speech and debate meet. It was my third of the season, and I learned a ton. At the end of the (long) day, we took home the “sweepstakes” award, which is for the top-ranked overall team.
We’re a B-class school, and we won that class. Most of the schools at the meet were A- or AA-class, meaning their teams were typically three to six times the size of ours. But hey, considering this is my first run at this coaching gig, I figure we’re doing well.
More to the point, the kids are having fun and gaining confidence as they work on their public speaking skills. The number of trophies we bring home isn’t as important to me as helping them learn and grow.