On Saturday at the NDCA Championships, The 3NR recorded a special podcast with Will Repko—Debate Coach at Michigan State University—and Jonathan Paul—Director of Debate at Georgetown University (and the host of this weekend’s tournament). We brought Will and Jonathan together to discuss two major topics: how to prepare for season-ending/championship tournaments and how to succeed as a college debater regardless of your competitive successes in high school. As expected, the discussion provides important insights into the approaches that these accomplished coaches take and the overarching philosophies they bring to debate coaching.
Why should you listen to this podcast? It gives you the chance to get tangible, timely advice from two incredibly successful coaches whose track records speak for themselves. The coach of the 2010 National Debate Tournament Champions, Repko has now coached three NDT Champions in the last seven years and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s best debate educators. Paul—an NDT Champion himself in 2002 for Northwestern University—coached two TOC Champions while at The Greenhill School in the span of only three years and is now rebuilding a top-level national college program at Georgetown.
Not going to the TOC? Worried that the discussion will go over your head? Fear not: the advice that Repko and Paul provide is applicable to every debate team who puts it all on the line at their most important tournament of the season. Regardless of whether your focus is on winning the TOC or on winning your NFL District Tournament or your City Championship, the discussion of preparation and strategy for “The Big One” is sure to be helpful.
Worried that you don’t have what it takes to debate in college? Convinced that your lack of experience and competitive success in high school renders unreachable your dreams of becoming a champion college debater? Both Repko and Paul ease your fears and explain what they look for in a young student joining their program; learn from the best what it takes to achieve your goals as a college debater.
Clocking in at an un-3NR-like 55 minutes, you can download this special edition podcast directly or access it through iTunes.
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Heh. Round going on in the background.
excellent podcast on a side note is that the theme song for Justified at the beginning?