Five MICDS students went to Springfield, Missouri to compete in the MSHSAA Speech and Debate State tournament, April 23-24. Three years ago, nobody in the history of MICDS Speech and Debate had made it to state. Speech and Debate is a club in which students take time outside of school to participate in tournaments that take place on the weekends.
Both last year and this year five members of the Speech and Debate team made it to state, which was unprecedented. Team members have high praise for other members and the Head Coach Andy Cox.
“I think that the success our debate team has had is largely due to the talent and hard work that the members have put in themselves,” Shaan Patel ‘26 said. “We have a good debate coach. Mr. Cox does help with cases. And he’s pretty open, when you ask questions, he’ll explain formatting and any rules or questions that may arise as we present the argument.”
“I think it was definitely a team effort,” Yash Shelar ‘26 said. “When I first joined in freshman year, our team hadn’t really been successful. As a couple people just started to find success, then more felt inspired to also take part in it. I think we’ve improved a lot.” Yash Shelar was the first person in MICDS history to make it to state for Speech and Debate.
Members also view the co-heads of the club as good mentors. “I think the co-heads are also very helpful for students,” Shreeya Shelar ‘28 said. “Getting help with your cases or speeches and stuff like that.”
Part of why many students struggle with Speech and Debate in high school is because of the hefty time commitment.
“It takes about 20 hours of prep outside of the tournament, 10 hours writing the case, another five to edit, and then a good four or five hours to practice the speech,” Andy Cox, History teacher and Head Coach of the Debate team said. Cox has been the coach for the last eight years, and accomplished something that hadn’t happened before. “When I took the program over, there was a teacher that had only done it two years, and we hadn’t sent anyone to state as far as Mr. Josh Smith, the Athletic Director, knew of, and Yash–three years ago–was the first person to qualify for state. And since then, we’ve improved every year,” Cox said.
Many members say they have seen success quickly.
“I do policy debate with my partner, Siva Ram,” Neel Goriparthi ‘27 said. “In my very first tournament, which was the Parkway West tournament, Siva and I won the entire thing in the novice division, which I’m very proud of. This will be my second year going to state. We went last year as well in my first year competing, so I am very proud of that accomplishment.” Goriparthi has been competing since last year.
Making time to practice can feel challenging.
“[MICDS Students] have to be a little more motivated [compared to large public schools],” Cox said. “Also because students here at MICDS have to play two sports, except unless you’re a senior.”
Some members feel that they don’t get enough time to prepare.
“A large part is we don’t have enough time to meet, and that is due to how the activities periods are set up,” Patel said. “They’re not frequent enough to make meaningful progress in the time that MICDS just provides you. So you have to do all the work outside of class.”
“Sometimes I think some of my competitors probably just had more preparation,” Yash Shelar said. “They just had more files of evidence and things to use against me. Because we’re a smaller team, we don’t always have all the resources available. So sometimes it was just like not having enough things to counter my opponent.”
Members also state time commitment as an issue they face. “Like, there’s sometimes we’ll have like three rounds on a Friday night.” Shreeya Shelar said. “We come there, we’re waiting, and the rounds are delayed or there’s no judge there yet and we have to just end up waiting and it might be like 10:30 or 11 by the time we get to leave.”
Overall, members see Speech and Debate as a meaningful club. “It definitely helps with your research skills and your oratory skills,” Clyde Siow ‘26 said. “I’ve definitely become a better public speaker, and especially answering questions. That’s a really big one.” Siow has participated in Speech and Debate for two years.
