Allderdice Debate Coach
Donation protected
Summary
We are a passionate and hardworking student-led debate team at a city of Pittsburgh public high school that would like to hire a coach to bring the team to equal footing with our competitors, who are well-funded with professional coaches.
Any donation, large or small, to help support this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.
Who We Are
If you had told a member of the Allderdice debate team two years ago that the team today would consist of 12 highly dedicated debaters, including tournament champions and three members ranked top 50 in the state, they wouldn't believe you.
A little over two years ago, a few freshmen entered the realm of debate. Receiving coaching from a junior whose knowledge of debate derived from a one-week summer debate intensive, these freshmen entered tournaments, only to lose badly to well-trained and well-coached rivals. This group persevered, attending tournaments every weekend and put in countless hours of research and work into a pursuit they loved.
Today, the debate team is flourishing, with upwards of a dozen debaters competing every month. Those former freshmen, now juniors, have helped coach and educate novice underclassmen to debate. The team as a whole has shown real promise, with occasional high showings in competitive tournaments and enthusiastic engagement from the newest members. These successes can be attributed to the many hours each week spent extensively researching specific topics, formulating arguments, and competing in practice rounds to prepare for tournaments. Examples of recent topics include drug legalization, cryptocurrency regulation, Turkey’s membership in NATO, and urbanization in West Africa. The experience of debate prepares these students to think critically, develop public speaking skills, and evaluate evidence on controversial topics. Importantly, students learn that any topic can have multiple legitimate viewpoints, a skill particularly valuable in today’s political climate.
Even with these occasional successes, competing against teams with professional coaches means we are at a disadvantage. As dedicated as the juniors are, there is a certain ‘secret to debate’ that can only be attained with a coach. There are things that simply can not be taught by people still in the midst of their debate careers, rather, it must be taught by someone who has been entrenched in this ecosystem for years and knows the ins and outs of it. Only with a coach can this team be at the level of our cross town competitors with multiple seasoned coaches. Therefore, in order to enhance the success of our team and better provide all of us with the assistance to achieve, we plan to hire a coach.
This coach is a college freshman at Georgetown University who was one of the top debaters in the country in her senior year. She has extensive experience coaching debate teams like ours and is willing to work with us at a discounted rate because we are a public city high school.
Thank you for supporting this team and our effort to enrich the experience of high school students pursuing debate experience.
Allderdice Debate
We are a passionate and hardworking student-led debate team at a city of Pittsburgh public high school that would like to hire a coach to bring the team to equal footing with our competitors, who are well-funded with professional coaches.
Any donation, large or small, to help support this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.
Who We Are
If you had told a member of the Allderdice debate team two years ago that the team today would consist of 12 highly dedicated debaters, including tournament champions and three members ranked top 50 in the state, they wouldn't believe you.
A little over two years ago, a few freshmen entered the realm of debate. Receiving coaching from a junior whose knowledge of debate derived from a one-week summer debate intensive, these freshmen entered tournaments, only to lose badly to well-trained and well-coached rivals. This group persevered, attending tournaments every weekend and put in countless hours of research and work into a pursuit they loved.
Today, the debate team is flourishing, with upwards of a dozen debaters competing every month. Those former freshmen, now juniors, have helped coach and educate novice underclassmen to debate. The team as a whole has shown real promise, with occasional high showings in competitive tournaments and enthusiastic engagement from the newest members. These successes can be attributed to the many hours each week spent extensively researching specific topics, formulating arguments, and competing in practice rounds to prepare for tournaments. Examples of recent topics include drug legalization, cryptocurrency regulation, Turkey’s membership in NATO, and urbanization in West Africa. The experience of debate prepares these students to think critically, develop public speaking skills, and evaluate evidence on controversial topics. Importantly, students learn that any topic can have multiple legitimate viewpoints, a skill particularly valuable in today’s political climate.
Even with these occasional successes, competing against teams with professional coaches means we are at a disadvantage. As dedicated as the juniors are, there is a certain ‘secret to debate’ that can only be attained with a coach. There are things that simply can not be taught by people still in the midst of their debate careers, rather, it must be taught by someone who has been entrenched in this ecosystem for years and knows the ins and outs of it. Only with a coach can this team be at the level of our cross town competitors with multiple seasoned coaches. Therefore, in order to enhance the success of our team and better provide all of us with the assistance to achieve, we plan to hire a coach.
This coach is a college freshman at Georgetown University who was one of the top debaters in the country in her senior year. She has extensive experience coaching debate teams like ours and is willing to work with us at a discounted rate because we are a public city high school.
Thank you for supporting this team and our effort to enrich the experience of high school students pursuing debate experience.
Allderdice Debate
Organizer and beneficiary
Maya Zimmerman
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA
Jane Liebschutz
Beneficiary