Speak Loud & Proud SOCES Speech Team

My name is Orrei Barasch and I am the Speech Coach for the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies Speech & Debate Team. For over thirty years, SOCES Speech and Debate has competed in the Tri-Valley Forensic League Competitive of the San Fernando Valley. In past, our team was ranked as a Top-100 Team in the State of California and Ranked in the Top 200. Our coaches have earned the prestigious One/Two Diamond Awards for excellence in coaching. We have sent students to both the State and National levels of competition in Speech and Debate. Our students have repeatedly placed in the top levels of competition in such events as Original Oratory, Original Prose and Poetry, Dramatic Interpretation, DUO, Thematic Interpretation, and Congress. As a result of these efforts, hundreds of our students over the years have been able to obtain scholarships, tuition aid, and acceptance at colleges ranging from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and many community colleges.

Covid created a situation where the team had to rebuild and rejuvenate itself by recruiting new members and building an entirely new novice team comfortable with "in-person" competition tournaments. During 2022/2023, our team performed exceptionally well at both the regional and qualifying state tournaments. We are sending four students to the 2023 California High School Speech Association Championships in Carlsbad, California. Our students are very eager and excited to represent our region (TCFL) and our school.

We have created a "Go Fund Me" page to allow us to fundraise in a more effective and organized fashion. Unlike, LAUSD's Academic Decathlon Team, we do not receive direct funding from the LAUSD School District or the State of California. Essentially, we are the orphans of academically based competitive events and must find means of funding throughout the year. This includes: paying for competition fees, registration fees, travel expenses, hotel expenses, copying scripts, obtaining written and electronic resources online, and paying for additional coaching.

Simply stated, your donation will help us make this competitive and educational opportunity available to more students and allow us to compete at more tournaments throughout the State at both the high school and college level. We hope that you will help our students find their voices and continue to have them speak loudly and proudly!

Sincerely,

Coach Barasch

Coach Perez

Coach Poole