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Westside’s Debate Team’s New Head Coach Prepares the Debaters for their Upcoming Season
October 5, 2016
It’s going to be a year of exciting changes for Westside’s debate team as they are preparing for the upcoming season with new head debate coach, Jeff Roberts. He has experience from not only debating in high school, but also coaching college debate teams. This is Roberts’ first year back in Nebraska in 10 years, and he has taken the opportunity to get to know the debate team better. He wants to foster an environment where the debaters are able to go whatever direction they want within the club.
“It (debate) destroys you in a positive way,” Roberts said. “You get sucked into it, and it’s a great activity in terms of research.”
Roberts has coached at colleges all over the United States, including Baylor University, Kansas State University and George Mason University in D.C.
“I debated in Nebraska at Millard West, and then I coached high school debate for about five years in Nebraska at Millard West and Fremont,” Roberts said. “Then I went to a whole bunch of places and coached in college.”
Seniors Lilli Marvin and Luke Gibbons are this years’ captains for the team. Both have been a part of the club since their freshman year and have many goals for the team. Because the team has not had a coach who properly knows debate for the past three years, the two are confident that Roberts will be able to take them further this year.
“It’s different because we aren’t used to having any type of authority in debate, so it’s taking some adjusting. It’s definitely more serious, but he [Roberts] actually knows what he is doing,” Marvin said.
Roberts believes debate is a rewarding activity for high school students and plays a huge part in critical thinking. He also mentioned that the skills students learn in debate can be applied to many areas of their lives. Roberts has high hopes for the team this year.
“[The team has] incredibly intelligent students. It’s probably our biggest strength, and with that in terms of debate, you can do anything you want,” Roberts said.