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NEW COACH INFORMATION

IHSFA COACHES CLINIC

New Coaches Session

I.  Introduction of presenters

II. Explaining the initials

A. IHSFA--the Indiana High School Forensic Association is composed of schools and coaches who run invitational speech and debate contests throughout the calendar year, and sectional, regional, and state tournaments. High school and junior high programs are represented. The meets are sanctioned by the IHSFA. IHSFA is run by the coaches themselves, and the Constitution is changed through the voted held at coaches’ clinic. An executive secretary presides over the group; and elected executive council helps to enact and interpret the laws of the organization.

B. DSA--the Division of Student Activities is the umbrella organization composed of many high school activity groups. The DSA funds IHSFA activities and coordinates IHSFA activities the others DSA groups for the betterment of Indiana students. The DSA is a part of the Indiana Secondary School Administrators Association that also oversees the IHSAA. Susan Grenda is the director of DSA.

C. NFL--the National Forensic League is not associated with DSA or IHSFA, except in their common goals. NFL is a national organization recognizing high school speakers. Schools may either be charter schools, a category for established, active programs, or affiliate schools, those that are new and growing. The national headquarters in Ripon, Wisconsin. Indiana’s NFL chapters are divided into four districts that are each run by a district chairman and committee. The NFL districts run a practice congress, district debate, district speech and district congress to determine who will represent those districts at the national NFL Chapter Manual for rules. A copy may be obtained by writing the National Forensic League, P.O> Box 38, Ripon, Wisconsin, 54971.

III. The Constitution of the IHSFA

The Constitution is the rulebook of the IHSFA Speech and Debate activity. It may be changed annually at the coach’s clinic. The IHSFA Executive council spends much of its time interpreting the Constitution. If you have any questions about a rule or section of the Constitution, contact Bill Hicks, the IHSFA Executive Secretary, 2801 W. 86^th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268. You may also contact the IHSFA Executive Council member who represents your region. They are used to clearing up information. The rule of thumb is to ask so that you and your students will not undergo unnecessary scrutiny by coaches, judges and other students.

IV.  Speaking events—see the IHSFA Constitution for the exact description of events.

EVENT                 TIME             SOURCE                 MEMORIZED?

Dramatic                 5-10 min.            Plays, novels, short            Yes
Interpretations                         stories, poetry of recognized
                                                Literary quality which have
                                                been published in print.

Humorous               5-10 min. Same as above except funny  Yes
Interpretation

Oratorical                5-10 min. Interpretation of speech              Yes
Interpretation                         given originally by some
                                                one else

Poetry             5-10 min. A poetry program including No
Interpretation                         more than one poem based
                                                on a theme

Prose            5-10 min. A single selection which        No
Interpretation                         emphasizes narrative rather
                                                than dialogue

Due Interpretation 5-10 min. Two students interpret              No
                                                a scene or scenes from a
                                                work. They do not use
                                                props, costumes, or visual
                                                contact between them. Both
                                                maintain the same persona
                                                throughout.

Original Oratory 5-10 min. The student writes a persuasive Yes
                                                speech on a thought-provoking
                                                issue or idea. No more than
                                                150 words of quoted material
                                                may be used.

Extemp                 7 min. The speaker draws 3 current event Notes not over
U.S.                          max.          topics and chooses one on                 50 words
Foreign                                 which to speak after 30 min.
                                                of prep time.
                                                There are two separate divisions.

Impromptu 5 min. max. A student is given a topic (word,          Yes
                                                current event, quote) 30 sec. before
                                                he speaks. He then delivers a speech
                                                on the subject.

Broadcasting Varies        The student is heard not seen to         Varies
                                                determine his effective use of
                                                radio speaking. In the course of
                                                four rounds, he will deliver a newscast,
                                                commercial, editorial, and an on-the-spot
                                                delivered from his imagination.

Discussion 1 hour        Student participate in a problem-solving     No
                                                discussion. Topic changes 3 times a year.
                                                Demonstration of reasoning skills and an
                                                ability to discuss cooperatively with the
                                                members of his group to select a "best"
                                                solution is encouraged.

Congress        3 min./              Students debate passage of four proposed   No
                        Speech         bills/resolutions. Knowledge of parliamentary
                                                procedure is helpful.

Cross-examination                 Two member teams debating policy             No
debate        60 min.         questions. The topic stays the same all
                                                year and is usually a very broad issue of
                                                current interest.

Lincoln-Douglas                 One person on each side debating value No
debate        32 min.             resolutions. Topics will change throughout
                                                the year.

V.  Contest Terms

A. Round: Students from different schools compete against each other in their chosen event to see who is the best.

B. Doubling: A student is competing in two events at a tournament. Unless otherwise specified, a student may double, but may not triple (compete in three events in a tournament).

C. Student and team number: For the purposes of competition, a student is assigned an identifying number that is used throughout the tournament. In solo tournaments, competitors may have both numbers and letters assigned to them. The letter generally designates a school without identifying be name that school. Numbers may be used more than once for different events.

D. Scoring: The office staff keeps track of the judges’ scores for each competitor in each event and adds them up to determine who goes on to the finals as well as who receives what place after finals. The best competitor in each round is awarded a "1," the second best receives a "2," and so on. No two students may receive identical scores from a single judge in a round of competition.

E.  Finals: The best competitors after preliminary rounds are placed in a final
round together to determine ribbon winners. Preliminary round scores are used in addition to the final round judge’s rankings to figure placings.

F.  Four straight round tournament: Some schools choose to have all students go
four straight rounds rather than guaranteeing only three rounds and having a final round. In these tournaments, ribbons are awarded on the basis of the four rounds of competition.

G.  Awards and double ribbons: At the conclusion of a tournament, the host school presents ribbons to the best competitors in each event. When the tournament does not have a final round, the host school sometimes gives out two ribbons for each place in each event.

H.  Judges’ preferences: To break ties for placing, the office staff may have to go back to the actual scores judges gave to the tied speakers when they met in head-to-head competition.

I.  Sweepstakes: Awards given to teams based on the performance of their entries.

VI.  Different contests

A.  The regular season: Schools throughout the state of Indiana host regular season tournaments that are open to all schools in the state unless otherwise specified. To schedule a regular season tournament, the coach at the host school must file a calendar request form with the IHSFA.

B.  IHSFA sponsored tournaments: The IHSFA sponsors a regional and state congress and state debate tournament, traditionally held the first weekend in February, and the sectional regional, and state solo tournament in March. Each school may enter four congresspersons, four two-person debate teams, and four Lincoln-Douglas debaters. The sectional speech team is limited to thirty-six total entries, no more than four per event, in the twelve solo events contested at the tournament. The top nine in each event in each section, except for section 10, qualify for the regional tournament. In section 10, six speakers qualify in each event. The top five regional speakers qualify in each event. The top five regional speakers in each event move on to state competition.

C.  National Forensic League Tournaments: The NFL sponsors a national tournament in June for the year. To be able to compete at that tournament, students must qualify through an NFL qualifying tournament. Each district establishes dates for their qualifying debate, solo, and congress tournament. To be able to participate in and JFL tournament, one must be a member of the National Forensic League.

VII.  Hosting a tournament

Coaches are not encouraged to host a tournament during their first year of coaching. If, however, your principal insists, contact an IHSFA Executive Council member who represents your area for help.

VIII.  Helpful addresses

A.  William S. Hicks, Executive Director
Indiana High School Forensic Association
2801 W. 86^th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Phone (with answering machine): 317-876-4731
Home phone: 317-251-7122
FAX: 317-254-0821

B. National Forensic League
    P.O. Box 38
    Ripon, WI 54971

District Chairmen

Northeast Indiana:

Bob Brittain
Columbia City Joint High School
600 N. Whitley St.
Columbia City, IN 46725

Northwest Indiana:

Dan Tyree
Plymouth High School
#1 Big Red Lane
Plymouth, IN 46563

Hoosier Central:

Chris Stepp    
Ben Davis High School
1200 N. Girls School Road
Indianapolis, IN 46214

Hoosier South:

Susan Hittson
New Castle Chrylser High School
801 Parkview Drive
New Castle, IN  47362

C. Sources of cuttings

e. Script City
8033 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1500
Hollywood, CA 90046

f. Edna Means Dramatic Service
610 Harmon Street
Tama, Iowa 52339

b. Targgart’s Specialty
100 N. Main
Wolcottville, IN 46795

c. Freed-Print
1005 N. Wayne St.
North Manchester, IN 56962

d. Prestige Trophies
8128 Zionsville Rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46268

IX.  Setting up your program

4. Have students complete preliminary registration and preference sheets

B. Preparation for individual work with students

1.  Formulate a preliminary schedule of student speech work based upon the student’s registration sheets.

2.  Post the schedule one week ahead of time.

3.  At the work sessions, select materials they would like to use.

4.  Provide a system for the students to check out material they are interested in considering. Do not check out original copies of materials!

5.  Be available during these period of preliminary selection so that you may direct the student in his search or at least encourage additional search.

6.  Establish a deadline for selecting materials.

C. Coaching techniques

1.  Memorized events

a.  Have the student start with interpretation. If possible, the student should read the entire work before starting. Begin with interpretation of the material. Make sure that the student understands the characters and the action. When the material is understood, the delivery can be developed before memorization, thereby avoiding having to re-learn segments.

b.  Have multiple copies of the selection. Students are forever misplacing theirs. NEVER let the original out of your possession. It’s almost certain to disappear.

c.  Establish certain assignments that are to be fulfilled. Let the student know how much is expected of him from practice to practice. Don’t expect complete memorization at once.

d.  Isolate trouble areas and practice those individually.

2. Public address events

a.  Whenever possible, get groups of students to work together to share research, argue ideas and brainstorm approaches.

b.  It’s helpful for events like discussion and congress to prepare a bibliography of sources to which the students may refer. More experienced students can sometimes be responsible for this.

c.  Peer coaching can be extremely helpful in the public address events.

XI. Before the tournament

A.  Get entry information- you may have to call or write the host school to get an invitation. Do this at least one month before the date of the tournament.

B.  Read the information carefully-see what special rules the host school may be using. Check the deadline to enter date.
    1.  Post a sign up sheet for students to indicate events in which they are interested in competing.
    2. Be sure to note event conflicts (EX: Extempers may only double in impromptu)

C.  2-3 days prior to the entry deadline, complete your registration form, making sure you are in compliance with the invitation
    1.  Print or type clearly
    2.  Make a copy for yourself
    3.  Mail early (it’s a good idea to mail it yourself and not depend on the school office)
    4.  For IHSFA tournaments, make sure you include entry fees and have the proper signatures. Mail into Indianapolis is particularly slow, so give yourself PLENTY of time for IHSFA entries to get in.

D.  Transportation
    1.  Always double check
    2.  Leave early—give yourself extra time for a flat or bad weather
    3.  If you don’t know the location of the school, ask the host for directions. Bus drivers don’t always know the way.

XII.  At the tournament

A.  Registration
    1.  Have drops ready before you get to registration***Be sure to include the number, event and division.
    2.  Send students to the meeting area, usually the cafeteria. Do not bring them into the office for
registration.
    3.  Get registration packet with student numbers, judge ballots, and vital information
    4.  Give the students their numbers and round assignments. When you have a number entered in the same event, make sure you accurately record who gets what number. Complete your final registration forms and turn it in to the office staff.

B.  Tournament responsibilities
    1.  Judging—you will be expected to judge
    2.  Helping with the tournament—even new coaches are sometimes asked to assist with tournament operations
    3.  Supervising your students

C.  Judging
    1.  Write supportive and constructive critiques. You become the coach for the round. Students will learn from well-written critiques.
    2.  Be prompt
    3.  Be supportive of the tournament officials

D.  Awards and critiques
    1.  Given at the end of the day
    2.  If your students don’t make finals, have them observe finals and learn from the "best" that day
    3.  Students mimic your attitude towards ballots and critiques. If you disagree, do so in a positive way

E.  Other coaches/schools
    1.  Teach your students to trust and respect other coaches and judges. If they disagree with a ballot, that opinion should be heard only by YOU!
    2.  Let them know other coaches who would be willing to help in case of an emergency
    3.  Build rapport with other teams. Respect their competitors
    4.  If you have questions, ask!
    5.  If you want to learn more about tournament operation, ask to work in the office

XIII.  After the tournament

A.  Publicity
    1.  Write up the results for school announcements
    2.  Develop contacts with the school and community newspapers
    3.  Make use of local radio and television stations (cable, too) if possible

B.  Critiques

    1.  Screen them before handing to the students—you may not want a student to see some of the comments
    2.  Go over them with the students and assign specific items to be working on

XIV.  Helpful publications

A.  Extemporaneous material

    1. Absolutely necessary (School Library copies OK)
        a. Time magazine
        b. Newsweek magazine
        c. US News and World Report magazine
    2. Optional
        a. Wall Street Journal
        b. Christian Science Monitor
        c. New York Times
        d. World Press Review
        e. Congressional Digest

B. Broadcasting
    USA Today

C. Debate handbooks
    1.  National Textbook Company
    4255 W. Touhy Avenue
    Lincolnwood, IL 60646-1975

    2. University Research Materials
    P.O. Box 611
    Fullerton, CA 92632

    3. National Debate Clearing House
    P.O. Box 281086
    San Francisco, CA 94128

    4. Ithaca Policy Research
    P.O. Box 796
    Auburn, Maine

    5. Griffen Research
    P.O. Box 281258
    San Francisco, CA 94128

    6. S-K Publications (Squirrel Killers)
    P.O. Box 8173
    Wichita, KS 67208

    7. Communican
    One Bering Park
    750 Bering Dr., Suite 604
    Houston, TX

    8. Baylor Briefs
    Box 416
    Baylor University
    Waco, TX 76798

XV. Sample forms

A. Preliminary student preference sheet

B. Student conduct information and parent permission slip

C. Tournament invitation

D. Judging information

E. Critique sheets

F.  Result tally sheet

PRELIMINARY STUDENT PREFERENCE SHEET

NAME____________________________________________________ GRADE__________

ADDRESS_________________________________________________ PHONE__________

PARENTS’ NAME______________________________________________________________

Place a check beside the area or areas in which you are interested:

___ Oratorical interp ___ Original Oratory

___ Dramatic interp ___ US extemp

___ Humorous interp ___ Foreign extemp

___ Poetry interp ___ Impromptu

___ Prose interp ___ Discussion

___ Duo interp ___ Congress

___ Broadcasting ___ 2-person debate

___ Lincoln-Douglas debate

List an extra-curricular activities I which you are currently involved or plan to become involved: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you work after school?__________ If so, approximately how many hours per week? _______

Will you be able to get off for Saturday tournaments?________

STUDENT CONDUCT INFORMATION

All members of the Podunk High School Speech Team shall abide by the rules set forth in the Podunk High School Student Handbook at all times while participating as a member of the Speech Team. All violators of school rules will be reported to school authorities and will be subject to penalties as outlined in the Student Handbook. In addition, first offense violations may result in a team member’s penalty of a one-month suspension from receiving coaching help and participating in team activities. Subsequent violations may result in expulsion from the team. These penalties will be assessed by the coaching staff following a review of the circumstances.

STUDENT CONTRACT

I ___________________________________ am aware of and fully understand the rules of conduct for the Podunk High School Speech Team and promise to adhere to the letter and intent of the rules.

Student Signature ____________________________ Date _________________

PARENTAL PERMISSION SLIP

___________________________________ has my permission to attend speech tournaments during the 1999-2000 school year as a part of the Podunk High School Speech Team. I am also aware that the Podunk High School Code for Student Conduct is in effect to and from the competition as well as during the day. Students will be subject to the same penalties while representing PHS as a part of the team as they are when they are attending school. I agree to hold the school and team coaches harmless in case of injury during these trips.

Parent/Guardian signature __________________________________

Home Phone ___________________________

Work Phone ___________________________

Date _________________________________

Sample Invitation Letter

September 8, 1999

Dear Coach,

You are cordially invited to attend the tenth annual Portage High School speech tournament on Saturday, November 13, 1999, at Portage High School-East. Two divisions will be offered for competition and a varsity division for the more experienced speakers. Four students may be entered in each event in each division with the exception of radio, which is limited to four TOTAL entries. A team may enter no more than fifty entries. Drops may be picked up on the day of the tournament, but they will not count toward sweepstakes awards. All sectional events plus congress will be offered.

IHSFA rules will be used for all events. However, students may double at their own risk. No doubling is allowed in congress or discussion. It would be difficult in radio, but not restricted. All events, except congress, will go three rounds and a final. Separate divisions will be provided wherever possible. However, if there are few entries, competition may be combined. Separate ribbons will be awarded in all events. Extempers will draw for magazines from the September issues on. The space topics will be used for discussion. Congress will debate #1, 2, 5, and 8.

A sweepstakes trophies will be awarded to the top five large school entries, those entering more than twenty-five, and the top five small school entries, those with fewer that twenty-five on their original entry. Varsity event final round participants will be awarded sweepstakes points according to the state tournament scale (8-7-6-5, etc.) while the sectional scale will be used for novice final round participants. Final round participants in each event will receive ribbons.

School should provide one qualified judge for every five entries or fraction thereof. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of the team for sweepstakes awards. We will be using critique sheets. Please inform your judges on how to write a good critique. All judges are expected to be available until the last final round has been posted.

Food will be available throughout the day. Please do not leave the building for lunch, as no time will be provided for a lunch break.

No phone entries will be accepted. All entries must be in our hands by Friday, November 6. Entries will be accepted at the LaPorte tournament on November 7.

A final registration form will be mailed no later than Tuesday, November 10. If you have not received yours by Friday, November 12, please call me. I am most easily reached at school from 7-8:30 AM (CST) and 2:40-3:15 PM.

Final registration will be in the office of PHS-East from 7-7:45 AM (CST) the morning of the tournament. Please plan for weather problems when scheduling transportation. This is northwest Indiana where anything can happen!

If we should have an early snowstorm and it is necessary to cancel the tournament because of weather, the head coach will be informed by 5 AM.

We look forward to an excellent tournament. As we all know, some of the best speakers in the nation are from Indiana!

Sincerely,

(Mrs.) Linda Hicks
Director of Speech and Debate