Whew!

01/24/2004

I recently finished cutting 13 speech pieces for the Centennial High speech team. I’m amazed at how much of my time it took. Josh kept wondering why I said I’d do it, and I guess I wondered a few times too. But, when I was in high school, Speech had such a huge impact on my life that I just want to give back to the program. Obviously, I can’t coach from here, so all I can really do is cut pieces for kids. It’s getting harder now though because I don’t know most of the kids on the team.
Anyway, it’s one of those programs that I don’t miss much because it took up so much of my time (my evenings and weekends), but I do miss a lot because I just loved doing it. I love seeing kids improve their skills & grow & have fun. And I really thought I was a pretty good coach because I could actually cut good scripts, and give kids critiques that were constructive, and be consistent at the tournaments and whatnot.
I suppose I should explain that there are two major areas in speech: interpretational and public address. Public address would be a speech that is given to persuade, inform, etc. Probably like most speeches you have seen. Interpretive is a cutting from a book or play that is interpreted (not acted). It could be serious or humorous in nature and often included playing multiple characters. I coached both areas, but my high point was interpretation pieces. It’s cool.
Were any of you ever in Speech?