by
CJ Wrye
The number one fear in America is public speaking, but Valley Christian’s Forensics Team students have overcome this anxiety. Coaches Kristin Sando and Peter Ballard train the team every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Students also sign up for after school work with their coaches to get extra help on their debates and speeches. On September 9, the team went to Demo Day at Los Altos High School. This was a day of learning for all the new students entering the team. Speech students went in the morning from 8 o’ clock to noon, where they saw terrific speeches from every category presented by students who had won regionals. Following the speech demos, the debate team had their part in demo day. This was a great day for the forensics team to learn more about the sport.
Tournaments came up fast as the team traveled to Diablo Valley College for an invitational on September 16 and 17. Sophomore Seyka Huff gave a fantastic speech in the novice Dramatic Interpretation category. Seyka finished second place in the tournament. Not only did the team place in speech, but also in debate. Juniors Corey VanHuystee and Caitlin Mulvihill took first place in novice Policy Debate.
On October 20 the team travelled to Pinewood High School for the novice debate invitational. The debate teams had been practicing and studying for this tournament all month. The speech team had also been working and memorizing their ten-minute speeches in preparation for their tournament on October 22 at Saint Francis High School. The students arrived there at 6:45 to check in and make the final preparations for their speeches.
This year’s team has two students on the varsity debate level; sophomore, Sarah Suwanda and Brittany Sumnicht, senior, compete with the top level debaters from all high schools around the area. Not only is the Forensics team pleasurable and exhilarating, but it also prepares you for future jobs and has a high percentage of college scholarships. The fear of public speaking has nothing on Valley Christian Forensic Team students!
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