Coaching by occasionAges 11–18
Debate Team & Club Tryouts
Make the team, not just the attempt
Debate tryouts compress everything into one short audition: build an argument fast, speak in a structure, respond to the other side, stay composed. Coaches running selections are looking for teachability and raw fundamentals more than polish, and those fundamentals can be trained in a few weeks. We prepare students for the specific tryout format their school uses, drill the impromptu method that selection rounds lean on, and run mock tryouts until the audition is the familiar part.
- When families come
- 2–6 weeks before tryouts
- Usual format
- 1-on-1 sessions
- Ages
- Ages 11–18
- Cost to start
- Free consultation
What the coaching works on
What actually decides it
Argument in a structure
Claim, reasoning, evidence, and impact: the shape selectors listen for in every speech
Fast prep method
A repeatable routine for building a case in limited prep time, which is what most tryouts actually test
Rebuttal instincts
Listening for the weak link in the other side’s case and answering it directly instead of restating your own
Mock tryouts
Auditions run under the school’s real format, so tryout day is a repetition rather than a first attempt
The plan
How we use the time
First sessions
Fundamentals fast
Argument structure and the prep method, taught directly and drilled on live topics each session.
Middle sessions
Rounds and rebuttal
Short practice debates against the coach, building the listening and response skills selectors reward.
Final week
Mock tryout
A full audition in the school’s format with honest feedback, then once more with the fixes in place.
Where it lives
The programs that fit
Start tonight, free
Guides and printables for this
Topic banks
Debate topics for students, from easy to advanced
Delivery
Impromptu speaking: how to think on your feet
Speech writing
Ethos, pathos, and logos: the three ways to persuade
Topic banks
Impromptu speech topics and prompts for practice
Printable
Impromptu Speaking Framework
Printable
Public Speaking Glossary
Good to know
Parents ask us
My child has never debated. Can they realistically make the team?
Often, yes. Selectors are mostly looking for structure, composure, and coachability rather than experience, and those are trainable in a few weeks of focused sessions.
Do you know our school’s tryout format?
Formats vary, so we prepare for the one your school uses: bring whatever the team has announced and the coach will build the mock tryouts around it. If nothing is announced, we prepare the short-notice impromptu formats most schools default to.
What if they do not make it?
Then the student has still built argument and speaking fundamentals that carry into class, essays, and next year’s tryout, and many students train the year with us and audition again a level stronger.
Tell us the date. We will map the rest.
A free consultation covers the goal, the timeline, and the honest answer on what fits before the day.