“Before I begin this speech, I’d like to thank everyone who helped me get this far: my teammates, for waking up with me at 6:00 AM every Saturday to travel to who knows where to compete; my parents, for forcing me to try out for the speech team even when I said I did not want to join the ‘nerd club’; and lastly, my coach.”

Whether we realize it or not, the educators who facilitate speech and debate are at the cornerstone of this activity. Without these people, there would be no one to host practices, organize tournaments, and most importantly, coach. According to the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), from 2023-2024 there were roughly 4,535 active coaches. 

As Hari Gridharan, a former competitor in policy and congressional debate, told the National Federation for High School Associations in August 2025, it is the responsibility of these coaches to support new students. “Without speech and debate coaches, I would have never had this home away from home,” states Gridharan. He continues, saying that, “Their legacy is creating a tight-knit community built on belonging and love.” It is the responsibility of a coach within forensics to not only mentor their competitors, but to also establish a healthy environment for competition and education. In a video published by the NSDA in 2023, Amber Justmann, a virtual instructor from Washington, explains that, “A coach is here to help a kid figure out who they're going to be in the next stage of life.” From fostering personal development to creating the speech and debate community as we know it, the primary role of coaches in forensics is to serve their children.

Furthermore, the NSDA’s Code of Honor outlines that coaches ought to demonstrate the highest standards of humility, equity, integrity, respect, leadership, and service. The NSDA describes each pillar of its honor code as such:

1. “Humility: A member does not regard oneself more highly than others. Regardless of a person’s level of success, an individual always looks beyond oneself to appreciate the inherent value of others.”

2. “Equity: A member shares the responsibility to uphold policies and practices that create conditions of fairness and respect in speech and debate—ensuring consistent access, treatment, and opportunity by reducing barriers and encouraging full participation.”

3. “Integrity: A member is honest, ethical, and adheres to the competition and conduct rules of the organization. A member follows the NSDA discrimination and harassment policy and abides by the rules of their schools, tournaments, and localities.”

4. “Respect: A member demonstrates civil discourse in their interactions with others. A member maintains and contributes to a safe space and welcoming environment for all.”

5. “Leadership: A member is aware their words and actions influence others. A member commits to thoughtful and meaningful words and actions that reflect NSDA core values.”

6. “Service: A member exercises their talents to provide service to peers, community, and the activity. At all times a member is prepared to work constructively to improve the lives of others.”

While this honor code ought to be equally upheld by students as well as coaches, coaches ought to be championing these behaviors above all else. Considering that they are the ones who will be raising the next generation of debaters and speakers, they should be dedicated to teaching their competitors these values. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. 

In a Reddit post from April 2020, one debater discusses how their coach facilitated and otherwise blatantly ignored drama on the team, even favoriting debaters who engaged in such behavior and frowning upon students who did not. “My coach contributes to a hierarchy … we have people … that he favourites … Meanwhile … my coach doesn’t favour me because I don’t encourage people to try and attack each other,” they wrote.

It’s not uncommon to hear that high school and the culture it perpetuates are toxic. Between the academic pressure students face, coupled with social challenges, emotional conflicts, and even bullying or discrimination, there is a lot that goes into making a high school environment unhealthy. Consequently, high school forensics will frequently suffer from similar challenges, whether it’s state-wide corruption, overall aggressiveness, or sexism. This is not to say the community itself is unwelcoming — some of the kindest people I’ve met played a large part in the speech and debate world — but instead that the issue of toxicity in high school forensics is pervasive and far-reaching. 

In a community where things are, at its core, extremely high school, it should be the responsibility of coaches to mitigate this behavior when possible as opposed to furthering it. I’ve heard of coaches gossiping to their team about other debaters, including myself, and their interpersonal relationships, to the point where it created an uncomfortable environment for their own competitors. As an educator, it is not your job to tear down competitors from other teams and engage in juvenile behavior. You are the administrator and adult in this situation, and you should model respectful behavior for your students. 

Although there is not much competitors themselves can do on the administrative end, there are several ways for us to prevent toxicity as a whole. Highlighting and publicly addressing the community-wide need to prevent toxic coaching allows us to inform others in the community of the issue and mobilize change. In a petition started by former USA Debate Team member Diane Sun, she calls for the NSDA to increase coach accountability. In the petition, Sun writes that, “The greatest power imbalance in Speech & Debate is between coaches and students.” She further explains that coaches decide who gets resources and the opportunity to compete, which is a power occasionally abused to the point of creating an unhealthy environment. The petition currently has over three hundred signatures.

Another way we can discourage this behavior is by calling it out when it happens. As cliche as it sounds, if you see something, say something. From discrimination to bullying, problematic behaviors that harm the emotional or physical wellbeing of competitors can be reported to school counselors, advisors, or other trusted adults. 

Considering we are a part of an activity that encourages civil discourse and for us to call out injustices in society, it is our burden to not only protect this side of speech and debate, but to also use it to address the challenges our own community faces.