Miss Thomas and her speech team after their first tournament.
The Hastings High Speech Team has been in action for over 20 years. From local awards to state awards, and state awards to national awards.
Emily Thomas, an English teacher at Hastings High, recently took over the head coach position for the speech team. She has participated in speech for many years, and previously coached at Lincoln Southwest for 5 years.
“Speech taught me to be more confident in myself and in the things I have to say. You get a lot of positive affirmation from coaches/judges, and you also learn to take constructive criticism well. I also think doing speech has helped me be a better teacher, as it taught me the skills to be able to think on the fly, and be comfortable in my own skin as I’m teaching,” Thomas said.
The speech team currently has 20-25 students participating. Thomas and her team are actively recruiting and sharing their own experiences along with what the team has to offer. There are only 3 returners from last year so all of the other competitors are brand new.
“I encourage everyone to at least try it! If you go to the first tournament and it’s not for you, then no hard feelings. But I can guarantee a safe community and a place for every kid in this school who wants to try it. There is no audition and no prerequisites,” Thomas said. You don’t have to have any special talents to be a part of speech, and I think that’s what makes it so inclusive and special.”
Joining the Hastings High Speech Team could potentially be beneficial, and an individual could learn so many important, and valuable life skills like, how to write, speak and perform better.
Speech makes you a stronger person, and truly, it is an incredibly supportive community full of meaningful experiences. I always tell people there’s really nothing like it,” Thomas said.
The first speech tournament through the NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association) is in November, and the season wraps up in February.
“I have been having so much fun watching each student grow and become better as the weeks go on. I am really impressed with their tenacity,” Thomas said.
