Picture it.
It’s 2010, and you and I are on a school bus making the trip from Minneapolis, Kansas, to Wichita for State Forensics.
The excited energy crackles around us, as students chatter and sing.
We are near Exit 46, which leads into enemy territory, and my Forensics coach shushes us and reminds us that the town just over there is Moundridge.
As we continue to bounce past on our big yellow bus, she jokingly encourages us to put hexes over the Moundridge Forensics team, as they would be some of our biggest competition.
Being a successful Forensicator, who would have done anything for her coach, I was all in.
I vividly remember wiggling my fingers and sending bad wishes to each of their state performers.
I wanted to beat those Moundridge Wildcats and show them who was boss.
Sixteen years later, it’s funny for me to think back on those memories because I am now the coach of the Moundridge High School Debate and Forensics teams.
In fact, when I reached out to my coach and told her the news, she wished me so much joy and success, but also had mixed emotions over me becoming a Wildcat.
However, with a clear head and a hopeful heart, I can say that my own emotions aren’t mixed at all.
With every fiber of my being, I would love to be able to bring this team back to that same level of success I competed against as a high school student.
Is it strange to say that I want this team to be hex-worthy once again?
The legacy of Moundridge Debate and Forensics, started by Edwin R. Stucky and fostered by his son Mark Stucky, is one built on dedication and allegiance to an activity that ultimately changed the lives of hundreds of students.
And that is why I continue to be so passionate about it today.
I wish everyone could know just how much time and work it takes to prepare students and pieces for tournaments.
It is often in the shadows of other activities that Debate and Forensics students celebrate their successes.
This work is not easy for coaches or competitors, and yet, there is something about these activities that makes all of the work worth it.
I am proud to coach this team; to rebuild the program to what it once was, hex-worthy.
So, please start sending positive thoughts our way.
We’ve got momentum, and we will not be stopped.