Speech and debate coach wins state honor

When he became a math teacher at Vestavia Hills High School in 2014, Nate Conoly was asked if he could be a coach. But instead of the athletic team he expected, Conoly was asked to lead the speech and debate team.

“At first I was a little taken aback,” said Conoly, who had no prior experience with speech and debate. “It was just something I was thrown into and have come to love.”

Conoly, an Auburn graduate and Vestavia Hills resident, just capped his second year as coach with a big honor: He was chosen as the Alabama Speech and Debate Association Coach of the Year from nominees statewide who have been coaching five years or less. Conoly is quick, however, to deflect most of the credit.

“It’s easy to do what I do because of my students,” he said. “They’re the real reason we’ve had such good success this year.”

The 50 students on the VHHS speech and debate team participated in about 20 tournaments this past school year, including in Chicago, Boston and the Tournament of Champions in Kentucky, where two students were invited to compete. Additionally, junior Maggie Rogers will compete at the National Tournament in Utah on June 13-17.

“These are some of the best kids in the world, the ones that we have on our team. I know they’re all going to do great and amazing things,” Conoly said. “My job is to give them the tools to succeed.”

The VHHS team practices daily in Conoly’s classroom to prepare for these competitions. In addition to the 10 students who compete in speech, about 40 students are divided equally between the two types of competition debate: Lincoln-Douglas, which are one-on-one debates about morals and philosophy, and public forum, two-on-two debates centered around current events and public policy.

Conoly also pairs the veteran team members with the novices so they can mentor and help the less experienced students improve. Since he became a coach nearly two years ago, he said he has come to feel that speech and debate have “more application and direct benefits for students’ lives than any other activity. That’s how strongly I believe about it.”

He added that the communication and public speaking skills learned in his classroom can pay off no matter what career his students choose in the future. “That will carry you so far in life,” Conoly said.

Every debate student is also required to defend both sides of an issue during competitions, which Conoly said is just as important in everyday relationships.

“Regardless what your position is before you go in there, you have to be prepared, you have to do research and understand both sides of the argument, and I think that’s really good and useful,” he said.

Conoly calls becoming a teacher “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” With an award and a trip to Nationals under his belt, Conoly has set a high bar for his speech and debate team next year.

“I think we’re on a great track where we are right now,” he said.