Intro to Coaching Policy Debate

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Policy Debate is a two-on-two debate where an affirmative team proposes a plan and the negative team argues why that plan should not be adopted. Policy is the most research-intensive event because there is one topic per school year. This gives students the opportunity to deep dive into the subject matter while the structure of the event also grants them a high degree of freedom to choose arguments.

This course will take coaches new to Policy through the ins and outs of the event. Upon completion of the course, coaches will be able to:

Follow a round of Policy and identify the different speeches, their purpose, and the strategy at play.
Explain key terms and how they fit in to the structure of the event.
Implement strategies for success in coaching both in the classroom and at tournaments.
Build on their initial understanding with additional resources to learn more about coaching Policy.

SunHee Simon

SunHee Simon graduated from Stanford University in 2019 (BA in African American History; MA in Sociology). Her debate accolades are many, among them being one of the first students to qualify to the Tournament of Champions in Lincoln-Douglas and Policy Debate, representing the United States in World Schools Debate on Team USA, and reaching semifinals her freshman year of college at the CEDA Tournament in 2015. She has dedicated the past eight years of her young career to coaching fantastic debaters who have reached accolades even more impressive than her own. This includes, but is not limited to, having her students get to late elimination rounds of tournaments like the Barkley Forum at Emory, Stanford, Glenbrooks, and UT, as well as championing tournaments like the Cal Invitational at UC Berkeley and the Texas State Tournaemnt. She is the founder of the World of Words Institute, a program dedicated to creating accessible World Schools Debate resources for students and coaches of all backgrounds. She is based at Coppell High School where she continues to coach, drill, laugh, and grow with her students every day.