My name is Callahan and I teach/coach traditional Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate. I competed in West Oklahoma from 2016 to 2020. I was a two-time West Oklahoma District Champion, 3-time NSDA qualifier, broke to out rounds all 3 Nationals, and went 11-1 in prelims my junior and senior year. I've debated over 200 rounds with a total win rate of about 75%.
I haven't done much coaching, but the few students I have taught had great success. Two were freshman teammates my senior year. Both...
My name is Callahan and I teach/coach traditional Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate. I competed in West Oklahoma from 2016 to 2020. I was a two-time West Oklahoma District Champion, 3-time NSDA qualifier, broke to out rounds all 3 Nationals, and went 11-1 in prelims my junior and senior year. I've debated over 200 rounds with a total win rate of about 75%.
I haven't done much coaching, but the few students I have taught had great success. Two were freshman teammates my senior year. Both successfully competed in West Oklahoma and qualified to Nationals. In terms of external paid coaching, the one student I've coached qualified for Nationals twice, breaking to late out rounds (T15) one year, and receiving numerous ToC bids.
This student came from a small school that didn't even qualify for OSSAA tournaments (1A/2A etc), let alone the top 6A division I competed in. Despite this, he qualified to Nationals in the only eligible in-state tournament, NSDA districts, and had a successful career on the circuit. From my teaching of traditional debate, he gained the skills necessary to teach himself circuit debate and compete nationally from a tiny program which otherwise would've relegated him to small state tournaments.
I teach students to understand what debate is in a competitive format and how to win through strategy. Debate is not so much a game of persuasion as it is out-maneuvering opponents and employing/understanding tactics. This is how my student succeeded on the circuit despite my lack of knowledge regarding the format. Regardless of whether you come from a small school outside of even state competitions, or a large program, I will equip you with the skills to win at the local, regional, and national levels.
To be clear, I teach only traditional LD. This involves cases with Value/Criterion, Observations, and Contentions. Circuit debate, such as plans, Ks, T-shells, are outside my wheelhouse. That being said, understanding progressive tactics/strategies can improve one's understanding of traditional debate.
