Schools
Salisbury High School Debate Team Prepares For Semi-Finals
Debate Coach Michael Barna molds a successful team
Sticking to a "methodical process" is Salisbury High School Debate Team coach Michael Barna's philosophy about building a winning team.
"It's really about commitment more than anything else," he insists. "It's getting kids who buy into the process."
Barna admits that over the years he's formulated that process into a "tradition of winning" at Salisbury.
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"You start with brainstorming," he says, "then you go to the research, then you start analyzing the speeches and forming counterpoints. They have to prepare both the affirmative and the negative."
Senior Lauren Boulay, junior Jackie Busolits, both 17, and sophomore Alan Mendez, 16, are on the semi-finals team and will compete April 12 against undefeated Kutztown High School. Salisbury is ranked second, with three wins and one loss.
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The team meets several mornings a week before classes to fine tune their arguments and rebuttals under Barna's direction. Their current topic is the juvenile justice system and the pros and cons of life without parole for young offenders.
"You formulate your best team, you prepare them on both sides and then you go 'round robin' against the best of everybody else," Barna says. That's his formula for success.