Professional Development Day with the NSDA
Are you a new coach or an experienced coach looking to expand your skill set? This day of free, online professional development sessions is designed to support coaches at every level, offering valuable insights into team management, tournament hosting, fundraising, and maximizing your NSDA membership. Led by seasoned NSDA staff members and experienced coaches, each session provides practical tips, resources, and hands-on guidance to help you confidently grow your team and support your students.
From navigating Tabroom.com to exploring effective fundraising strategies, our sessions cover a wide range of topics crucial to running a successful speech and debate program. These interactive sessions offer a space for coaches to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with peers from across the country.
Each session offers actionable goals, step-by-step explanations, and open discussions to ensure you leave with the confidence and skills to make an impact on your team. Join us and take the next step in your coaching journey—together, we can help you succeed and make a difference in your students’ lives.
Register in Advance Below to Secure Your Spot!
Tournament Hosting on Tabroom.com
10:00 a.m. Central Time on December 7
Led by NSDA Lead Developer, Chris Palmer
This session will focus on how to get started hosting your tournament on Tabroom.com. Tabroom.com is a powerful tool, but the number of options and settings can be intimidating the first time around. We’ll take you through some of the concepts and language Tabroom is built around, and how to get a tournament structured that fits your needs.
Session Objectives:
- Explain the overall architecture of how events, judge categories and schedules work
- Identify the most critical areas to get your setup rolling, and how to test your setup.
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Understand the structure of a Tabroom.com tournament
- Open registration for your tournament
- Experiment with setup and rules options
Making the Most of NSDA Membership
11:00 a.m. Central Time on December 7
Led by NSDA Tournament Services Coordinator, Eli Woody
This session will focus on utilizing different NSDA website resources for getting a team started or maintaining a team. Whether you are taking over an existing team, starting from scratch, or looking to make some tweaks to your existing structure, this session will be helpful for you.
Session Objectives:
- Explain and model components of team management, related to membership and the honor society
- Identify key classroom and competition resources for coaches and students
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Find and utilize instructional resources and membership resources
- Support competitors, in any competitive event
Using Tabroom.com For Beginners
12:00 p.m. Central Time on December 7
Led by NSDA Competition & Events Specialist, Deano Pape
This session will provide guidance on learning the basics of Tabroom.com, including team roster and judge management, linking students, importing NSDA rosters, and registering for tournaments. Coaches will have the opportunity to ask questions about Tabroom.com and identify where and how to receive assistance.
Session Objectives:
- Help coaches discover best practices in tabroom student, judge, and tournament registration management
- Identify ways for coaches to receive support in their use of this technology.
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Manage their team and judge rosters
- Sign up for tournaments
- Join circuits and search the calendar for tournaments
Best Practices for Team Management
1:00 p.m. Central Time on December 7
Led by NSDA Tournament Services Manager, Shunta Jordan
Trying to decide what your team should look like? Torn about how often to practice or compete? Still trying to figure out how to garner support from your school admin or parents? This session will focus on best practices of team management to support you as a coach.
Session Objectives:
- To offer best practices for team management to help shape your program
- Identify ways to support you and your students whether you offer select speech and debate options or are a full-service program
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Discuss and utilize ways to effectively manage their team
- Support student members in a myriad of ways
Speech for Debate Coaches and Debate for Speech Coaches
2:00 p.m. Central Time on December 7
Led by NSDA Competition & Events Manager, Kara Smith
This session will focus on the differences between speech and debate events while also showing the benefits each can have on the other. From the skills learned in each discipline to the pros and cons of running a full service team, this session will give you lots to think about.
Session Objectives:
- Explain debate and speech events highlighting their unique qualities.
- Describe skills and attributes that crossover from the disciplines.
- Identify the benefits and challenges of a full service team.
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Examine the similarities of speech and debate events.
- Extend existing knowledge of teaching and coaching techniques to a new area.
- Choose events that deliberately meet the needs of their team.
- Experiment with teaching and coaching a new event.
Panel on Fundraising Strategies
3:00 p.m. Central Time on December 7
This session will include a panel of experienced coaches sharing their strategies for fundraising for their speech and debate teams. You will also have the opportunity to share any ideas that have worked for you! No matter your team’s size or funding needs, you will take away a series of potential approaches to supporting your program.
Session Objectives:
- Present a range of proven fundraising strategies that can adapt to different team sizes and budgets.
- Highlight methods for building community support and engaging stakeholders in your fundraising efforts.
- Explore creative approaches to make fundraising enjoyable and rewarding for team members.
Session Goals:
- Attendees will be able to…
- Identify fundraising strategies that suit their team’s unique needs.
- Develop a plan for engaging community members, parents, and other supporters in fundraising activities.
- Implement at least one new fundraising idea within their program.