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Getting Started

Take the Intro to NSDA Coaching Course

NSDA Learn: Intro To Coaching

Learn the ins and outs of coaching in our free Intro to NSDA Coaching course! This course is hosted on our learning management system, NSDA Learn, where you can enroll in courses and complete them at your leisure. Intro to NSDA Coaching covers many of the basics of NSDA membership including:

What You’ll Learn

    • How does my school become a member? 
    • How do I add students, coaches, and manage my roster? 
    • What can I do to start the season well?
    • How do I learn more about NSDA points, events, and rules?
    • What is Nationals and how do students qualify?
    • What are other forms of recognition through the NSDA?

Welcome to Coaching Speech & Debate Series

Welcome to Coaching

This video series takes new and prospective coaches through an overview of what coaching a speech and debate team entails. From competitive events, to recruiting students, to what happens at a tournament, this is a great starting place to learn what to expect as a coach.

Office Hours

NEW NSDA Office Hours

For personalized guidance, sign up for a convo during NSDA office hours!

  • Program advisors can visit www.speechanddebate.org and click Member Login in the top right corner of the page. Use your username and password to log in to your account. Once you’ve logged in, click “Account” in the upper right corner, which will take you to your profile page. Please click “Renew School”, in red, from the left menu and follow the prompts at the top of the page to renew your school.
    • High school membership is $149, with an option to upgrade to the all-school team Resource Package for an additional $199. Each individual high school student membership is a one-time $20 fee.
    • Middle school membership is $75, with an option to upgrade to the all-school team Resource Package for an additional $199. Each individual middle school student membership is a one-time $10 fee.
  • To finalize the renewal, follow the prompts on the page to review the following:
    Step 1. Confirm information on the school profile page. Once confirmed/updated, click the “Next Step” button.
    Step 2. Confirm the coaches listed. Once confirmed/updated, click the “Next Step” button.
    Step 3. Create the invoice. The annual dues are automatically selected. You can use the toggle to select other options such as coach memberships, student memberships, insurance, and the Resource Package. The prices for each item are listed on the right side of your screen, and a running total is at the bottom in blue. When done, “Create Invoice and Proceed to Checkout”.
    The system allows you to “Pay Now”, with a credit card or you can email the invoice to yourself or print out the pdf.

Need a Visual? Click here to watch our brief tutorial!

(The GIF will loop continuously; there is no audio.)

  1. Instruct new students (who have never competed at another school in middle or high school) to visit www.speechanddebate.org/join to create an account.
  2. Go to www.speechanddebate.org and select Member Login in the top right corner of the page. Use your username and password to log in to your account. Once you’ve logged in, select Account in the upper right corner, which will take you to your profile page.
  3. On the left side of your screen, select School Roster. The screen that opens will say Student Roster for (School Name). Make sure that you are on the Student Roster by checking for the yellow Student box at the top of the screen.
  4. Select “school roster” on the lefthand menu.
    Screenshot School Roster
  5. Now, on your school roster page, a red banner across the page will read that there are pending students to approve to your roster.
    Screenshot View Requests
  6. From this banner, select “create new” on each student, to approve adding them to the roster (since they are not already on it, needing to be merged).

Note: We strongly recommend asking students to create their accounts before adding them to your roster to ensure that their personal details (name, email, grad year, etc.) are entered correctly. Their names will be listed on their membership certificate as entered when the account is created.

Teaching and Coaching Tools

Resources For Coaching Speech

Coaching Speech

Find coaching and teaching resources for speech events, including public address and interpretation.

Coaching Debate

Coaching Debate

Find coaching and teaching resources for speech events, including public address and interpretation.

Resources for Student Learning

Student Learning

Share the hub of tools for students to independently build their skills and expand their understanding of different competitive speech and debate events.

Start Here Series

Lesson Plans

Access grab-and-go lesson plans from experts to introduce speech and debate to new students in the classroom.

Resources

Competition Events Guide

Competition Events

Read overview of each event and pick up competitive tips.

Attending Your First Tournament

Attending Your First Tournament

Tournaments are the best method for getting new students hooked on speech and debate.

New Coach FAQ

New Coach FAQ

Your first stop for all membership questions!

How to Start a Team

How to Start a Team

Find the resources you need to advocate for a new program.

Rules Overview

Rules Overview

Read an overview of the Unified Manual, which outlines the Association’s governing rules.

Team Recruitment Strategies

Team Recruitment Strategies

Recruitment is necessary to build a successful program. Get the guide to building your program.

Program Grants

Program Grants

Apply for financial support if your team is struggling with funding.

Points Entry

Points Entry

Learn what merit points are, how to enter them, and why they matter.

Local, District, and National Tournaments

Local, District, and National Tournaments

Learn the ropes with overviews of what to expect at local competition, district tournaments, and Nationals. 

Glossary

Glossary

As with any specialized activity, jargon and abbreviations pervade speech and debate activities. Download this guide to learn more.

Roles and Permissions

Roles and Permissions

Brief description of the three main roles on an NSDA speech and debate team and what each group can see on their account dashboards.