Student Life

Speech and Debate coach looks to inspire and improve individuals’ skills

Christian Marvin
October 25, 2011

Now out of his rookie year, speech and debate head coach Brian Gutowski is raising the bar on his team. Although he finds the personal goals of the members to be most important, he is looking to see a stronger team effort in participation, an area that was weak last season.

Last season, the team started off slow, and only few members showed up to each meet. Not many members chose to get up to go to a Saturday meet at 6:15 a.m., and pay for themselves since the club is not funded by the school.

In their first meet of the last season, only one member, Elise Brown, junior, participated for West Linn.

Despite the small participation at each meet, Gutowski was not disappointed with his first season. He said that it was a great way to ease himself into the coaching position and to put a team together. However, this season he is hoping to inspire his team to give more effort, even though he still has a very young team. All of the members, except for Brown and Ben Roth, senior, are in their first season.

Gutowski made it clear to the team this year that they made a commitment; they are expected to participate as much as possible. The team clearly received the message, and the number of West Linn participants in the first two meets this season, which began Oct. 8, has grown to eight members.

Although this season Gutowski has raised the standard for participation for the team, his primary goal remains the same: to improve each member’s public speaking skills. Members have been working to improve in their events by rehearsing prepared material, such as memorized speeches, and by challenging each other with random topics for events such as impromptu. The goal of these exercises is to prepare the members so that they can use their skills live.

“With every tournament our main goal is to improve our skills,” Gutowski said. With each meet he hopes to have a few members win their event, but he mostly focuses on the feedback they receive from judges to help them improve.

Along with the additional effort and improvements the team has been making, they are also competing at a high level. In their last meet on Saturday, Oct. 15, Brown and Madison Henry, junior, placed second in duo interpretation and Daniel Nguyen, sophomore, placed third in impromptu.

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About the Contributor

Christian Marvin, Athletics Co-Editor

He aims, he shoots, he scores - basketball is one of many activities that Christian Marvin, junior and Athletics Editor, has an affinity for. In fact, a life full of friends, church and sports is one that he leads daily. With his hands full of engaging activities, in and out of school, Marvin looks forward to an exciting year.

This school year, Marvin has a full schedule on his hands. Physics is his favorite class because it is less rigorous than a handful of his other AP and Honors classes. He enjoys being on Amplifier because he “likes to write and there’s always something to do”.

Though he does not know exactly what path to take in the future, he does know that he wants to try his best in high school and start from there.

“I’m really want to get good grades this year, especially because I’m taking some hard classes,” Marvin said. “I also want to be more involved in service projects too.” At home, Marvin prefers to eat, relax and then do homework. He and his sister have two fish: Marvin’s is Flo, and his sister’s is King Triton. Despite his busy schedule, Marvin always finds time to spend for himself and with his family. Marvin enjoys eating chicken alfredo and drinking root beer and Dr. Pepper as well.

Out of school and home, Marvin is an avid participator in his church. Every Sunday, he teaches kindergarten at church, and attends youth group every Wednesday. In addition, Marvin also goes to Night Strike, a program in which he feeds homeless in downtown Portland.

“I like getting to play with the kids and teaching them,” Marvin said. “The kids are really fun and I like getting to know them.”

As for the sports aspect of his life, Marvin plays basketball. He prefers not to play on a school basketball team, but rather plays for enjoyment. Marvin’s specialty is shooting half-court shots and dunking on a ten foot net. He enjoys playing with friends because it is more fun, and there is a friendly competition.

Marvin hopes to complete his junior year and enjoy his last year in high school. He believes that can get through his high school life with the help of his family and friends. In all aspects of his life, he hopes to be successful and take the next step of his life.