Speech season is kicking off this year! With auditions last month, we are anticipating yet another successful season. Last year, the season was very different. All of the tournaments were online, and much of the coaching was online as well. However, with new variants of COVID and different COVID restrictions, it will be a lot different this year.

Ross Eichele, head speech coach, said that auditions went “really good, there were a lot of great people who auditioned…there’s a lot of great talent at Eagan.” This year there is a whole new bunch of novices who are eager to get started. So what will the tournaments look like in this strange limbo-like time?

Upon being asked this question, Eichele said that “right now we believe that most of the tournaments will be in person, but they’ll probably be a little different than what they traditionally were.” Less people, masking, and many other factors are key differentiators from what previous tournaments looked like. 

There are unique challenges that come with every speech season. Eichele says that the most anticipated challenge this year is the constantly changing policies that host schools have regarding the pandemic. “Some districts will let you have your mask off when you perform and some won’t…each district has slightly different policies in terms of masks, in terms of spacing for how many people can be in the cafeteria or the lunch room.” Overall, knowing the policies of the tournament you are attending on such short notice will be the biggest predicted challenge.

On the flipside of things, this season Eichele is most looking forward to being in person. “There’s something almost magical about a room full of people performing.” Online tournaments are much less interactive, and tech issues were a huge problem last season.

 Eichele truly has a passion for coaching speech. He stated that seeing the growth that one year of the speech team does to its participants is moving. Good luck to novices and returning members for the 2021-2022 speech season. Roll cats!