Grain Valley Student Competes in National Tournament

Scott Overfield, senior at Grain Valley High School, competed this June in the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo credit: Brian Winckler)

Grain Valley High School Senior Scott Overfield recently returned from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he placed in the top 10 percent of 255 original orators who competed in the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament. Overfield explains his original oratory explored “how everyone needs to love and accept each other. I show society’s problems of hate through the Wizard of Oz characters.”

According to Grain Valley High School’s Speech and Debate Coach, Brian Winckler, the process to get to the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament began in March, where Scott competed against 50 other

Kansas City metropolitan area students for 3 national qualifying spots. Overfield placed 2 nd in the district competition. Winckler and Overfield traveled to Lee’s Summit West several times to work with area students and coaches, gaining helpful advice as they prepared for the national competition.

At the national tournament, there were 255 competitors in each event from across the country. After 2 days of competing in a total of 6 Rounds, Overfield was one of the 60 students remaining in the tournament. He then competed for 2 more rounds, after which they cut the field down to 30. Winckler recalled, “seeing the pure joy on his face when he saw his code (on the list of Quarter Finalists)is truly what makes coaching worth it, because it was the culmination of months of hard work paying off for him.” Overfield then competed in 2 more rounds before being eliminated.

Winckler stated, “In all honesty, Scott is without a doubt one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with in 10 years of teaching and coaching. He actually started writing his speech that he performed this year at Nationals in February of 2017 for class. He sought help and advice from so many people to help perfect this speech over the past year and a half, and was very receptive to those comments and adjusted accordingly. Speech and Debate is all about being willing to adapt to what’s going on and what judges will be looking for, which Scott did a tremendous job of throughout the season.”

In addition to the excitement of being able to compete at a national level, Overfield enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who shared his passion. Overfield stated, “This was a great opportunity to meet such amazing people, and they will forever be a memory that I hold on to.”

Overfield expressed his appreciation for his family, fellow teammates and friends who supported him in this process. Additionally, Overfield shared his appreciation for Mr. Winckler, who Overfield states “has become one of the most impactful people in my life and I owe so much to him.”