Board of Education recognizes state speech qualifiers

It’s been a long time since a group of students sat before the Unit 1 Board of Education.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to actually have people at our meeting to recognize in person again, that’s very exciting,” Unit 1 Superintendent Dr. Kent Bugg said, on a night that six members of the high school speech team were in attendance to celebrate another successful season of speaking.

“It seems like an annual pilgrimage that we make our way here to recognize students and I can’t complain about that at all. This year, I think, is a little more special for us because of the challenges that came with competing in a COVID world that we live in now,” said Dave Sinkular, head coach for the Coaler Speech Team.

Back in February, six speaksters advanced to the state tournament in six speaking categories—two of them duets—based on their performance in the sectional.

Instead of traveling to the Peoria Civic Center for the two day tournament, state qualifiers simply had to report to the school and standby until it was their time to appear before the judges who were watching the state performances on a screen.

Sinkular explained that when school started last August, all speech coaches were invited to take part in a call to address how to compete in the middle of a pandemic

For a group of students and coaches who are use to getting up before the sun on frigid Saturday mornings to head out on a school bus to that weeks tournament site, taping from their bedrooms mid-week for judging was quite a change.

The traditional speech tournament wasn’t possible this year, but the state’s speech coaches were determined to have a full season.

Halfway through the season, teams moved to live finals where the speakers would stand in front of the camera at a designated time to perform for the judges.
“I can’t say it was easy, but we made it work,” Sinkular shred with the board on April 7.
Although it wasn’t a traditional season, the coach pointed out the team adapted and continued to find success.
Throughout the season, the Coalers were consistently placing at tournaments—some of the biggest in the state—and the plaques and medals kept coming in the mail.

“People kept coming to us and saying are you guys really that good? I don’t know, I think so because we keep doing this,” he said, in reference to the teams success.

Sending six to state, that’s one less than the school’s record, the coach reported as he introduced the state speaksters to the Board of Education.
Dylan Ludes, a three time state qualifier in dramatic duet acting, was in attendance with his partner McKenna Patten, a first time qualifier.

As Sinkular pointed out, Ludes has qualified in this category since his freshman year and each year he’s had a different acting partner.

The humorous duet acting team of Eli Fritz and Izzy Kostbade also took part in the board recognition. This was the first time either had qualified for state, and Kostbade also competed in humorous interpretation.

Senior Madison Holcomb competed in radio speaking and success in her first rounds of the tournament landed her in the state finals. Although this first time state qualifier didn’t finish as high as she would have liked, she finished the season among the top six in the state.

No stranger to the state tournament experience, Zoe Smith was double entered in the tournament in oratorical declamation and special occasion speaking, advancing to the finals in the latter category. Again, finishing in the top six.

Smith becomes the one person in Coaler speech history that has qualified for state in the most categories—four. And, in her four years of participating in speech she has competed and placed in six of 14 speaking categories.

“These six people here did what they were suppose to do. Every week showed up, did their practices, turned their videos in, listened to us and did what everything were supposed to be doing for that time frame and for that we have to congratulate them,” said Sinkular, who was joined at the meeting by fellow speech coach Ben Baer.

“Congratulations to all of you, it’s an incredible achievement and I can tell you this is a skill. The skills you learn in speech will benefit you for the rest of your life. You are not going to be scared in interviews, you are not going to be afraid to speak in front of people and that is going to take you places and I give all of you a lot of credit and I thank our coaches for giving our kids these opportunities especially this year during what was such a challenging time,” Bugg said.

Sinkular credits the Illinois High School Association [IHSA] and coaches from around the state for making a season and a state tournament happen this year.

“It would have been easy for us to say no this is something we do in person we can’t make this work and not a single person said that rather we will make it work in someway shape or form and bend over backwards to make sure these guys could perform,” the coach said.

The IHSA does not designate speech by classes like it does for athletic competition.

Therefore, local students are competing against speakers from some of the largest suburban schools including powerhouses and the past two state champions Wheaton Warrenville South and Downers Grove South.

It is these larger teams that Sinkular and Baer seek to compete against throughout the season because that is the state level competition.

Several years ago Coal City started hosting a tournament in December and this year four of the top six teams placing at state participated in the local event with their varsity squads.

“It’s nice we’re able to compete with those teams, it’s nice these guys are at that level with kids in those schools,” Sinkular said.

On behalf of the Board, president Ken P. Miller offered congratulations to the students and coaches.

“You did a wonderful, wonderful job. What a great honor to compete with the best in the state and do as well as you did and coaches, thank you so much for your hard work with this, I know its not been easy and I know the time you have put in,” Miller said.