I have been very quietly sweating as until a few moments ago only one student in the district was going to Nationals in IX but that just changed and two can go barring someone getting ill and not appearing.
Roosevelt's best chances in individual events are Olivia and Billy in International Extemp. They will have to beat out Spencer Sheaff, who against his coach's recommendation, has choosen IX over DX.
If either of them are in to practice I want the noise and the social hour in the debate room to cease to give them the opprotunities they have earned.
Our next best chances lie in Domestic Extemp. So if those students are in to draw and work the same goes for them as well.
The district still needs 16 additional teams to be entered in Public Forum for 4 slots. There is now some hope of making it. Certainly THRS could qualify a team in PF if there are 4 slots.
Therefore, I am going to move social hour into another room if there are extemp people to work
or public forum teams to scrimmage, etc.
Please feel free to hang around even if you aren't practicing...Nate and I don't mind at all but also have the courtesy to keep things calm for those who are focused on winning a Nationals bearth.
If you don't know--both Olivia and Billy are very, very serious about this. I think several others are as well. But...everyone needs to be serious about this because there is a huge reward for getting a job done here:
If Olivia and Billy both qualify in IX then Spencer Sheaff is left trying to get through in PF or Congress. We have the ability to stop him in his tracks at both events. Stopping Spencer (now the 10th highest point total nationally in the junior class) has a huge reward for Roosevelt in this manner: Billy will break the all time Iowa point record next weekend. If we assume he makes nationals two things should happen for him:
1). He will have at least a 50-50 shot at being only Iowa's 2nd All American and
2). He could set the point record high enough that it stands for many years.
Spencer Sheaff and Dakota Johanson of Lincoln are the two who could catch Billy on points next year and break the record he will set next weekend.
As a team, we can help Billy in his quest by beating Sheaff and Johanson out of slots. If they don't qualify to nationals, they will not catch Billy in points...its just that simple. So you all have a role to play this next week...help all our kids out by letting them focus in practice and please try to take rounds away from Dakota and Spencer next weekend in Spencer at the National Qualifier.
Guess which sophomore in the State has a shot at the record Billy will set next weekend?
Amelia Martin!!!! Should she qualify to nationals this year, her odds are remarkably good of getting the job done. So for Billy and Amelia get focused on beating out Sheaff and Johanson!
Coach Harry
