Thoughts from the comically small college dorm desk of one of the Lasting Impact coaches:
You can’t just rely on charm in speech and debate.
Trust me, I’ve tried.
There is no secret trick to winning tournaments, there is no special sauce in connecting with a judge, there is no proprietary speech structure that magically makes your topic comprehensible. As boring and cliched as it sounds, the only way to ensure steady growth and consistency in the competition room is practice. Practice makes perfect.
Classes start NEXT WEEK! If you haven’t gotten a chance to see ALL of the different classes/clubs Lasting Impact! has to offer this semester- now is the time! https://lastingimpact.info/product-category/clubs/
Maybe you’ve been looking at one of our Lasting Impact! online clubs but haven’t quite been ready to hit that registration button. Maybe you’re nervous about the commitment. Maybe you’re wondering if you really have time to add one more thing to your schedule. Maybe you’re not sure if an online club will be a good fit for you. Or maybe you’re interested, but you’d just like to know what you’re signing up for before you commit.
Well- now is the time to sign up! Try the first class on us! That’s right. If you’re considering one of our online clubs, we’re inviting you to attend the first class FREE. No strings attached.
Come meet the coach. Meet the other students. See what the class is like. Participate, ask questions, learn something, and get a feel for whether the club is right for you.
Then decide.
At Lasting Impact!, we believe there is tremendous value in learning alongside other students and experienced coaches. You may already have a wonderful local club—and that’s great! Our online clubs aren’t necessarily meant to replace what you’re already doing. They can be another voice, another source of feedback, another place to practice, and another opportunity to learn from coaches and competitors outside your immediate circle.
And because our classes are online, students have the opportunity to participate, gather information from across the nation, sometimes leagues. And you know what they say- information is POWER! We love getting to know our students. We want to hear their speeches, answer their questions, work through their cases, challenge their thinking, and help them grow throughout the season.
We have experienced coaches and teachers ready to go. We have a handful of students already signed up for each class.
We just need YOU!
And there are lots of ways to join us this season. Our current online offerings include –
Advanced Lincoln Douglas Value Debate
Apologetics Club
Biblical Thematic Intensive
Duo Interp Intensive
Extemp Club
Foundations of Lincoln Douglas Value Debate
Master Impromptu Speaking
Open Interpretation Intensive
Platform Speech Intensive
Team Policy Foundations
Intermediate/Advanced Team Policy
Head to the SHOP to learn more about them – https://lastingimpact.info/product-category/clubs/ Whether you’re a brand-new competitor who needs some help figuring out where to begin or an experienced competitor looking for more advanced coaching and feedback, there’s a place for you. Maybe you need accountability to actually get that speech written. Maybe you need someone besides Mom or Dad to listen to it. Maybe you want another coach looking at your debate case. Maybe you need regular practice. Maybe you simply want to surround yourself with other students who are excited about speech and debate and want to get better.
That’s what our clubs are for!!
But we also know that looking at your calendar in September can be intimidating. School has started. Local clubs are kicking off. Activities are piling up. Tournament season will be here before we know it.
So we’re taking the risk out of it…
Don’t know if you have the time? Come try it.
Don’t know if you’ll like the coach? Come meet them.
Don’t know if the class will be helpful? Come experience it.
Don’t know if you want to commit? You don’t have to—not yet.
Your first class is on us, and there are no strings attached. Classes begin next week, so now is the perfect time to jump in and see what you think.
If you’d like to attend the first class FREE, email Anne at Anne.lastingimpact@gmail.com and tell her which club you’d like to try. She’ll help you get connected.
We have the coaches. We have the classes. We have students ready to learn.
Now we just need you.
Come try the first class on us. You might just find exactly what you need for your speech and debate season.
A new speech and debate season is exciting. New resolutions. New speeches. New events. New goals. Maybe even a brand-new league, club, or coach. But it can also feel a little overwhelming. Where do you start?
Whether this is your first year in speech and debate or your fifth, the beginning of the season is an important time. It’s tempting to jump immediately into writing cases, choosing scripts, researching topics, or thinking about tournaments. Those things are important, but before you race ahead, take some time to build your foundation.
Read on to to learn more about building your foundation or to see our BIG 2026 LABOR DAY SALE click HERE…
Two Books. One Product. A Guide for the 2026-27 NCFCA Season… Elements of Lincoln-Douglas: A Debate Handbook for Students & Coaches
Over the years, Lincoln-Douglas debaters have had casebooks, sourcebooks, handbooks, and research briefs. Years ago, Lasting Impact! introduced something different: our very first LD Guide.
It was a huge success!!
Since then, we’ve been flattered to see the idea of an LD “Guide” catch on. But debate keeps changing, students keep growing, and after more than a dozen years of working with thousands of competitors – including an abundance of speech and debate champions – we keep learning too. Along the way, we’ve also had the privilege of working with countless coaches, parents, and judges, all looking for resources to help them navigate the challenges of LD debate. This new two-book series equips Lincoln-Douglas students and coaches with the SKILLS to debate well and the TOOLS to tackle this year’s resolution.
So this year, we’ve taken the idea of the LD Guide even further. We’re excited to introduce a brand-new resource from Lasting Impact! for Lincoln-Douglas students, parents, and coaches:
Elements of Lincoln-Douglas: A Debate Handbook for Students & Coaches
And this year, your purchase includes two complete books for the price of one… Click HERE to purchase or read on….
There is something exciting about the beginning of a new speech and debate season… Across the country, clubs are kicking off. Leagues are launching their new seasons, new events, new rules, resolutions are being discussed, script ideas are being tested, club leaders are gearing up- adding tools to their toolbox, and students are starting to imagine what this year could hold…
A new season means new OPPORTUNITIES!!
Maybe this is your very first year in speech and debate. Maybe you are coming back determined to finally break into outrounds. Maybe you want to try a new event, becoming a stronger speaker. Maybe you want to qualify to Nationals. Maybe you want to make new friends, or simply grow in confidence. Whatever your goals are… right now is an important time to think about what you want from your season… what opportunities are you going to look for?
Reflecting on my (Derek’s) earliest rounds in previous seasons is a little painful. I remember quite a few rounds where I’d spend the majority of our team’s closing speech on the defensive, responding to the previous speech, and then tack on two voting issues with fifteen seconds to go. The irony is that I did believe with all my heart that my voting issues should decide my judge’s ballot. But that’s not what my judge heard. By spending so much of my time on defense, I was signalling that my voting issues were not what mattered.
Your judge will remember what you talked about the most, regardless of what it was. The amount of time you devote to responding, and the amount of time you devote to any particular argument, teaches the judge how much weight it deserves. The more time you spend on an argument, the more likely that a judge will weigh it heavily.
If you spread yourself too thin across too many voting issues, or by failing to defend and present your case as well as addressing your opponent’s, you’re failing to signal to your judge what they should care about. Indeed, both of us have gotten ballots telling us that a certain argument would have swayed the ballot in our direction if we’d focused on it more. If your speech treats each argument as equally worthy of your time, you’re telling your judge that nothing in the round deserves special attention. In the absence of that guidance, your judge is left to decide for themselves what mattered most, and that’s a gamble you shouldn’t take.
Spending a long time responding to a pedantic argument from your opponent – for example, dedicating too much time to addressing Topicality as Affirmative – gives outsized credence to what was originally a minor argument in the judge’s mind. Even if the judge initially viewed it as an insignificant objection, your time management tells them that this must be a bigger issue than they thought. In attempting to defeat that argument, you’ve inadvertently made a mountain out of a molehill. Instead, you can briefly agree with their argument, but say another argument you made matters more and outweigh – a concept we’ll explore more in the next post. You can agree with your opponent that seatbelts occasionally cause injuries in car accidents, for example. But your judge knows this is a frivolous argument, and you can dismiss their argument by saying that those rare injuries are outweighed by the millions of lives seatbelts have saved every year.
On the other hand, if you know one of your own arguments is unlikely to decide the ballot, don’t present it as a voting issue. Don’t oversell marginal arguments that aren’t realistically able to carry the ballot and neglect to invest time in arguments that might. Reserve the status of voting issue for the arguments most likely to influence your judge’s decision.
Your last speech is your opportunity to leave an impression on the judge about what issues matter most. Voting issues are one of your best tools to do that, but they need time to cement their place in the judge’s mind. Judges think most about what you talk about the most.
Principles like this become powerful when students have the chance to practice them. Through Lasting Impact! clubs and coaching, students can work on making these strategic decisions in real time—and get the feedback they need to turn a good principle into a competitive habit. Have questions… comment below or reach out to Anne.e.mcclure@gmail.com
A familiar scene unfolds every season when a new Lincoln-Douglas resolution drops. The Affirmative stands up, armed with grand moral obligations and deontological duties. The Negative responds by flooding the room with empirical statistics and recidivism rates. By the end of the round, the judge is left holding a ballot for two completely different contests. Neither debater answered the other’s core framework. They didn’t clash; they simply talked past each other for 45 minutes.
This year’s resolution asks whether the criminal justice system should value retribution — punishment proportional to the wrong done — over rehabilitation — restoring the offender’s capacity to live lawfully. For brevity, this piece uses the shorthand RTrib and RHab from here on.
Debaters default to treating RTrib as a rigid, abstract duty and RHab as a pragmatic, outcome-based tool. Treating these as non-intersecting worldviews turns your case into a ramp — a rigged framework that only registers points for your side. To turn a ramp into a fair scale — one that can actually weigh both sides — we need a clear map of where these arguments live.
As we dive into Team Policy Camp this week, we’re spending time not only on building strong arguments, but on learning how to make those arguments matter to a judge. One of the most important- and often overlooked- skills in debate is knowing how to bring a round to a clear and compelling conclusion. A great debater doesn’t simply give the judge more arguments to consider; they help the judge understand which arguments matter most and why those arguments should determine the ballot. This week’s article, written by Caleb and Derek, takes a closer look at one of the most important tools for doing exactly that: the voting issue. Whether you’re brand new to TP or have been debating for years, learning to craft voting issues that actually make your judge’s job easier can be a game-changer… keep reading or sign up for TP Camp HERE. And don’t forget our TP Sourcebook is HERE!!
A new season means new opportunities to grow, learn, and discover what you’re capable of.
Whether your student is stepping into Speech & Debate for the very first time or preparing for another competitive season, our Fall 2026 lineup has something designed to help them thrive. From foundational speech classes to advanced debate training, interpretation, extemporaneous speaking, Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy, Moot Court, and specialty clubs, every class is built around one goal: helping students become confident communicators who think critically, speak with purpose, and make a lasting impact.
At Lasting Impact!, we believe communication is about so much more than winning rounds. It’s about learning to defend truth with grace, lead with confidence, and use the gifts God has given each student to influence the world around them.
Why join a Lasting Impact! class? • Learn from experienced, nationally recognized coaches. • Receive consistent instruction and meaningful feedback. • Build friendships with students from across the country. • Grow in confidence, critical thinking, and communication. • Strengthen skills that last far beyond competition.
Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned competitor, we’d love to have you join us this fall. Classes begin soon, and many have limited enrollment, so don’t wait!
At Lasting Impact!, our support doesn’t stop with classes or clubs we create. Whether you’re starting a new Speech & Debate club, leading an established team, or simply looking for extra help, our experienced coaching staff-
We are here to partner with you!
We offer private coaching, club coaching, personalized lesson plans, tournament preparation, and one-on-one mentoring, script assessments across Speech, Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy, Moot Court Leagues. Need a coach for your club? Hire a Lasting Impact! team member and receive the encouragement, expertise, and practical guidance your students need to succeed.
Every debate season begins the same way- with excitement, anticipation… and a little uncertainty!? A new resolution means new research, new strategies, new arguments, and countless hours spent learning how to communicate truth with clarity and conviction. It can feel overwhelming, especially at the beginning of the year.
That’s exactly why we, at Lasting Impact! are excited to introduce two brand-new resources for the NCFCA 2026–2027 season (we also have ANOTHER resource coming soon).
Our goal has never been to simply give students arguments to memorize. We want to equip them to become thoughtful thinkers, persuasive communicators, and confident competitors. These new resources were created with that purpose in mind… to jump start and kick off the new year…
Featuring more than 350 pages of material from five talented authors, this Sourcebook contains eight complete cases covering a wide variety of approaches to this year’s resolution – Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its foreign policy toward the Republic of Turkey.
Inside you’ll find:
Eight complete affirmative cases
AFF backups and NEG briefs for every case
Both specific and open-ended mandates that encourage deeper research
Practical examples of different approaches to case construction
The cases span topics including rare earth investments, democracy aid, military policy, anti-corruption initiatives, Turkish banking sanctions, missile detection, and more.
Rather than presenting only one “right” way to debate the resolution, the Sourcebook demonstrates multiple ways experienced debaters approach research, organization, and advocacy. Whether you’re building your first case or refining your tenth, we hope this resource sparks new ideas and strengthens your understanding of the topic.
If you’re new to Team Policy- or know someone who is- don’t miss our Intro to Team Policy – A Guide!Designed especially for first-year students, parents, and coaches, this resource breaks down the fundamentals of Team Policy in a clear, approachable way. This is a non-league specific guide- from understanding the structure of a round to learning key terminology and preparing for competition, this guide helps take the mystery out of Team Policy so you can begin the season with confidence. It’s the perfect companion for families just starting their Team Policy journey. Check it out HERE
NEW! 2026–2027 NCFCA LD Casebook
We’re equally excited about this year’s NCFCA LD Casebook, and for good reason.
This edition features 10 original cases written by five accomplished alumni who have competed, researched, and coached within the NCFCA community. The resolution centers around – Resolved: It is Just for a Criminal Justice System to value Retribution over Rehabilitation.
But this year we’ve added something entirely new!!! Each case includes access to exclusive video interviews with the author. Instead of simply reading a case, you’ll hear directly from the writer as they explain:
Why they chose their framework
How the argument develops
What story the case is trying to tell
Possible rebuttal strategies
Ways to defend the position effectively
Learning how an experienced debater thinks is often just as valuable as the finished product itself.
The Casebook also includes analysis of the resolution, philosophy review, and recommended resources for additional study, helping students develop a deeper understanding of justice rather than simply preparing for the next round.
ALSO- COMING SOON… We’re not finished yet! Later this month, we’ll also be releasing our Official Lasting Impact! NCFCA LD Guide by Hillary and Nathanael Kolssak. Whether you’re brand new to Lincoln-Douglas debate or looking to strengthen your understanding of the event, this guide is designed to provide practical instruction, thoughtful insight, and a solid foundation for the season ahead. Stay tuned- you’re not going to want to miss this exciting new resource!
Learning From Those Who Have Gone Before
One of the greatest blessings of the speech and debate community is the willingness of coaches and alumni to invest in the next generation. These resources represent hundreds of hours of research, writing, editing, and collaboration. We’re incredibly thankful to coaches, writers, and contributors… Roman Hogancamp, Brendan McDonald, Derek Sun, Andrew Formo, Xander Yoder, Gabriel Zylstra, Caleb McClure, Carlton McCormick, Caleb Zylstra, and Melody Jardinico. These people continually give of themselves sharing both their knowledge and their experience to equip the future generations, as well as coaches and parents.
Their work provides students with more than finished cases… it offers a window into effective research, persuasive writing, and strategic thinking. Lasting Impact! is committed to putting out the highest quality products! These books are just a starting point… we look forward to hearing about where you take them.
Our Hope
Every resource we create has the same purpose: to help students communicate truth with wisdom, confidence, and integrity. Winning rounds is exciting, but our greater desire is that students leave speech and debate equipped to think critically, speak graciously, defend their beliefs well, and influence others for Christ. We hope these new resources become valuable tools as you prepare for another incredible season.
Thank you for allowing Lasting Impact! to be part of your journey. We can’t wait to see what this year’s students accomplish.
A coach watches a Lincoln-Douglas round and sighs, “Two ships passing in the night.”
A judge sits in the back of the room, looking at a ballot, completely paralyzed. The Affirmative defined Justice as Moral Desert. The Negative defined Justice as Human Dignity. Neither debater engaged the other’s definition. Neither debater acknowledged the other’s value. They built two parallel universes, spoke past each other for 45 minutes, and left the judge with an impossible task: choose between two competing worldviews, or flip a coin based on who spoke more persuasively.
We end up with these “toss-up” decisions because judges aren’t allowed to hand down a double loss. But make no mistake: when a round devolves into non-intersecting worldviews, both debaters failed at the fundamental task of Lincoln-Douglas debate.
The root cause of this failure isn’t that debaters are lazy, or that parent judges don’t understand Kant. The root cause is that our community has forgotten the true nature of a Value-Criterion framework.
The framework is not a weapon to bludgeon your opponent. It is not a fortress to hide in. It is a scale. And until both debaters agree to put their cases on a scale that can actually register weight, the debate hasn’t even begun….
If you’ve never participated in Apologetics before, you may be wondering, What is it? More importantly, Why should I spend my time studying it? Tonight, you have the opportunity to join our Online Workshop on Apol – TONIGHT at 7pm CT https://lastingimpact.info/product/camp25407/
One of my favorite answers to that question comes from Coach Joseph Knapp:
“You should do Apologetics for the sole reason that it will build your confidence and knowledge in the Bible, Christianity, and the God who is there and is not silent.” — Coach Joseph Knapp
That statement captures the heart of this event.
We live in a world where truth is often viewed as personal preference. Our culture tells us that everyone has their own truth and that all beliefs are equally valid. Yet as Christians, we know that truth is not something we invent… it is something God has revealed. He has spoken through His Word, and because of that, we can know Him, trust Him, and confidently stand on what He has said.
That is where Apologetics comes in. For some people, they may only think of it as a speech event… but it is so much more that that! It’s an opportunity to learn, understand, and grow in your Faith!!
The word apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning “to give a defense.” In 1 Peter 3:15, believers are instructed:
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
Notice that Peter doesn’t say we should be argumentative or combative. Instead, he calls us to be prepared. Apologetics is not about winning a theological debate… it’s about knowing the truth well enough to explain it clearly, thoughtfully, and graciously.
One of the greatest benefits of studying apologetics is the confidence it builds. As you study Scripture, examine difficult questions, and learn how to think critically about your faith, you begin to realize that Christianity is not built on blind faith. God invites us to love Him with our hearts, souls, and our minds.
Joseph goes on to say, “Looking back, I can honestly say that Apologetics has been one of the most influential tools in my own walk with Christ. It challenged me to study the Bible more deeply, wrestle with difficult questions, and understand not only what I believe, but why I believe it. That confidence doesn’t just help in competition—it changes the way you approach conversations, serve others, and live out your faith every day.”
The goal of this workshop isn’t simply to prepare for tournaments. It’s to equip you for life. My prayer is that you’ll leave this class with a stronger understanding of God’s Word, a greater love for His truth, and the confidence to engage our culture with both conviction and compassion.
Tonight, we’ll begin at the very beginning. We’ll explore what Apologetics is, walk through the structure of an Apologetics round, review the current rules, and spend some time getting to know one another. Every expert starts as a beginner, and every strong foundation is built one stone at a time.
Welcome to Apologetics Club. I’m excited to begin this journey with you. Sign up NOW to join us tonight or to receive the recording.. https://lastingimpact.info/product/camp25407/
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