Who coaches your students? You do!!! ‘nuff said.
Please do not feel that you can’t be their coach! God entrusted you with your kids. Your kids will surpass you in their knowledge of debate and speech, and that is good! Stoa wants to come alongside you and help you run a club and coach, so don’t hesitate to ask for help or resources.
If you want to hire an outside coach to work with your students, they can serve a very important role. First, however, here are some questions to consider before hiring one:
Is the coach an active member of a church? Are you comfortable with the biblical perspective of their church? Does the coach have a biblical worldview?
Do not be “won over” by their success, rather see whether their heart is to disciple and train students in God's success.
Just because they are in our league does not mean they are of our league. Anyone can claim to be a “Stoa coach,” begin coaching students and associate themselves with our community, but it doesn’t mean that their mission is to train students to further the kingdom of God.
Read their social media posts and comments and blogs.
Ask other parents and coaches locally and nationally whether they feel this individual would positively influence your kids?
Does the coach use I-centered or Christ-centered language? Are godly character skills the focus of their coaching, and how are they training those character skills?
Look at their coaching team. Is the team made up of hand-picked successors or exclusively alumni, or does it include any parents and other seasoned leaders as well?
Don’t forget the importance of maturity. A coach may have technical abilities, but do they have maturity and wisdom from years of coaching experience? Be cautious with young, recently graduated alumni. We love alumni! However, an experienced parent's or coach’s perspective can be different.
Most importantly, pray about your decision.
We look forward to a great 2021–2022 season!
Your Stoa Debate Committee