Coach of the Year: Zach Komlo, (Phelps)
Zach has been a rock of the WUDL Community and is one of our longest-tenured coaches. He has always had a small team, year in and year out. This year, his team grew, advanced to Varsity and won many awards, and dealt with some significant transfers as folks left Phelps. Transition and turmoil did not seem to phase Coach Komlo, and his squad set new records. Coach Komlo has long been a mentor to other coaches, and he has helped out a number of his peers, sharing best practices and lessons learned from his almost decade of experience coaching debate. 

One highlight of the year was hosting a tournament at Phelps. We had thought about doing so in March 2020, but as you can imagine, that did not go well. This year, Coach Komlo volunteered to host our National Qualifier during a year when hosts were few and far between. We were skeptical that Phelps, with a student population of around 300, was big enough, but Coach Komlo worked with his facilities team, gave us a tour, and hosted one of my favorite tournaments of the year.  

New Coach of the Year: Shayla Herron (Kettering) 
Coach Herron experienced a bit of being “volun-told” to Coach the debate team at Kettering, but once she got started, she had one of the most successful teams this year. Rolling at least 20 deep at every tournament, the Kettering team was huge (and she successfully filtered the more than 100 students that showed up at the interest meeting). Not only significant, they were successful, winning many trophies across three divisions. She deftly balanced challenging her experienced partnership with a host of Novices, a tricky balancing act. We look forward to having her on staff this summer at the Matthew Harris Ornstein Summer Debate Institute. 

Shout Out to Coach Dr. Sara Arndt at Banneker High School — as a finalist for the National Debate Coach of the Year, she wasn’t eligible for these awards. 

Volunteer of the Year: Paris Smalley  
Paris is the first WUDL Alumni to be named Volunteer of the Year!

Paris, the long-time captain of the Charles Flowers debate team, was a student coach before graduation and has taken to coaching naturally afterward. On sabbatical from Duke University, Paris has jumped into supporting WUDL with both feet.

Coach Smalley took over the KIPP Shaw team mid-season, and they have had a very successful debut, winning a giant pile of trophies since she started coaching them and bringing new, eager faces to tournaments. She has also joined the Travel Team for multiple trips, each time coaching a team or teams that were the most unfamiliar with regional travel and providing extra support for new Travel Team members we wanted to make sure felt at home. Beyond the big, visible things, Paris has volunteered to do all of the small, under-appreciated tasks that make tournaments and leagues run smoothly, like running workshops, handing out trophies, and putting together teaching materials.

We look forward to building on this partnership.

Paris wants to get her Doctorate in Education and become a superintendent or principal someday.