Teams

Virtual debate wasn't just detrimental to students—it affected the league's funding, according to Miami-Dade Urban Debate League Board Chair Osvaldo Garcia.

"I feel like we both have something that the other one lacks," said Bianca Perkins of Chicago's Kenwood Academy High School.

Debater Sitara Mazumdar said "it really took a village" to secure the team's second TOC qualifying bid, including hours of "targeted prep" and league help.

Bronx freshman Mariah Griffin told Newsweek she knows that her participation in the Dream Team "will have a significant impact further on in my life."

"It's been exciting to see how much they've grown and improved from the very first practice that we had," the team's coach told Newsweek.

"I don't think either of them thought they would be reaching such a high level of debate," the BASIS D.C. coach said of his sophomore debaters.

Volunteer coach Desma Marquez is teaching her girls to be "aggressive" when presenting their arguments or going head-to-head with boys in cross-examination.

The student debaters said coaches Aaron and Cindi Timmons acted as a second set of parents, supervising them on trips and helping them through the competition

Boston International Newcomers Academy debate coach Lorenis Nova says that the activity "stays with you from beginning to end."

The Westchester Academy for International Studies debate team formed five years ago and has only qualified for nationals three times.

"It can get scary sometimes," one high school student told Newsweek recently, "but we have proved that we can still stand our ground."

The coach at Potomac Oak, a Maryland learning academy, says success depends on mentorship and sharing "institutional knowledge."