Our coach, Mr. Joey DiColandrea, is taking on a new role as the Program Director for the Brooklyn Debate League. He's very passionate about continuing the debate program at LeapUp, however, and wants to bring our students with him!
In October 2022, LeapUp will start a middle school debate team through the BDL. There will still be twice-weekly remote classes and occasional remote tournaments, but our membership comes with some new perks:
- Monday and Thursday night remote lessons, 6:30-7:30.
- Scrimmages: roughly twice a month, the Thursday night class will include a full-round scrimmage including feedback from tournament judges and advanced high school debaters. These scrimmages take a little extra time, and students may not get out until 8.
- Optional Electives: On Mondays 5:30-6:30, the BDL will host remote classes that feature discussion groups on current events, workshops on debate-related skills, opportunities to work with students from other programs and backgrounds, and successful debate alumni sharing their career paths.
- Optional Office Hours: On Wednesdays 6:30-7:30, BDL staff will be remotely available for research assistance, individual feedback, etc.
- Integration: Students will have opportunities to practice with other BDL teams, ranging from private schools like The Chapin School to public charter schools like KIPP Beyond.
- Access to competitions:
---- Monthly in-person mini-tournaments, hosted Friday evenings in schools around the city
---- Remote weekend national tournaments every 1-2 months
---- One in-person BDL Saturday tournament in NYC.
---- Registration will cost $10-30 per student, depending on the type of competition, the number of students, and whether parents serve as judges.
The BDL cadre is staffed by several former national champions, debate camp directors, and experienced coaches. Mr. DiColandrea will not being teaching the Monday/Thursday night classes but will be developing the curriculum and providing quality control, and is personally invested in ensuring that the LeapUp coach is worthy of our amazing students.
