Speech: A Matter of Faith

Green named Christian college forensics coach of the year

by Gabbriella Kabler

Derrick Green, Assistant Professor of Communication and Forensics Coach, received the 2018 National Christian College Forensics Association (NCCFA) coach of the year award over spring break as the result of his work with the speech team and his participation in the NCCFA tournament.

“Essentially, [the award is] a recognition of what have you given to the activity, what have you given to your students, what have you given from an educational perspective,” Green said.

Though knowing the qualifications of the coaching award, Green said his reception of it came as a great surprise.

“I was shocked and stunned, but also humbled and honored,” Green said. “It really was a nice moment. It was nice to be recognized and affirmed.”

The speech tournament is a competition among students in which rounds of speeches are given and points awarded as a result of the quality. However, Green said students need more than just quality to make a strong speech.

“I want [the team] to be able to be strong in their faith, period, in all endeavors,” he said. “I feel that the world of competitive speech is a good testing ground for them because of the challenges and the worldviews that we encounter there. My biggest prayer for them is that this will be a good opportunity for them to strengthen their faith.”

Green said he not only wishes for spiritual growth for his team, but also strives to create a sense of community among them. Cat Clemons, a junior in speech club, described him as “a very intentional person.”

“He’s very generous and giving of himself,” Clemons said. “He’s very particular about what he wants from us.”

Gabe Cyrus, a senior finishing his fourth year in speech club, said Green reminded him of the motivation behind the club.

“The biggest thing that he has done for me is … letting me know that the Holy Spirit equips us to practice well and to perform well and to, when it happens, to win well and to do it in the right way,” Cyrus said. “He has just left such an impact on me and definitely deserves to be the coach of the year.”  

Gabbriella Kabler is a freshman Chemistry major and an off-campus writer for Cedars. She takes joy in big questions, fresh air and fluffy kittens.