Extemporaneous Speaking
Extemporaneous Speaking - What Should You Expect
At MGC Extemp, our camp vision is simple. We want to offer an extemporaneous speaking summer experience that caters to students both new to the event and wishing to make it to the national final rounds and takes place at a fraction of the cost of the "big camps."
Our results speak for themselves - every year, we teach students who reach final rounds at TFA state and out rounds at national circuit tournaments. How do we do it?
- Our guest lecturer series, where you can see national champion competitors and hall of fame coaches delve into Extemporaneous Speaking theory and be available for live Q&A afterwards.
- Labs - a perfect opportunity for you to form a connection with an educator and students of a similar skill level so you can jump right into competition next year surrounded by familiar faces. We pride ourselves on keeping labs small at MGC Extemp, and staffing each one with educators with experience teaching Speech & Debate full-time.
- We believe that while direct instruction is valuable, you cannot learn without speaking and receiving feedback. Therefore, at camp, there is a daily opportunity to give a practice speech and that receives coach feedback (read - we don't just stick you in a breakout room with another high schooler), capped off with a full mock tournament at the end of the week.
- Our Showcase Speech Series, which gives you the opportunity to engage in live Q&A with students who have a proven track record of extemporaneous speaking success.
Sample Online Daily Schedule
Divisions, Date and Pricing
| Section | Dates | In-Person | Commuter |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Extemp |
July 8 - July 16 |
$1,500 |
$1,000 |
Division Director
Neal White
Neal White is returning to the Mean Green Comet Extemporaneous Speaking camp for a fifth time, and fourth as Extemp Division Director! Neal has been a full-time educator teaching Speech & Debate for eight years and has had a hand in Speech & Debate education for 13. In extemporaneous speaking, he has coached NSDA national finalists, TFA State champions, Capital City Round Robin exhibition round participants, MBA Round Robin invitees, and UIL State finalists. Neal likes rock climbing, vinyl records, and essential oils…can you tell that he grew up in Austin? He and his family live in Richardson a few minutes from the UTD campus.
Division Staff
Joseph Uhler
Joseph Uhler has been an educator for over twenty years in the Austin and Fort Worth areas. In 2003, Joseph built the Anderson speech and debate program into a team with over 75 members that consistently finished in the top 10 schools in Texas at the Texas Forensic Association’s State Tournament. While at Anderson, Joseph's students won TFA State in Congress (House) and Original Oratory. He also had students who advanced to the final round at the Tournament of Champions in extemporaneous speaking. Joseph moved from Anderson to Westlake High School in 2015 and built the Westlake team to over 70 members. As coach of the Westlake Speech and Debate Team, his students won TFA State in Public Forum Debate, reached the final round of the Tournament of Champions in Public Forum Debate, and competed in late elimination rounds at the NSDA National Tournament. On two separate occasions, Joseph served the state of Texas as the President of the Texas Forensic Association – the largest state speech and debate organization in the country. Joseph now lives in Fort Worth and is consulting for high schools.
Meghan Clark
A Texas native who grew up in the Wichita Falls area and competed in extemporaneous speaking and Lincoln-Douglas debate for UIL; she placed second in extemp at the state level in both 2006 and 2007. She has coached speech and debate for eight years, including seven years at Newcastle ISD and one year in Plano ISD at Vines High School. At Newcastle ISD, she coached multiple students to regional and state success in Lincoln-Douglas debate, policy debate, and extemporaneous speaking. At Vines High School, she coached students to an NSDA district championship and the semifinalist round at Nationals. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family, and lives in the Frisco area.
Guest Speakers
Jason Warren
Jason competed both in high school and college in limited prep and public address. He is a two-time collegiate national champion in extemporaneous speaking and six-time finalist in limited prep, as well as a top-five individual sweepstakes speaker. In high school, Jason was an NSDA national finalist as well as a TFA and UIL state champion. Jason coached multiple national champions during his time at UT Austin, George Mason University, and the Parish Episcopal School. Jason now currently works as the social studies manager for an education software company.
Cheryl Potts
A 30-year veteran coach of speech and debate, her students have been successful at the UIL State level, the TFA state level, the TOC, the MBA Extemp Round Robin, and the NSDA National tournament level. She co-coached teams to the TFA State Championship fourteen times. She was inducted into the TFA Hall of Fame and was inducted into the NSDA Hall of Fame in June 2020. She is currently serving on the NIETOC Board of Directors.
Enroll Now!
MGCDI enrollment is begins March 1st, 2023! Follow the link above to reserve your spot in our 2023 summer program. The final deadline for all registration is June 9th, 2023.