Lincoln Douglas

What to Expect from Camp

The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Division, led by Demarcus Powell, will offer an in-person session (6/22-7/5). Demarcus, who also serves on the NSDA Topic Committee, brings years of experience as a coach and educator, ensuring students receive top-tier instruction in all facets of LD debate.

The in-person session will feature a traditional lab-based environment, where students engage in interactive lectures, electives, practice debates, and intensive group instruction from a highly qualified staff. The online session will be a skill-intensive program, offering repetitive practice debates, personalized feedback, and direct engagement with lab leaders to fine-tune competitive techniques.

This year, our LD program will emphasize fundamentals while incorporating standard policy arguments common in modern debate. Students will leave camp fully prepared to compete at tournaments, with a strong grasp of research, case construction, argumentation, and round strategy. Particular focus will be placed on using technology effectively, ensuring that students from small or no-team schools can still thrive in a competitive circuit.

To maximize preparation, we will work with a topic from the 2025-2026 slate, giving students a head start on the research process ahead of the highly competitive season openers.

Through lectures, repetitive practice debates, and scheduled office hours, we will emphasize both content mastery and argumentative excellence, ensuring students develop the skills needed to succeed at every level of competition.

Core Skills Students Will Develop

• High-quality research techniquesto develop unique, well-supported arguments.
• Case construction and refinement, including rapid argument production and iterative case improvement.
• Strategic applicationof research and lectures to in-round decision-making.
• Tournament preparation, including simulated competition rounds to handle high-pressure environments.

By the end of camp, students will leave equipped with the tools necessary for success at the local, state, and national levels of LD debate. With a highly skilled instructional staff, a low student-to-staff ratio, and a rigorous curriculum, the Mean Green Comet LD lab is committed to delivering an unparalleled debate education.

Building a Debate Community

At Mean Green Comet, we believe debate is more than just competition—it's about building a lifelong network. Whether you come from a large program or have no team at all, you'll gain a community of staff and peers who will support you throughout your debate career. The friendships and connections you make here will last long after camp ends, ensuring you always have a team to rely on.

We can't wait to see you at camp!

2024 Daily Schedule

Divisions, Date and Pricing

Director's Statement – Demarcus Powell

Welcome to the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Division at Mean Green Comet! As a coach, I'm passionate about helping students develop the skills, strategy, and confidence needed to succeed in debate. This year, we'll focus on fundamentals, policy-style argumentation, and using technology to support debaters from all backgrounds, especially those with small or no teams. Our goal is to ensure every student leaves camp ready to compete at the highest levels, with a strong foundation in research, argument construction, and round strategy. I encourage all students to stay in touch even after camp—I'm always happy to help as you continue your debate journey!

Division Director

Demarcus Powell

Demarcus Powell is the Head Speech and Debate Coach at Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas. With 15 years of experience in competitive speech and debate, he began his career as an LD debater in high school before competing in College Policy Debate at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Demarcus has coached at Greenhill School in Addison, TX, as well as Keller High School and Colleyville Heritage High School. Throughout his coaching career, he has guided students to late elimination rounds and TOC bid rounds at prestigious national tournaments, including the UT Longhorn Classic, Blake, Emory, St. Mark's, and Berkeley. His students have also earned multiple Texas Forensic Association (TFA) State Championships across Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, and World Schools Debate. Additionally, Demarcus has coached the winner of the Dukes and Bailey Award, recognizing the top Lincoln-Douglas debater in the nation.

While Demarcus has a strong interest in policy-style arguments, his coaching expertise spans a wide range of national circuit LD debate styles. He is excited to bring his knowledge and passion for debate to this year's camp as the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Division Director.

Assistant Division Director

Hannah Rodriguezl

Hannah Rodriguez serves as the Director of Speech and Debate Coach at Prosper High School, where she has coached for the past two years. She got her start as a Policy debater in high school but now coaches across all events. Over the years, Hannah has worked with students in Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, and Congressional Debate, helping them grow as competitors and find success at both the local and national levels. Her teams have competed at tournaments such as UT, Harvard, and Isidore Newman, with students advancing to late elimination rounds and qualifying to the TFA State Tournament and NSDA Nationals. While her roots are in Policy debate, Hannah enjoys supporting students in every event and helping them find their own voice. She’s excited to serve as this year’s Assistant Director of Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

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