Small Numbers Great TEAM!

Speech team has quality members!

by R. Salyers/Journalism Staff

The Cedar Bluffs speech team proved that small numbers can make a great speech team. Nervous jitters and butterflies flitted around Prague’s gym Monday afternoon. For the five speech members it was more than just performing, it was proving that they were the little speech team that could. The stakes were high as it was the first meet of the year and the first time any of them performed for a judge – a judge who can be cruel and heartless - a judge that can criticize every move and stutter in speaking.

Cort K. was the first performer of the day with his Humorous Prose, about a Shirley Temple look-alike contest from The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. He blew away his competition and placed 4th in finals out of 12. His second speech, a Serious Prose, tells the story of the events of the Columbine Shooting from the memoir of Misty Bernall entitled She Said Yes. He made it all the way to finals, placing 5th overall out of 10.

Eric R. and Annie K. decided to perform Duet this year for the first time. Their piece, Open to Interpretation by Ken Bradbury is about different interpretations of the classic story of Hansel and Gretel. They proved that with a lot of practice and determination you can exceed even if it is your first year in duet. They kicked the competition into the oven and took 4th place out of12.

Rachel S. performed Entertainment Speaking, teaching her audience how to act like a celebrity – literally. She earned 5th in her round. She also competed in Serious Prose with an excerpt from If I Stay by Gayle Foreman. The story describes the terrible events of a car accident. She made finals, ultimately earning Conference Champion for her Serious Prose.

Maggie W. entered Poetry. Her poem entitled Out of the Dust by Karen Hesseny earned her 4th place in her round. She was just shy of going to finals for the chilling poem of the terrible events one daughter went through during the Dust Bowl. Outside of her speech event she also showcased her cheer/dancing skills and performed the Footloose dance with the other members of the team.

So in the end the speech team is small in numbers, but big in spirit. With their high placement in finals they proved they could do it volubly and beat the competition.