With fall sports and activities coming to an end, some students are searching to join an after school club where they can spend free time learning important skills with countless opportunities.

Speech coach Madonna Arnold recommends trying the Speech Team. 

“Speech is one of those fantastic things that hardly anybody knows about,” said Arnold.

Speech captain Sabrina Melius said that the team is a really nice group of people.

“It’s always a fun time,” said Melius. “It’s a safe place; it’s just a really good place to be with a lot of really nice people.”

Speech member Jack Humphrey agrees with the social aspect for joining the team.

“Through speech I have met a lot of friends, I have gotten another activity underneath my belt,” he said, “and I’ve had fun with a lot of people that I honestly never thought that I would hang out with.

There are a number of different categories and students can single or double enter for areas in which they are interested.

“Last year,  I did humorous interpretation where it’s a 10 minute speech where you choose a piece of literature and than you act it out as humorously as possible,” said Humphrey, “and this year I’ll be entering in extemporaneous speaking in which you get 30 minutes of preparation time to discuss one of three topic areas that you choose from. You speak for seven minutes addressing why it’s important, what can be done about it and why it is needed to be like enacted.

Humphrey is also considering entering in another interpretation or solo interpretation event. 

Meanwhile, Sabrina Melius and Captain Brielle Edin are also double entering this year. 

“I’m in creative,” said Melius, “and I’m also going to be in humerus this year”

Brielle Edin will be double entered in creative and discussion.

Edin says that speech has given her skills she has been able to use in her classes.

“I don’t like standing up in front of classes and presenting stuff,” she said, “so speech really helped me get out of my comfort zone.” 

Arnold invites those who are interested in seeing what a competition looks like to attend a meet that SFHS is hosting at the high school. Practices are usually once or twice a week and competitions are always on Saturdays and they begin in November with competitions beginning in January.

Arnold also  believes speech is a place students can learn skills they can take with them the rest of their lives.

“I’ve had people just join even in their senior year just because you’re like ‘I’m gonna’ be a business major –  I’m gonna’ have to present!” said Arnold, “I should learn how to do it!

 Arnold has heard back from students who have gotten interviews because they’ve been on speech team.

“People have gotten jobs and they come back to me and are like, ‘I got this job because I was on speech team,’” she said.  “It’s exciting. It’s fun, It’s a team and yet it’s individual at the same time. It’s a lifelong skill”.