Door to better research

Frank Hardee teaches at Cranleigh, a boarding school in Surrey, England. Frank convinced his school to allow him to fulfill his coaching duties with academic competition. And so he has become the debate coach of Sam Barrett and Zeno Agnew-Davies, bringing them to their first Youth Forum.

iDebate: How long have you been debating?
Sam: I'd done one debate in my life before coming here.
Zeno: Two years
Frank: I've been coaching for 2 years

iDebate: What do you think of the Mixed Teams Track motion [A just society prioritizes rehabilitation over retribution in its juvenile justice system]?
Sam: I think it's brilliant. It's really interesting to learn about. I've learned loads.

iDebate: What's been your biggest surprise coming to the Forum?
Frank: I'm learning better how to coach for a prepared motion. We were a little under-prepared for KPDC.
Sam: To say the least.
Zeno: We had no idea what we were doing with the preparation.
Frank: Next year we'd think about things like definitions and criteria more clearly, and then that opens the door to better research.