Unable to compete until replacement found

After the resignation of their coach, members of Park’s speech team have been relying on each other since the start of the school year.

Mrs. Myskowski, the team’s mentor for the past three years, resigned at the end of last season. This was in order to spend more time with her family and further pursue her reelection as a city councilwoman.

Although this is a paid position of more than $3,000, the speech team has not been able to find an official coach or mentor to replace her. If it cannot find one by the end of November, it will not be able to compete this spring.

Team captain junior Claire Tollefsrud said she is concerned about the absence of adult presence for the team.

“We need an official teacher to compete,” Tollefsrud said. “There isn’t all that much work, just to be our authority for the meets.”

Despite posted job advertisements, working with Principal Rob Metz and asking parents and teachers outright, their search continues for a willing volunteer to take the position.

Unlike other teams, the speech team does not have the flexibility to merge with other schools’ teams, or change their status from “team” to “club,” in order to attend events instead of competing in them. Without a coach, the team has not been able to start practicing, and instead discusses official business in the school hallways between classes.

Park has one of the smallest teams to participate in state competitions. With less than 10 members, it is sometimes out-voiced by larger teams such as Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School, which has 40 to 80 members at any given time.

Junior captain Caitlin Glennon said she feels there is less of a draw at Park to be on the Speech team, despite the lively activities and unique opportunities to grow.

“(Speech team) is not as scary as it sounds,” Glennon said. “We’re a bunch of talented, quirky, fun people that like to tell stories in engaging ways. It’s not at all like some people think.”

In spite of these recent setbacks, the team still has high hopes for the year. Its goal is to get a teammate to the State competition, which it has not done in years past. With a State victory, it hopes to revitalize enthusiasm for the team. If not, the future of the team is unclear.

If the team ends up not competing at all this year, it will continue to exist, but only informally and through available student leadership.

“We’ll keep trying,” Tollefsrud said. “It would be a shame to see the team disappear forever.”