George S. Clemens coaches at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florido.What was your first NFL experience?
I didn’t have any background in forensics. (Admittedly, I didn’t even know what it was). As for coaching, I was a basketball coach for five years until the debate thing kind of fell into my lap. I was invited during my first year of teaching to judge LD at Harvard. In subsequent years, I worked intermittently with the two or three LD kids on our team, learning a little as I went along. After the coach stepped down in the middle of the 2000-2001 season, I agreed to take over the team.
When did you decide to be a teacher and/or coach?
I had a Professor in College by the name of Athan Theoharris, who taught a Cold War Foreign Policy Class my sophomore year. I watched him speak without any notes for about an hour and a half straight and decided that was my goal, to someday be able to do the same.
What is your team philosophy?
I believe anyone can succeed in speech and debate if they have the drive to do so. Because of the wide variety of events in forensics, it would be almost impossible for a student not to find their niche. It is my desire that my team work constantly and consistently as hard as they can and work towards improvement. The rewards are there for the taking. The activity provides not only tangible, but intangible awards (students in debate are recognized more so than any one activity in high school). Becoming a confident, diverse, knowledgeable, and articulate young adult who has an acceptable understanding of the world around them is the best reward for life.
How many hours do you spend with this activity a week?
It varies. Depending on tournament preparation, usually approximately 15 hours plus the entirety of weekends (assuming that we are competing at a tournament).
What is your vision for the future of the NFL?
Obviously, I would like to see NFL continue growing and become an important focal point in high schools. I have the good fortune to be at a school that is beginning to recognize the tremendous opportunities that it provides for kids all over the country. It is tragic that more schools don’t recognize its value. Unfortunately, unless administrations are willing to make financial sacrifices to support such a program at their schools, and find coaches and parents willing to make the time commitment necessary, it will continue to be a fringe activity in the aggregate of the school experience.
What is exciting about being an NFL coach in the state of Florida?
It’s like a little village. There are a number of state and local tournaments and a thrilling experience to get to know the kids and coaches from schools all across the state. A number of schools in Florida travel on the national circuit, so you get to compete against many of these schools several times a year. The kids all know one another and it makes it fun, despite competitive rivalries. I think it is one of the more inclusive activities out there. I have the liberty of working with some of the best coaches in the land. It has been a real blessing as a young coach to spend some time with the likes of Darcy Butrimas and Dean Rhoads at Trinity Prep and Lisa Miller at Nova and gain some wisdom from them with regard to how they have been able to build and maintain successful programs.
What’s unique about Lake Highland Preparatory School as an NFL chapter?
I have the privilege of drawing in the talents of some of the brightest kids around. However, the same kids whose talents lie in debate are also the top science kids, the leading drama kids, etc. These kids get spread pretty thin and sometimes it is a battle to keep their interest in the activity fresh and prevent them from burning themselves out. I would assume that many programs in the NFL tell similar stories.
What qualities do you look for when recruiting students for your program?
Actually, anyone is welcome to tryout for the team. Tryouts are a formality. Everyone makes it, unless it is obvious they put no time at all getting ready for the try-out. This indicates to me what kind of commitment I can expect from them in the future. We have a plethora of highly intelligent, highly motivated kids. What I expect is a willingness to work hard and commit personal time necessary to achieve personal success in the activity. Simply to do the bare minimum and pad their high school transcript “because colleges like to see debate involvement” probably won’t stick around long. Most of my recruiting is done by team members. They are in touch with kids in the younger grades. They usually tell me about students that would fit well on our team.
What is your favorite memory from a National Tournament?
Some of my favorite things are searching for Cannoli at Mike’s pastry in Boston during the Harvard tournament, or impromptu snowball fights when Florida kids get the chance to enjoy a little cold weather. I’ve spent so much time with these kids, that they have become a significant part of my life.
What is the greatest challenge as a coach today?
In debate there is a tremendous commitment required. Finding kids (who are in fact teenagers who want to have fun during their formative years) and convince them that “fun” is getting to the airport at 5:45 am to catch a flight to a debate tournament, then sitting around until wee hours of the night talking about fun things like Strict Separation of Church and State or Ukrainian elections in preparation for a weekend tournament. It takes a pretty rare kid who would make those kind of sacrifices and would derive “fun” from such a scenario.
What’s your favorite weekend tournament food item?
At the tournament or around the tournament???
It varies. I like to obey the rituals. Hit the deep dish pizza joint at the Glenbrooks tournament. The great North End Italian food in Boston. Everyday’s Pizza on Emory’s campus. A fine Cheese Steak at the UPenn tournament. Woodman’s Fried Clam’s at the Manchester tournament. I could go on, but I’m hungry now.
