From Novice to Varsity: Things I Wish I Remembered

By Kai Do

When I transitioned to the varsity circuit after one novice year, I was plagued by incessant amounts of jargon and new argument styles that overwhelmed me. Consequently, I developed a habit of predicting the outcome of my rounds, and annoyed my teammates with a preemptive “L” message that was, very often, pessimistically incorrect. When I saw this feeling of being “totally unprepared” during this shift mentioned in the survey, I immediately was taken back to my sophomore year. Transitioning to varsity debate is extremely intimidating, so after reflecting on my own experiences, here are a few things I wish I could have reminded myself back then:

One of my coaches used to tell us that “you can’t be 100% prepared for anything.” Debate in its nature is competitive and therefore impossible difficult to predict every new aff, in-round strategy, or decision, no matter how much prep you have. Although that that sounds pretty obvious in theory, I remember a lot of us stressing out doing endless prep, which mostly had an adverse effect. But looking back, there are two things that mainly helped me navigate the unpredictable debate world coupled with my novice confusion. First, becoming super comfortable with a few arguments. Whether it’s a specific impact turn, K, or your team’s aff, knowing as much as possible about my favorite positions alleviated my uneasy feelings. Getting familiar with generics gave me a deep set of knowledge on concentrated topics that can easily be transferred between different types of rounds. Moreover, timed drills were also super helpful for me. As no speech was ever going to be perfect, drilling specific and more challenging arguments with limited prep time simulated in-round conditions.

Secondly, with the amount of people dropping after their novice year, especially women and minority debaters, this kind of imposter syndrome is pretty ubiquitous. There are so many times where my teammates and I felt like quitting after a bad round, our meticulously constructed, fragile confidence shattering in those moments – a judge once told me that fem literature was tired and boring, only reifying my self-doubt. While support is such a cliché answer, I truly think that the connections I made with others in the community were instrumental to my debate journey. However, meeting others in the community, especially if your school does not have a big team (or if the people just suck!!), can be super hard. I remember having to do online debate during my first varsity year, and not being able to have that beloved, face-to-face experience, but fortunately, becoming friends online – Facebook, Instagram, etc. – was an easy (and normalized) option. Thankfully, back in-person, tournaments are amazing opportunities to connect with others. Talking to more experienced or older people on the circuit, I gained amazing friendships alongside support and helpful advice. Just being there for others and creating a supportive environment allowed so many of us to feel less alone, and I am so grateful for all my friends within this hyper-competitive community. 

Lastly, whether in debate, academics, or general life choices, this feeling of not knowing what you are doing, in my experience at least, never leaves. Every educational poster in a 5th-grade classroom would tell you that making mistakes is the cornerstone of learning, but accepting the inevitability of those mistakes and the scariness that comes with them is the hardest part. This article is obviously not an end-all and be-all, nor is it a comprehensive guide on how to deal with imposter syndrome as a new varsity debater. Simply, it reflects a few insights I wish I had kept in mind during my time in the activity, and I hope that it could do the same for you!