Team Wyoming - What is It?
Team Wyoming is the University of Wyoming's program to provide free supplemental debate coaching for high school students in the Mountain West. Students from Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Utah, the Dakotas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and of course Wyoming are eligible. Students will work with UW Director of Debate Matt Liu and other Team Wyoming coaches from the University of Wyoming.
Join/Apply Here
You can apply and let us know you're interested here.
Participation in Team Wyoming requires students to constrain participating UW coaches and debaters from judging them.
Participation in Team Wyoming requires students to constrain participating UW coaches and debaters from judging them.
Benefits of Team Wyoming
All participants will have access to:
A Forum to Ask Every Question You've Ever Had About Debate
All Team Wyoming members will get access to the Team Wyoming communication platform. There, they will be able to ask coaches questions about any argument or topic under the sun. Every Team Wyoming coach will be a resource to every member of Team Wyoming, ensuring access to a diverse pool of ideas and feedback.
Practice Rounds with Expert Judging and Feedback
It can be hard to get practice rounds on a small squad. You might not have enough teammates to have a practice debate, or if you do, practicing against the same argument set might get tiresome quickly. Team Wyoming ensures you'll have a bigger team to do practice debates with, with more diverse arguments, and most important: expert judging and feedback.
Zoom Coaching Sessions
In addition to being able to submit questions any time through Team Wyoming's forums, every member will have the option to participate in Zoom coaching sessions once a week with members of Team Wyoming's staff. Debaters will be able to schedule drills, pre-tournament strategy sessions, etc.
Belong to a Team That Stretches Across the Broader Rocky Mountain Region
One of the chief goals of Team Wyoming is to foster a broader sense of community in Mountain West debate. When you join Team Wyoming, you're joining a group of people who share your passion for debate. The same eagerness to talk about debate that led you to us also led all your teammates here. In other words, you'll be able to nerd out about debate with like-minded friends.
Dropbox Access & Shared Prep
Everyone who joins Team Wyoming will also get access to our Dropbox (a closed loop of shared files). Team Wyoming debaters are invited to share their files, but not obligated to. Either way, you'll get access to shared prep that includes work that will be submitted by Team Wyoming coaches. This includes the comprehensive backfiles of the University of Wyoming coaches.
Logistical Help (Prefs)
Trying to break through on the national circuit? You might run into a few stumbling blocks, but Team Wyoming will help you leap over them. National circuit tournaments use Mutual Preference Judging (MPJ), a system that allows you to rank your judges. This can be intimidating at first, especially if you lack familiarity with the judging pool. Team Wyoming is here to help! We know your judges and we're happy to help you rank them.
A Forum to Ask Every Question You've Ever Had About Debate
All Team Wyoming members will get access to the Team Wyoming communication platform. There, they will be able to ask coaches questions about any argument or topic under the sun. Every Team Wyoming coach will be a resource to every member of Team Wyoming, ensuring access to a diverse pool of ideas and feedback.
Practice Rounds with Expert Judging and Feedback
It can be hard to get practice rounds on a small squad. You might not have enough teammates to have a practice debate, or if you do, practicing against the same argument set might get tiresome quickly. Team Wyoming ensures you'll have a bigger team to do practice debates with, with more diverse arguments, and most important: expert judging and feedback.
Zoom Coaching Sessions
In addition to being able to submit questions any time through Team Wyoming's forums, every member will have the option to participate in Zoom coaching sessions once a week with members of Team Wyoming's staff. Debaters will be able to schedule drills, pre-tournament strategy sessions, etc.
Belong to a Team That Stretches Across the Broader Rocky Mountain Region
One of the chief goals of Team Wyoming is to foster a broader sense of community in Mountain West debate. When you join Team Wyoming, you're joining a group of people who share your passion for debate. The same eagerness to talk about debate that led you to us also led all your teammates here. In other words, you'll be able to nerd out about debate with like-minded friends.
Dropbox Access & Shared Prep
Everyone who joins Team Wyoming will also get access to our Dropbox (a closed loop of shared files). Team Wyoming debaters are invited to share their files, but not obligated to. Either way, you'll get access to shared prep that includes work that will be submitted by Team Wyoming coaches. This includes the comprehensive backfiles of the University of Wyoming coaches.
Logistical Help (Prefs)
Trying to break through on the national circuit? You might run into a few stumbling blocks, but Team Wyoming will help you leap over them. National circuit tournaments use Mutual Preference Judging (MPJ), a system that allows you to rank your judges. This can be intimidating at first, especially if you lack familiarity with the judging pool. Team Wyoming is here to help! We know your judges and we're happy to help you rank them.
Level the Playing Field
For fees up to $3,895 a year, there are private organizations that provide elite coaching to high school students that want to be more competitive at national circuit debate. These organizations provide an amazing service, but at a price that few can afford. Team Wyoming takes our inspiration from these organizations – without the cost. For free, Team Wyoming will provide supplementary coaching resources to any Wyoming or Denver Urban Debate League (DUDL) high school student (with hopes to serve the broader Rocky Mountain region, see below and apply if you live anywhere in the Mountain West). We will seek to provide what private organizations do for an exorbitant fee, but as a public good – powered by UW Debate.
We will continue to publish our topic analysis and broader debate thoughts on WDR, available to anyone. Team Wyoming will, however, incorporate the Wyoming Debate Network, allowing participants to schedule online practice drills and debates and get feedback from experienced coaches and college debaters. This is not an unlimited resource: it will rely on the goodwill and time of UW Debate coaches and debaters. However, I believe the WDN has demonstrated that it is a significant resource. Where Team Wyoming will go to the next level is in its interactive components, providing a forum for coaching and peer-to-peer review. UW coaches and debaters, as available, will provide feedback and thoughts on ideas that debaters have and files that they cut.
Team Wyoming would not be oriented around success within local circuits. Because advice and resources would be freely available, members would benefit equally, and would absolutely need to innovate individually and within their squads to compete within their region. Team Wyoming is designed for students that desire the ability to compete on an equal footing with anyone, anywhere, no matter the resources they have. It’s intended primarily as an extra resource primarily for small programs, with underfunded and overburdened coaches. Not everyone has the exorbitant resources necessary to benefit from private coaching. Team Wyoming is designed to level the playing field. With Team Wyoming at your back, you can level the playing field against schools with scores of coaches.
We will continue to publish our topic analysis and broader debate thoughts on WDR, available to anyone. Team Wyoming will, however, incorporate the Wyoming Debate Network, allowing participants to schedule online practice drills and debates and get feedback from experienced coaches and college debaters. This is not an unlimited resource: it will rely on the goodwill and time of UW Debate coaches and debaters. However, I believe the WDN has demonstrated that it is a significant resource. Where Team Wyoming will go to the next level is in its interactive components, providing a forum for coaching and peer-to-peer review. UW coaches and debaters, as available, will provide feedback and thoughts on ideas that debaters have and files that they cut.
Team Wyoming would not be oriented around success within local circuits. Because advice and resources would be freely available, members would benefit equally, and would absolutely need to innovate individually and within their squads to compete within their region. Team Wyoming is designed for students that desire the ability to compete on an equal footing with anyone, anywhere, no matter the resources they have. It’s intended primarily as an extra resource primarily for small programs, with underfunded and overburdened coaches. Not everyone has the exorbitant resources necessary to benefit from private coaching. Team Wyoming is designed to level the playing field. With Team Wyoming at your back, you can level the playing field against schools with scores of coaches.
Head Coach
Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Matt Liu has a Master's degree in Communication Studies from Wake Forest University. He is nearing his 20th year in competitive debate. Before joining the University of Wyoming's staff, he coached multiple national championships in college debate at the University of Minnesota, Wake Forest University, and Liberty University. He has also coached multiple national championships at the high school level while working for The Harker School, New Trier, and Bronx Science. While in college, he won and was top speaker at the American Debate Association national championship, and was a quarter-finalist at the National Debate Tournament.
Matt Liu has a Master's degree in Communication Studies from Wake Forest University. He is nearing his 20th year in competitive debate. Before joining the University of Wyoming's staff, he coached multiple national championships in college debate at the University of Minnesota, Wake Forest University, and Liberty University. He has also coached multiple national championships at the high school level while working for The Harker School, New Trier, and Bronx Science. While in college, he won and was top speaker at the American Debate Association national championship, and was a quarter-finalist at the National Debate Tournament.
Members of the UW Debate Team will also assist with coaching. All Team Wyoming coaches have had background checks run and agree to a rigorous code of expectations for working with high school students.
