Stanford National Forensic Institute

To sign up for this program, visit our online application. Please enter your own name as both the parent and student attending camp--the website is designed to primarily take student signups, and create a management account for the parents. You will be able to select the coaches institute on the third page of the application.

• LOCATION: This exciting program is held on the Stanford campus as part of the Stanford National Forensic Institute program as a service to the high school coaching community, with fees covering room, board, and staffing for the program. The residential program includes accommodations in studio-style accommodations and all meals on campus.

• CURRICULUM: Attending coaches will participate in structured discussions about a number of important topics such as:

• building a successful program
• recruiting students
• fundraising
• building curriculum for a class
• running your program as an after school club
• individual events coaching
• coaching the various debate events

Coaches will generally have group meetings in the mornings and evenings, and in the afternoons will have the opportunity to visit lab groups / classes for the events that are of greatest interest to them that are happening at the Stanford National Forensic Institute. Occasional access to the national caliber staff of the regular camp sessions will occur. Coaches leave with extensive classroom resources in hand.

• LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE: The program is designed for beginning to intermediate level coaches, those with no prior experience to a few years of experience.  In order to attend the Coaches Institute, you must be post-high school and at least 18 years of age.  We can't accept high school students or minors for this program.

To sign up, visit our online application. Please enter your own name as both the parent and student attending camp--the website is designed to primarily take student signups, and create a management account for the parents. You will be able to select the coaches institute on the third page of the application.

2019 Coaches' Institute Staff Members Included:

Toni Nielson, Coaches' Institute Coordinator

Toni Nielson has been a member of the debate community for 23 years, a college speech and debate coach for 12 years, served as  as the executive director at the Bay Area Urban Debate League a diverse high school and middle school program, and is currently an Assistant Professor and Forensics Coach at Fullerton College. Toni has significant experience in Individual Events (Impromptu, Extemp, Original Oratory, Original Advocacy, Informative/Expository), Student Congress, and Debate (Team/Policy, Public Forum, LD, Parliamentary, World’s). Her teams have been the recipients of numerous awards including accommodations from the City of Garden Grove, the City of Oakland, and the California House of Representatives. She is a Galentine Award recipient for excellence in coaching and is featured in the debate documentary “Resolved”.  Known as the “Coach of Coaches”, Toni’s educational stance is largely based on an existentialist pedagogy where hands on application is the most effective means of learning debate. 

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