Coaches of the Year 2019: Carolin, Janz, Ritsema and Weinstein

Above: Kirstin Carolin, Theatre Coach of the Year.

Last year MSCI honored four of our members with Coach of the Year honors. Each of the four individuals, Amy Janz, Nate Ritsema, Ken Weinstein, and Kirstin Carolin were selected for their contributions to speech activities in the State of Michigan for 2018-2019 school year.

Theatre Coach of the Year: Kirstin Carolin, Henry Ford II High School

“I am thrilled to be a part of speech and theatre activities in this state and honored to be considered worthy of this award by my peers,” said Carolin. Theatre and speech activities are very important to the students of Michigan, as Carolin said, “Forensic and speech education let students explore the idea that problems can have multiple solutions and teaches them to shift goals within a process, see the world aesthetically, and perceive relationships between other disciplines. Participation in theatre, forensic, and debate served as the most important element of my education and I love being able to offer these opportunities to my students.”

Forensic Coach of the Year: Amy Janz, Grass Lake High School

Amy Janz, Forensic Coach of the Year.

“Since high school, forensic has played a huge part of my life and is definitely a passion. About three years after graduating high school, my former coach asked me to judge for her. I will never forget judging that first round. About five words into this student’s performance I had this amazing feeling of ‘I’m back!’ Forensic has a feeling, an energy that captures a person and just doesn’t let go. So many of my past students who competed have expressed this same idea ‘forensic was the best part of high school.’ By coaching forensic, I get to be a part of so many students’ ‘best part of high school,’ and for that I will always be thankful. To be recognized for contributing to that is both surreal and gratifying.”

Assistant Coach of the Year: Nate Ritsema, Grand Rapids City High School

Nate Ritsema, Assistant Coach of the Year.

Nate loves speech activities in Michigan and was thrilled to be recognized for his work. As a former competitor turned judge and coach he appreciates all sides of the speech competition. He said, “It’s exciting to be recognized as the Assistant Coach of the Year. Living in such a fast-paced time, it’s encouraging to see our students embrace critical thinking and constructive discourse. Throughout the past 10 years, it has been fun helping facilitate this aspect of their learning even in the smallest ways: From comments on a critique sheet, to after-school practice sessions, and even during conversations in the early Saturday morning hours on the way to a tournament.”

Middle Level Coach of the Year: Ken Weinstein, Leslie High School

“I am honored to be named the Middle School Coach of the Year. Leslie Middle School had a great year which included a champion at the Spring tournament. The success of the team, though, couldn’t have been reached without assistant coach, Shane Corts. He worked tirelessly to make sure our students were ready. I am also proud of the work we did as a Middle Level Committee, working hard to ensure we put on a quality program for our competitors. Forensic is a great program which helps to build confidence and character. I am looking forward to many more years working with the Michigan Speech community.”

Originally published in the MSCI Year in Review, May 2020.