Hello, I'm Ryan, I coach football, basketball, and track and field. I am excited to be a judge and to get to know this world more. Below are some things that i will look for in judging your round:

1) Do your best to write my ballot for me in your last couple of speeches. If you do not tell me how I should evaluate the round; you do not tell me how to weigh (please do this) your arguments; and you do not tell me how you win the round; I won't have a ton of sympathy if you disagree with my decision.

2) If you want me to evaluate something, please warrant it thoroughly (e.g. don't rely on the existence of a card or a tagline as a sufficient explanation for your argument).

3) Defense in summary is a choice for the debater (as a general rule, if it's important, you should bring it up in every speech, but this is a matter of personal preference for the debater); responding to 1st rebuttal in 2nd rebuttal is a choice for the debater as well.

4) Theory isn't really appealing to me, nor do I think it gels well with the structure/intention of PF, but if there is an instance of actual substantial abuse and the theory is not an excuse for not debating and I'm explicitly told how to evaluate it, I'll evaluate it.

5) I'll only call for cards if both sides are saying opposite things about the same piece of evidence and/or I'm explicitly told to call for the card.

I was a debate coach for many years and understand how things work, however, I'm more of a traditional judge.

LD: focus on the V/C and why yours is better and how you meet your opponents. Argue the voters in final speeches. While I do understand progressive arguments, they aren't my favorite and you better be far superior in your argumentation.

PF: Talk to me. This style of debate is to be so any person off the street can understand the arguments. Make that happen.

CX: The stock arguments are best for me. I can handle speed, but don't prefer it. If you argue any out there K's, may have to explain it to me.