San Jose, CA – Bellarmine College Preparatory (BCP) faculty member Matt DeLateur has earned the Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award from the National Speech & Debate Association Honor Society.
DeLateur, a Bellarmine alumnus from the class of 2012, received the honor by earning 10,000 coaching points, which is one point for every merit point earned by his students through competition, service, and leadership activities. As noted by the National Speech & Debate Association, each point represents hours of practice, revision, and growth for students and dedicated coaching.
“First and foremost, I am immensely grateful to the wonderfully talented, hard-working, and hilarious BCP students who make coaching Speech and Debate a daily source of joy,” said DeLateur, who is in his fourth-year coaching for Bellarmine. “I would like to thank BCP for its unwavering commitment to Speech and Debate as an activity. Finally, I would like to thank all my past coaches who, through their example, helped develop in me a passion for helping others grow: Kim Jones, Bill Healy, Chris Wolf, Dr. Deedee Sullivan, Jim Harville, Mikael Meyer, and Dr. Marty McKenzie.”
DeLateur also noted his respect and appreciation for his fellow Speech and Debate coaches. “I am continually inspired by my brilliant colleagues, Aaron Langerman, Dr. Deedee Sullivan, Vern Cleary, Xavier Liu, and Ani Prabhu; I look forward to many more years of helping students find their voice through Speech and Debate!”
“This honor for Matt is fantastic news,” said Kristina Luscher, Bellarmine principal. “I am grateful for the time and energy he devotes to our Speech and Debate program, and his passion for the program is evident in all that he does.”
The National Speech & Debate Association is the world’s largest honor society devoted to speech and debate activities, and bestows numerous awards and recognition to students, coaches, and schools. The organization also hosts the largest academic competition in the world, the National Speech & Debate Tournament.