2024 Hall of Fame Inductee – Jerome Robinson

I can’t thank CHSSA enough for inducting me into the Hall of Fame. Coming from El Paso, Texas, where diversity wasn’t the norm in the state, the idea of being in the Hall of Fame was the furthest from my mind. However, when I experienced my first state competition in California as a coach, and saw this African American man, Dr. Tommy Lindsey, walking back and forth and collecting his state championship honors it made me realize I could be successful as a coach in California. I, personally, have never been a state champion and have only coached three state champions but I am in the Hall of Fame because it embodies more than just winning – it honors dedication and hard work.

When I first started coaching at Granada Hills Charter High, I met the speech coach, Ali Taylor, whose daughter won three state championships in a row in Original Advocacy. She allowed me to start a debate team which helped the program grow. I hated to fly, so I wanted to branch out and begin going to invitationals across the state bringing recognition to Granada on a state level. Once she retired, we were without a speech coach until Rachael Phipps came along and built it back up. Like me, she wanted to branch out, except she likes to fly. Thanks to her, Granada is now getting the national recognition it deserves and is in good hands.

My league, the Tri-County Forensic League, definitely deserves recognition. I was Co-President for 19 years. I served with Kathy Graber, another Hall of Famer, and together we put together one of the most equitable leagues in the state. She took care of all the state issues and was involved in reforming most of the rules and regulations you abide by today in most events. I mainly ran and organized our tournaments for almost two decades. Upon Kathy’s retirement, Bobby Lebeda, my former student, came along and helped transition us into the world of tabroom where everything can be done on computers, those of you competing today wouldn’t understand my reasons for happiness and pure joy. Today Brandon Bathem and Bobby Lebeda are Co-Presidents carrying on the TCFL tradition. Two officers I must mention are, firstly, Eleanor Nishioka, our treasurer and judge assigner, who was the first person to make me realize arguing over judges is futile. She goes out of her way to make sure there are unbiased judges in every round and, even then, coaches still want to question the results. This activity is subjective – we’re not robots you can program to think the same way. If you want to compete in Speech and Debate, you’ll have to accept it. Otherwise, you can bowl and golf like me where a strike is a strike and a par is par. But in this activity, your goal is to appeal to your judge and whoever does it the best usually wins the round. Keep this in mind, you’re being judged from the time you step onto the campus until the end of the tournament. Eyes and ears are everywhere. And, secondly, Orrei Barasch, our Sergeant of Arms, but realistically, he’s our certified medic. There were several tournaments where Orrei had to attend to injuries where sometimes he even accompanied the injured to the hospital. He was truly a life saver. But upon my retirement, he put a book together which contained testimonials from my former students. A book I will treasure for a lifetime and greatly appreciate.

This brings me to the CHSSA tournament. No where will you find the most dedicated coaches than those who work in the tabroom trying to keep the tournament moving. As I stated earlier, CHSSA does everything in its power to provide a fair and unbiased tournament but not all coaches or students will be happy with the results. The one thing about Speech and Debate, is you’re not guaranteed a win – but you are given that 5-10 minute time period where you’re allowed to express yourself and people have to listen to you – and that alone is worth its weight in gold. Winning is great, but learning how to lose gracefully is also great. I get it, being a state champion gives you bragging rights and rewards you for your diligence and perseverance. But if that’s not you, don’t pout. After all, you could become the next Hall of Famer. Thank you.