Warm-ups

The halls are quiet. A typical Saturday on school grounds. No one there to disturb the peace, until the Speech team arrives. The team starts every tournament off with a crucial part of their successful season, Warm-ups. “I think the warm-ups are really fun and they work to get the team excited and ready for the days,” says freshman and three time veteran speechie, Emma Conway. “I think it would be really fun to be a captain just to lead the warm ups.”

The Warmups are led by the Speech captains who grab the attention of their team members with a big, “WOWA”. These speaking exercises are used to loosen up muscles in the jaw, work on enunciation, diction and facial expression. “I have help from past captains like my sister, Lily, to find new warm ups to help the other kids,” state’s Junior captain, Iris French after the recent tournament at John Marshall H.S. “ It’s kind of awkward being up there but it’s good to help the kids with their speech work.” Some of the new warmups have left kids laughing and pumped up for the tournament to come. “I love Iri’s new toast rap and James’s mumbo jumbo rap,” comments Conway. “It’s fun to try and speak the new warmups even though no one gets them the first time.” Conway also discusses her favorite warm up, the Alphabet. “It’s fun to see it because it’s different every time and it’s always funny to see the captain’s mess up on it.” The Alphabet warm up is when each captain says a letter of the alphabet with different inflation or diction in the voice. As the season goes on, more and more of these warmups will become familiar and lead to the success of the team.