Big names in the IHSA and Illinois Speech Camps

[speechsquirrel]

Hey, I was just at IHSA state and saw that Bradley, Northwestern, and ISU all had booths for their teams and speech camps. I'm lookin for a camp to go to this summer. Does any one know what camps some of the big names from state went to?

[TruRavenclaw]

So, I went to ISU speech camp and I know a lot of people who did well from there.

Off the top of my head:
- Riley Cook (GBW)
- Claire Fey (GBW)
- Grace Carey (GBW)
- Mitch Bley (GBW)
- Rebecca Scheiber (Sandburg)
- Kevin Daliva (GBS)
- Joshua Magee (Charleston)
- Michelle McCarthy (DGS)
- Ryan Brieg (DGS)
- Alex Sotoropolis (Sandburg)
- Andrew Green (Oak Lawn)
- Nick Szurgot (Oak Lawn)

The coaches there are phenomenal and so much fun to work with. I know people who went to other camps and did enjoy their time, but at the same time, none of the other camps had as much success. Even though most people didn't take the pieces they wrote at camp with them during the season, I'm sure the fact that they were surrounded with amazing performers for a whole week or two during the summer didn't hurt. Call it a placebo effect or whatever, but I"m pretty sure the results from ISU speech camp are consistently good as well.

Also, if DGS and GBW send kids there, it can't be bad can it?

If you have any questions, send me a message :).

[WhiteandBlueImpromptu]

While ISU has had some great success with their competitors, other camps definitely have success as well. The one I am looking at is the National High School Institute at Northwestern. I talked with the people at the NU camp and they said here are some of the people who have done really well...

Laura Winters (Prospect)- State Champ DI and 6th Place DDA
Evelyn Smith (Prospect)- State Runner Up - DEC
Lauren Matthews (Prospect)- 5th Place HI
Ryan Eakins (Wheaton Warrenville South)- 5th Place DEC
Grace Wright (Wheaton Warrenville South)- 4th Place Radio
Alex Sotiropoulos (Sandburg) - 3rd Place Extemp
Dan Rife (Sandburg) - Next out at State in HI
Larry Svabek (Sandburg) - State qualifier in Info

Other various big names include Fatima Ahmed (Hoffman Estates-4th in Sectionals in DEC in the bloody Elk Grove Sectional) and Nikki Tolwin (Glenbrook South-Regional Champion in DEC).

That's the extent of my knowledge, though. Does anyone else know more about NHSI?

[speechsquirrel]

Thanks for all this info. I've heard Bradley's camp is also super good and has a lot of kids do well at state. Has anyone here gone there or know any information about it?

[Mikefife]

Bradley Camp is a very different experience from NU and ISU

It's one of the most well respected camps in the country. The whole country. For a lot of IHSA competitors, many of them will not have a need to get some of the high national circuit styles, and what not, that they will receive at the camp. It draws from a lot of the country and has had a history of NFL and CFL Champs.

Its a 2 week program, and you will focus on one event for that 2 weeks. However, they do not offer all IHSA events.

However it is a fantastic program. And it should be considered. I know WWS has traditionally sent kids there.

Bradley's Link
http://www.bradley.edu/continue/sfi/index.html

ISU's Link
http://www.communication.illinoisstate.edu/forensics/speech/camp.shtml

NU's Link
http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/speech/index.html

[jayman]

Not to take anything away from them, but I think it's important to understand something about these camps. Many of the kids who went to them that are on this list wind up doing completely different pieces and often times different events. My experience is that the camps will help fine tune some skills and expose kids to different styles. But the reality is, when they go back to their schools, the coaches step in. There's also that seedy side that no one wants to talk about where attractions happen between college kids and hs kids. Really gives me the willies.

Again- not directed at anyone camp specifically. I'm sure there is some good to be found in all of them.

[071113]

I highy suggest going to a camp. The speech I wrote at camp was the outline for my whole speech this year. I decided on a topic with a coach before I went, wrote it and got the first draft done 4 months before the first tournament. Even if it isn't the exact thing you perform during regular season, the benefits from a week or two of speech camp is really, really great.

I know northwestern has an increasingly stronger camp each year (especially in limited prep events).

ISU is also woderful, especially if you want to do both a PA and Interp event.
Also, 30 state qualifiers went to ISU this past year. Definitely some impressive numbers.

Along with the technical benefits, it is a wonderful experience going to state and knowing people from schools all over the state.

[Runninglove29]

I wouldn't let the "seedy" side to college camps stop you from going. The reality is that a lot of your counselors might only be a couple years older than you anyway, so it's not surprising at all that "attractions" occur. Just don't act on them. That's when things get weird.

Moving on, I personally had a great time at speech camp, and it gives you a great headstart especially in events like OO, SOS, and Info. You'll end up churning out pretty good stuff, seeing as you're completely focused on speech, not distracted by homework, college apps, etc. As for events like DEC, HI/DI, HDA/DDA, my coach was concerned that any strong pieces we brought to camp might get picked up by other students from more competitive schools. That didn't happen. Also, I was unimpressed with the library of the camp I attended, so it's probably a good idea to bring SOMETHING to work on, even if it's not the piece you're going to work with all season, just so you don't waste time looking through material (which can take days).

From word of mouth and experience, I've gotten the impression that NHSI is far more laid back than the ISU camp, so it really depends what you're looking for. I haven't heard anything about Bradley's camp, but they've got a sick collegiate speech program so I'm assuming their camp is strong as well.