Middle school team thrives on gift of speech

You will kindly excuse the proud parents of Kawananakoa Middle School’s speech team members if in reliving the glory of the Alii Warriors’ performance at the Sacred Hearts Speech Festival in February, they invoke the likes of such legendary underdogs as 1954 Indiana high school basketball champion Milan High or the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. David, even.

Yet while the victory did mark the the first time in 19 years — and possibly the entire 27-year history of the Hawaii Speech League’s middle-school division — that a public school took home a speech trophy, it wasn’t like the all-girl team from Kawananakoa was lacking anything in talent, preparation and drive.

Kisa Tamae and Harper Enos joined team captain Emily Phanphongsa in receiving at least four of a possible four superior marks during the competition. Alexandra Lazo, Jaelynn Agraan and Michelle Liang also made significant contributions to an effort that held special meaning for members returning from last year’s squad.

The team came up just 2 percentage points shy of winning last year’s event. Their margin of victory this time? Just 2 percentage points.

At a recent team-bonding session at head coach Joy Turbeville’s home, the kids baked chocolate chip cookies and reflected on the progress they’ve made as individuals and as a team.

Phanphongsa joined the team last year as a seventh-grader in hopes that it would help her overcome her shyness. She said she initially felt intimidated because of her inexperience but, like all new members, found nothing but support and encouragement from the older members of the team.

With time and training, Phanphongsa learned how to make effective contact, how to gesture with authority and how to calibrate her volume and present herself in a fashion that clearly communicates with every seat in the room. And as her skills improved, Phanphongsa’s natural gifts became more apparent.

“At tournaments, judges told me I stood out because I had good charisma and that I should focus on it,” she said.

Phanphongsa said last year’s narrow loss “really affected us” but also strengthened their resolve to work together to improve and to make sure that they were prepared to execute at the highest level when the time came.

As a returning eighth-grader, Phanphongsa said she felt a responsibility to welcome and support new members of the squad just as others had done for her.

“We held team-bonding activities that helped us to get close to each other,” she said. “Even though we’re not related, we’re like a family. That’s been the absolute greatest thing.”

The win at the Sacred Hearts event — against a field that included teams from nine private schools, fellow public school Washington Middle School and University Laboratory School (a charter public school) — was a testament to the faith and vision of Turbeville, who has helmed the program for the last four years after previous coaching stops at Saint Louis School and Maryknoll School. With 11 years of membership with the Toastmasters and special training as an evaluator, Turbeville brings both expertise and a deep appreciation for the art of speechmaking as well as an abiding affection for her young charges.

Turbeville said she was particularly proud of her team given the conditions they deal with as a public school.

“Just getting kids to join can be hard because of the (lack of) air conditioning,” she said, laughing ruefully. “They deal with the heat and humidity, and by the end of the day, they’re fatigued. It’s hard to get them to then put forth the energy and focus.”

The team practices in a small teachers’ lounge that over time has defaulted into an overcrowded storage space. Because the program receives no designated funding, whatever the team might need — from supplies to refreshments — mostly comes straight out of Turbeville’s own pocket.

Yet Turbeville clearly thrives on both the challenges and the rewards. The Sacred Hearts Speech Festival trophy shines brightly in that regard.

“This has been a great lesson for the team to see that hard work pays off,” Turbeville said. “They’ve learned to turn to each other and depend on each other.”

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.