On March 20-21, the NS Speech and Debate team competed at state, taking fourth overall. Five individuals

placed in the top five and coach Alex Bailey was nominated as the 3A coach of the year.

“I feel really good about everything we did. I feel like we did really well as a team, and I feel like just everybody

there did really well,” Speech and Debate President Wyatt Bills said.

Not only did they do well at state, but they also took third overall at region.

“I thought it was fun. I'm proud of what we did. I felt like it was a success, even if on paper or whatever it

wasn't,” coach and teacher Alex Bailey said.

Other coaches noticed the team’s success and nominated Bailey as coach of the year. She will receive the

award later this year.

“She'll get a big trophy and everything at their coaches' banquet,” Bills said. “There are quite a few teams that

are in 3A, so the fact that Alex over everybody else was given this award is really cool,” Bills said. “I think that she is very deserving of the award.”

Although Bailey’s students think the award is warranted, the nomination caught Bailey by surprise.

“I wasn't expecting it,” Bailey said, “the Manti Coach [Eric Peterson] nominated me, which was super nice of

him, and I'm very grateful to him because he's been a very important mentor to me.”

In Peterson’s eyes, Bailey is the coach deserving of the award.

“I nominated Alex for 3A Coach of the Year because I have seen how hard she has worked over the past few

years to build the North Sanpete Speech and Debate team into a top four program in 3A,” Peterson said.

When Bailey first took over the program in 2020 there were only a couple of students. Since then, the club

has grown exponentially.

“The progress over time is coming from the students,” Bailey said, “and everything that does come for me is

because I'm getting it from somewhere else, because I came into the speech and debate world not knowing a single solitary thing because I didn't do it in high school. I didn't know a thing about it…it's not just like, ‘Oh, I'm trying to be humble.’ It feels a little weird because all of that growth and progress you see, it's coming from somewhere and it's not from me, actually.”

Wherever the growth is coming from, Bailey is a valued leader of the Speech and Debate team.

“She's always constantly worried about, you know, everything all of the time… it comes from a place of she just

wants the best for her team and for herself,” Bills said, “but then on top of just coaching stuff, like interpersonal everything, she's just great with all of us and she’s just a great coach.”

Not only is Bailey good at leading the team, she also excels at connecting with the students.

“She truly gets it what being a coach is all about – she gives the credit to her students but takes all the

responsibility a coach should take on herself!” Peterson said. “She is the ultimate example of good sportsmanship! She deserves to be the 3A Coach of the Year!”