Brennan Caruthers

_{Northeastern '18
Cal RR 2013 Co-Champion
Berkeley Invitational 2013 Quarterfinalist + 2nd Speaker
Bubble Round at TOC 2013}

Paras is, without a doubt, the best coach in debate. I drilled with Paras multiple times a week during the summer before my senior year and then intermittently throughout the rest of the year. There are a lot of things Paras didn't do for me: he never cut me a card, never wrote me a case, and never did my prep. Instead, Paras taught me critical thinking skills. He encouraged constant practice and drilled with me endlessly until I could hold my own in a debate round. In other words, you should hire Paras if you want to learn lasting debate skills.

Going into my senior year, I had little exposure to the debate community. I had competed at two circuit tournaments and won a total of four rounds (with one being a forfeit), and my school's program was shifting away from national circuit LD. I had never debated theory, never learned how to find good evidence (or even determine what constitutes "good" evidence), and could never generate enough arguments during prep to even get through a speech. I didn't know what constituted a good speech and thus hours of drilling got me nowhere.

The first time I worked with Paras we ran a practice debate. After the debate, Paras and I drilled for three hours as he showed me which habits to pursue and which to cut. Using that criteria, he then told me to go home and redo my speeches from our debate until they were flawless. In the following three days until we drilled again, I improved more than I had in the previous year - including two weeks of camp. Paras will teach you how to drill effectively. If you're willing to work hard, working with Paras will pay off. He taught me lasting debate skills I still use today in my everyday life, and encouraged the enthusiasm and habits that drove me to practice every day. If I had worked with anyone else, I doubt I would have had any of the success I had. I recommend Paras without qualification nor reservation.