Southwest's Matt Heimes secures national honor for speech and debate coaching career

October 6, 2023

Lincoln Public Schools students and staff have had many good conversations about Matt Heimes over the past two decades.
 
The Lincoln Southwest High School teacher and coach recently received compliments on a national scale during a prestigious induction ceremony.
 
Heimes became the newest member of the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Hall of Fame during the NSDA’s national tournament in June. The NSDA is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization for middle and high school students in the United States. It provides resources and sponsors activities for 140,000 students and coaches each year.
 
Heimes told Lincoln Board of Education members Sept. 26 that he was honored to have been selected for the group. Board members presented him with a special award at the beginning of their meeting. They also gave applause before and after his acceptance speech.
 
“Thank you again for this recognition,” Heimes said. “I am so very, very grateful.”
 
Sara Danielson said she was impressed with the way Heimes has helped hundreds of Silver Hawks during his career. Danielson is a secondary English and language arts curriculum specialist at LPS. She has watched Heimes lead Southwest’s forensics program into award-winning territory at state and national levels.
 
“Matt has been a tireless advocate for the value and opportunity built into speech,” Danielson said. “He knows the advantages competitive speech provides students in the classroom and in their postsecondary lives, and he strives to build the richest experience possible for student competitors.”
 
Danielson said Heimes is a role model for many people both inside and outside the district. He currently serves as president of the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) and executive secretary of the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theatre Association (NSCTA).
 
“Ask any coach in the district, and each will tell you that Matt sets the bar for dedication and enthusiasm for speech,” Danielson said. “Matt’s ardent support and deep knowledge base benefit not only his program, but serve as a resource for colleagues and students across all schools.”

 
Two primary standards that NSDA Hall of Fame voters consider are service to the NSDA and the overall history of student success in regular-season and state tournaments. They also consider how many chapter awards nominees have helped their school earn in their coaching tenure. Nominees must have been NSDA members for 25 or more years to be eligible for the NSDA Hall of Fame.
 
NSDA coaches receive one point for every merit point earned by their students through competition, community service and leadership activities each year. They earn Diamond Awards when they collect 15,000 points. They can earn a second diamond at the 30,000-point mark, a third diamond at 45,000 points and a fourth at 60,000 points.
 
Heimes is a four-diamond coach who has spent more than 25 years guiding Nebraska students. He moved to Lincoln in the fall of 2002 and began Southwest’s forensics chapter. The school has one of Nebraska’s largest chapters for speech and debate.
 
Southwest has had 379 national qualifiers, 23 national finalists and 107 Academic All-Americans in the past 21 years. The Silver Hawks received National School of Honor recognition in 2022 for finishing in the top 40 spots of NSDA speech team standings. More than 1,100 schools competed in the national tournament.
 
Heimes has helped 39 Southwest students win either individual or small-group state speech championships. Southwest finished second in Class A state speech team standings in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018.
 
Heimes said he and other LPS coaches are focused on helping students develop positive skills and personality traits through speech and debate. He felt those goals were more important than any trophies, medals or awards.
 
“The competitive success is not the end-all and be-all of any of our programs,” Heimes told board members. “Each one of the coaches strives to create students who are empathetic, articulate and passionate.”
 
Heimes said speech and debate have taught him about the power of stories and the human voice. He encouraged board members to continue having conversations about ways to support those activities for many years to come.
 
“If you look at a variety of educational institutions’ skills needed by the 21st-century learner, you are likely to see these components: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, citizenship, communication,” Heimes said. “Every one of these is an essential element of forensics education.”

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