WIMBERLEY — The National Speech & Debate Association announced that Wimberley High School Speech & Debate Coach Kyla Brookshier-DeLeon is a recipient of the Diamond Coach Award, recognizing a professional career that combines excellence and longevity in speech and debate education.

Coaches earn points in the national honorary association through team participation, student achievement, public service and leadership work. To earn a Diamond Award, a coach must be a member of the NSDA for at least five years. Coaches earn additional awards with more points earned in the Honor Society. A coach who attains 15,000 points is awarded their first Diamond.

Mrs. Brookshier-DeLeon has presided over the Speech & Debate program at WHS that has consistently qualified students to state and national-level events.

This school year, WHS senior Josh Bober placed fifth at the UIL State Congress meet, and two other WHS students qualified. In addition, two Cross Examination teams qualified for the UIL state meet. At the 2023 UIL State Academic meet, WHS’s Azula Hunter-Thiam won a state championship in Prose and Bober was fourth in Informative Speaking at the same meet. Also in 2023, Bober placed fourth at the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) State Tournament – the first WHS student to place at the TFA meet.

In 2022, Jack Garrett (silver) and Hunter-Thiam (bronze) also won state medals in Informative Speaking. In recent years, WHS has had competitors at the NSDA National Tournament in World Schools Debate, Duo Interpretation and Dramatic Interpretation.

Brookshier-DeLeon, who has been with WHS since 2017, will be recognized with other Diamond Award winners at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, in June.