Episode 8: Ira Heffler

Ira Heffler had been a high school and college forensics coach for 35 years.  He coached speech and debate at John Burroughs High School in Burbank for 22 years, from 1971 until 1993.  Many of his students achieved impressive wins at the state level.  After a ten-year break from teaching, Ira returned to the classroom as a Professor of Speech Communication at Glendale Community College for 14 years, from 2002 until 2016.  During most of those years, he was the co-head forensics coach, and his team took first place honors in the President’s Division at National Forensic Association.

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In this episode, Robert and Ira discuss the how competitions were different in the 1970s, the benefits of coaching at the college level, and how to ‘unleash’ your students.  Listen for free through Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Overcast, Podbean, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Ira (lower right) was the adult in charge of these maniacs. Only three of them survived.