HURON Mitch Gaffer was inducted into the South Dakota Debate Coaches Hall of Fame at a banquet at the South Dakota Speech Communication convention at the Crossroads in Huron on June 22.
Gaffer coached Speech & Debate at Huron High School for 40 years, retiring this past May. Mitch was also assistant coach at Vermillion High School for two years and one year as assistant coach at the University of South Dakota.
I was really surprised that this happened so quickly. I hoped one day to be considered but not so quickly, Gaffer said. An award like this is a validation of a decades long career. I cant truly express what this induction means to me. Ive thought a lot about my career as Ive recently retired. When you get to the end of such a long, important journey, you want to know your career had meaning. Its nice to get that recognition from people that mean so much to me.
Gaffer said many other coaches who have been named to the S.D. Coaching Hall of Fame over the years have been mentors to him.
These are coaches that judged me when I was in high school and, then taught me how to coach when I joined the coaching community, he said. I am honored to be considered worthy to be with such great South Dakota coaches like Donus Roberts from Watertown, Judy Kroll from Brookings, Leo Kallis and Paul Harens from Yankton, and Doug Tschetter from Milbank.
The most touching part of the ceremony was hearing his own former students step to the podium to speak on his behalf.
To see where their lives went and to hear how our time together made a difference to them, Gaffer said. Some became teachers, some businessmen, some homemakers, some lawyers several became lawyers!
It was great hearing things I told these people years ago coming out of their mouth today: Enjoy what youre doingwere having funor were going home. Plan aheadits better to have what you dont need than need what you dont have. Be kindyou beat arguments, not people. The thought that I made a real difference in the way they lived their lives was humbling.
Gaffer said the award reminds him how thankful he is for the career in coaching that he has enjoyed.
Im thankful to the Huron community for having faith in me to be a coach here for so many years, he said. Im very thankful to every student I coached and made traveling the state to compete so much fun. Im thankful to the coaches who taught me how to do it and then made doing it enjoyable for years. Yes, Ive had a lot to be thankful for as the HHS Debate Coach.
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