Everyone knows that Oratory Prep’s greatest, most athletic, most rigorous, and obviously the most lucrative sport is Mock Trial. Yeah, that’s right, I called Mock Trial a sport. There is no debate, and even if there was, we would probably win. Ever since we suffered a crushing defeat in the County Semi-Finals last year, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in the school, waits with baited breath on how the future of the Mock Trial program will unfold.
September 9th, 2025. The remainder of the Mock Trial team, after the exodus of the seniors, shuffled into Mr. Martin’s office. The smell of coffee lingered in the air – typical. It was the first meeting of the year for the Mock Trial. Mr. Martin wasted no time in dropping an absolute bombshell that would shake the team to its very core: he was resigning as coach. The room went silent. You could hear a pin drop…probably. I had a head cold, so I couldn’t hear much of anything. He explained his reasoning. I took the time to survey everyone’s faces. Shock. Fear. Worry. The Mock Trial program, Oratory Prep’s crown jewel, was threatened. Mr. Martin announced his replacement, Mr. Leonard. Not only was he retiring, but he was letting somebody NONE of us knew take his spot. It was catastrophic. As the meeting ended, and quiet “have a good days” were uttered, I asked Bruno Pastore: “Is the program doomed?”
October 14th, 2025. The Mock Trial interest meeting. I arrived early in the morning, accompanied by Kieran Philbrick. We sat down amongst other interested folk, and Mr. Leonard took the podium.
Alright, that’s enough narration for now. Let me ACTUALLY talk about what happened. I’ve come to the conclusion that the program is not, in fact, doomed. Actually, it has the potential to get better than ever. Mr. Leonard, although new, is actually a great guy. He shows a lot of passion for the team and is honored to inherit the title of coach for such a program. He showed a lot of interest in leading us to victory and renewed my spirit and hope for the future of the team. Since I went to the morning interest meeting, there were only about 4 others there. I heard from other returning members that the interest meeting at 3 pm had a lot more attendees. Mr. Leonard told us to prepare for 5 days a week practices, frequent Zoom meets on weekends, and rigorous tryouts for the roles. Mock Trial has always been a lot of work, but this ramp-up of production, alongside a fresh coaching perspective, could be just what we need to finally take back our title as county champions.
In conclusion, the future of the program is bright. While the departure of Mr. Martin is very unfortunate and will take a lot of getting used to, I’m confident that the program is in good, capable hands under Mr. Leonard.
If you aren’t doing a winter sport, are interested, or need something to put on your resume, please consider joining. We need as many people as possible, and with a fresh start, you could be on equal footing with many other Mock Trial Lifers.
