Your Questions Answered
Last week, we asked you for questions that are weighing on your conscious about Miami Mock Trial. This week, we’re answering them! We’re happy to see some of you are interested in joining and learning more. Hopefully, our answers will help you decide whether MMT is for you. We’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions and their answers below. For more information, visit our Join page, where we have other F.A.Q.’s listed as well.
I did speech and debate in high school. Do these skills carry over?
Absolutely.
Mock trial is a competitive speech activity at its core that uses law as a vehicle to demonstrate your best oratorial skills. But mock trial goes further than speech and debate. Interfacing with witnesses, using legal theories, and developing a case are skills you will need to learn – and our dedicated coaching staff of litigators will teach you – but the foundational skills you learned in speech and debate are great starting points. Make sure you let the coaches know about your experience at your audition!
Is MMT a big time commitment? What can I expect for time spent in mock trial?
To be great, yes; but the minimum is no more rigorous than any other class.
The best eat, sleep, and breathe mock trial. If you ask our coaches, some will tell you their best mock thoughts come to them while not at practice at all because they never stop thinking about it. It’s a curse and a blessing.
At minimum, here’s what you can expect: practice twice a week for at least three hours with at least that much time in preparation before each practice. That’s 12 hours per week on mock trial.
Some weeks can be more or less. If there is time after tournaments finish in the Fall between then and finals, we usually don’t overwhelm competitors with needless work so they can prepare for finals. In other weeks while prepping for a big qualifying tournament practices increase depending on the needs of the team. During Nationals prep, Nationals competitors are expected to spend 24 or more hours per week on mock trial. The more, the better is usually a good rule.
How many tournaments are there? Is it a weekend commitment?
At least three per semester; yes.
We are in the process of finalizing our Fall tournament schedule, but each team in the Fall will attend at least three tournaments and potentially more. We are far from finalizing our Spring schedule, but teams will attend at least one invitational and at least one qualifying tournament. An additional qualifying tournament and Nationals also occur in the Spring, so competitors may attend a maximum of four tournaments next semester.
These tournaments all occur on the weekend. Most usually start Saturday morning and finish Sunday evening (some start Friday evening and finish Sunday afternoon). Competitors usually have time to grab dinner with a friend or family member in the locale we travel to (when traveling was a thing) or work on homework Saturday evening; otherwise, you’re all-in for MMT during those two days. Because of COVID, we will not be traveling this year and will instead attend virtual tournaments to prepare for the regular season in the Spring, which will be all-online. Students will not be traveling, but will be required to remain 100% dedicated to MMT during tournament weekends. After your first, you’ll start to look forward to sitting in a room with your team for hours on end, we promise. There’s nothing like a mock trial tournament.
Does Miami Mock have team captains? How does that work?
Yes; it depends by the team Coach.
By AMTA rule, every competing team must have two captains. The captain attends a Captain’s Meeting before each trial to get important information about the tournament to pass onto the team, review evidence the opposing team may submit at trial, and learn who the opposing team will call as a witness.
We let our coaches select our captains. There is no elected board or otherwise; instead, that power is vested with the coaches. Some of our coaches view captains entirely administratively – as an AMTA requirement and nothing more. Others think of captains as de jure leaders of a team and vest them with certain duties. That varies by team and by coach. Regardless of what coach coaches a team, final team decisions always run through them.
Will I be selected to join the team only as an attorney or witness? Can I do both?
You absolutely can do both.
When our coaches select competitors, they look at the talent and the chemistry that person can bring to the program. We admit that a performed speech can tend to sound more like an attorney audition than a witness audition, but we need to sort those baseline talents out before the coaches can get to know you to select you for the team. Once the coaches select who will join, they also discuss what talent they see in each new member and how that member can most effectively help the program win another national championship. That may be through a witness or attorney role – or both. Additionally, plenty of our competitors have switched between the two. Luckily, almost all of our coaches have experience as both an attorney and witness with great success. No matter how they initially slate you, you are in good hands.
We hope to see you at the many new student organization meet and greets coming up soon! We will be at MegaFair and hosting two information sessions on Tuesday, August 25. For more information about those, make sure to show your interest by adding your name here. If you have additional questions, please email us directly at MiamiMockTrial@miamioh.edu or our Director, Neal Schuett, at SchuetND@miamioh.edu. You can also slide into our DMs on any social media outlet @MiamiMockTrial.
MMT after taking first and fourth place at the 2020 Indianapolis Regional.