The Grady mock trial team had an active season this year, culminating in its first state competition qualification since 2013. Although the team lost in the semifinals both years, it has a long history of dominance.

The team has seen many changes in recent years, ranging from the makeup of the team to the coaching staff and even the format for state qualification.

Mock trial is exactly what is sounds like — a simulation of real courtroom procedures with students acting as both witnesses and attorneys. A fake case is distributed at the beginning of the year along with witness affidavits and evidence. Teams have to convince a panel of judges acting as the jury that their side of the case is correct by properly examining witnesses and making compelling speeches.

“It’s certainly a challenging extracurricular,” sophomore Alex Durham said. “I think it’s fun. It definitely develops skills that I didn’t know I had, which has been helpful throughout not just mock trial but just about everything else.”

Since coach Carl Gebo founded the team in 1995, Grady mock trial has seen huge success. Grady has been the regional champion every single year for almost two decades, and has won Georgia’s state tournament multiple times.

“Maybe seven years ago, Grady High School was the dominant team in the country,” junior Chase Kleber said. “It was like the dream team.”

However, the team has faced a number of challenges which have impeded its streak.

“The structure of the competition changed three or four years ago,”  Caroline McGlamry, a three year Grady mock trial member who now helps coach the team, said. “There is now region, district and then state — it used to just be region and then state. A lot more teams made it.”

Kleber cited an inability of some team members to build on talent in past years.

“We had a lot of potential as freshmen, but we didn’t really turn the potential into anything,” Kleber said. “[Last year] we had a very strong team, but it was underclassmen heavy. We were good, we just weren’t great.”

Sophomore Nina Stern commented on the team’s growth.

“[In the beginning,] we were taking a downfall. Freshmen were quitting, and everything started being individual, and it felt like homework,” Stern said. “Now it’s better. We’ve bonded”

The key to overcoming these struggles and unlocking the team’s potential has been the strong work ethic of the members. Practice is held three to six times a week for two and a half hours. As a result, the team has earned a second and ninth place finish at its two big competitions this school year.

Additionally the team gained three coaches this year, bringing the total to five. With new coaches came a change in coaching style. Despite the increase in coaches, students say the coaching has become less focused on individual management.

“They kind of just threw us into the deep end of the pool,”  sophomore Veronica Skelton said. “Last year they were way more one on one.”

She believes that this more hands-off approach improved her ability to compete.

“This win is really our win,” Skelton said. “If we wanted to get this far, we had to do it ourselves; we had to put in the work. No one was helping us every step of the way.”

Kleber believes that the team is capitalizing on the untapped potential of years prior, a sentiment shared by McGlamry.

“We have a really hard working team,” McGlamry said. “It felt like a lot of work when I did it, but I think that these students do even more.”

Even though the students had a much better year than last, they did not advance to nationals. Just as in 2013, they lost in the semifinal round.

Although the team was not able to advance to nationals this year, mock trial is quite rewarding. According to team members, the club brings friends and fun on top of logic and public speaking skills.

“[Coach Gebo] uses this analogy about making cupcakes as a child,” Kleber said. “It’s so much more satisfying when you make your own cupcakes, instead of your mom helping you and then you trying to take credit for it. [Coach Gebo] makes us make our own cupcakes.”