Monte Vista High Speech and Debate Coach to be inducted into National Hall of Fame

Highest honor for speech and debate coaches

Will be recognized at the 2026 Hall of Fame Banquet in Richmond, VA June 14

By Shelby Young, National Speech & Debate Association

West Des Moines, IA — The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) is proud to induct David Matley into its prestigious Hall of Fame, the highest honor for speech and debate coaches.

“Hall of Fame coaches are a pillar in the speech and debate community,” said J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the NSDA. “These coaches have gone above and beyond for their students, their schools, and their communities. We are proud to recognize them for their years of support and dedication to the activity.”

Matley has been a leader in the speech and debate community for more than 35 years. He created the speech and debate program in 1990 at Monte Vista High School in Danville, California. Over the years, he has coached more than 35 state champions and nine national champions. Since 1989 Matley has owned and operated the Monte Vista Speech & Debate Institute and since 1992 has offered summer camps for elementary through high school students to become more comfortable with public speaking and to learn the art of competitive speech and debate.

He is also a seven-diamond coach in the NSDA Honor Society and has held many titles such as president and Congress Director of the Golden Gate Speech Association, District Chair of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the National Forensic League, and a member of the California High School Speech Association Hall of Fame and chair of the Congress Committee in the California High School Speech Association. He was inducted into the California High School Speech Association Hall of Fame in 2012.

Matley will be recognized at the 2026 Hall of Fame Banquet on June 14 during the largest academic competition in the world, the National Speech & Debate Tournament. The National Tournament will be held in Richmond, Virginia, June 14-19.

He is one of eight coaches who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Throughout the 100-year history of the NSDA, around 200 coaches have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Matley represents fewer than one-percent of all member coaches.

Hall of Fame members must have at least 25 years of speech and debate coaching experience or be retired from speech and debate coaching. Learn more about the Hall of Fame at www.speechanddebate.org/hall-of-fame.

For more information on the National Tournament, visit www.speechanddebate.org/nationals.

About the National Speech & Debate Association

The National Speech & Debate Association is the authority on public speaking and debate in the United States. The Association builds the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world by providing topics, educational resources, and training for students and coaches. For 100 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has built a platform for youth voices that culminates in the National Tournament, the largest academic competition in the world. The National Tournament brings together thousands of students from across the United States and world with different backgrounds and viewpoints to engage in civil discourse. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.