Coach Cekanor cares deeply about the students he coaches and orients his coaching around building a strong community that comes together out of a shared passion for competitive public speaking. Debate is where Coach Cekanor feels most at home, having participated in the activity either as a competitor or a coach for the past fifteen years. Since joining Northview’s Speech and Debate team, Coach Cekanor coached Northview’s first three policy teams to qualify for the Tournament of Champions (2021, 2022, 2023) where they advanced to the runoff debates (Top 32) in 2022, a Lincoln Douglas debater to the Double Octofinals (Top 32) of the Tournament of Champions and qualifiers to the Silver Tournament of Champions in Public Forum. In his time, Northview has also grown in it’s competitiveness in local competition with students consistently reaching the late elimination rounds of the Georgia Forensics Coaches Association State Championship Tournament.

While his move to Northview marks his first involvement in a speech program, Coach Cekanor has worked with several students who earned bids to both NIETOC and the Tournament of Champions in interpretation and platform events. Outside of the competitive success, his arrival at Northview has coincided with substantial growth in student participation in both local and national competitions with the GFCA recognizing the school as a School of Excellence and the NSDA recognizing the school as a Debate School of Honor. In 2021, he earned his first coaching diamond from the NSDA.

Prior to working at Northview High School, Coach Cekanor’s speech and debate coaching career began in 2012 at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he served as the Assistant Director and, eventually, Director of the program where he competed in policy debate as a student. Over the course of his seven years coaching the program, MUHS won a total of 4 State Championships in Policy (2015, 2017, 2018) and Lincoln Douglas (2016). He also actively served in leadership positions in the Wisconsin Debate Coaches Association from 2016 to 2018 and led the organization as its President in 2017.

If you need to get a hold of Coach Cekanor, please email: cekanorm@fultonschools.org