NFL A CONTACT SPORT OF WORDS.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: Kathleen Dooley

Not everyone identifies the letters NFL with football . . . to some dedicated young people it means National Forensic League.

At Albany High School, forensics, or debates, take place from September to June, with students attending tournaments on weekends. January and February are their busiest times, says Jeff Weltz, team coach who shares the job with Dan Liebert.

The 45-member team, according to Weltz, has the distinction of being the first high school forensic team established in the United States. ``We are the first chapter and known as ``Doxia-Logia Speech and Debate Team,'' he said, noting this is a name that comes from the old Albany High debate and speech societies.

The chapter dates back to October 1923, when Ray Cecil Carter, then the head of the Albany High School English Department, began making inquiries about whether there was any existing debating society that admitted high school students.

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