“You’ll Never Walk Alone”: The Principle Behind Hillsdale Mock Trial’s Success
Written by Brennan Berryhill
Liverpool Football Club (F.C.), one of the top soccer teams in the world, appears to have a nonsensical motto. How does “You’ll never walk alone” apply to a team of 30 professional athletes scratching and clawing for 11 starting positions? Why isn’t their excellent team culture torn asunder by infighting and resentment? Jonathan Church, ’17, head of the Hillsdale Mock Trial program, stood in front of the thirty-odd students on his team and explained how culture is a mutual choice among everyone involved to create a welcoming, supportive environment. Liverpool F.C. didn’t luck into their amazing environment—they worked for it. In the same way, Hillsdale Mock Trial has worked to create one of the most united families in a campus full of tight-knit relationships. But, as Coach Church warns, culture is only one generation away from extinction.
There are incredible parallels between Liverpool F.C. and Hillsdale Mock Trial. Both field 30 members, are highly competitive, and have members at the top of their game competing for roles. It may seem hyperbolic to call Mock Trial a sport, but besides the mandatory four hours of practice a week, there is countless time spent on drafting meetings and rules of evidence drills. Members must create and memorize content to fill a three-hour trial, practice their performance, know the legal rules governing the rounds, and tell one cohesive story as a team. And just like any other sport, members are competing for playing time.
In the springtime, when the Mock Trial “playoffs” roll around, the 30 members are divided into A, B, and C teams based on performance. Even between the teams, people might be clamoring for certain opportunities such as giving closing statements or playing a certain character witness. The weight of the competition is greater when you consider the context of team success. Last spring, Hillsdale Mock Trial was one round away from advancing to the national championship. They regularly go against Ivy League schools and win. How do students avoid cracking under the pressure?
You might begin to understand when you hang out with the Mock Trial group. Whether they’re at team dinners or impromptu social events, the Mock Trial students are always laughing together and enjoying each other’s company. This starts even before the season, when returning members go on a weekend retreat to work on the case and have fun. During the season, team dinners happen every week at a reserved dining room table. Students will often grab one of the open classrooms in Lane Hall during the evening, both to work and hang out together. The van ride to tournaments, while a time to frantically run material, is an awesome bonding experience. Ask anyone in Mock Trial, and they’ll tell you how much they enjoy spending time with the team.
There also isn’t a social pecking order. Instead, the upperclassmen make a concerted effort to welcome new members. I experienced nothing but an outpouring of love and support when I joined the team. Even before I knew people, I had seniors walk by and greet me by name. Coaches assigned upperclassmen to be mentors for us, and I have had dinner and great conversations with one of the excellent seniors, Konrad. Hershey Athysivam, another freshman doing Mock Trial for the first time, agrees that the team was extremely welcoming. She says that her team members make her “excited about being on the team,” and that the “team’s culture is very inclusive.” She commented that she has met a variety of people who like this kind of competition on the team, since it is an eclectic combination of law, rhetoric, and acting. For Hershey, me, and the other new members, “you’ll never walk alone” has rung true. Community is what holds the team together.
The seniors can testify about how this affected them for years. Justin Lee, a senior and team captain, emphasized that his strongest friendships—the lifelong connections he’ll carry with him forever—come from Mock Trial. This has helped his and the team’s competitive success, as people are able to put the team’s needs above personal desires and function as a cohesive unit. This allows them to make a single cogent argument and score well at competitions. Community makes the activity worthwhile and successful.
Like Coach Church said, culture is always one generation away from extinction. Just because Hillsdale Mock Trial performed well last year doesn’t guarantee anything this year. But so far, the upperclassmen are putting in the work to make sure the program continues to flourish. The competitiveness of the activity will always present challenges, but the team is ensuring that nobody faces those challenges on their own. At Hillsdale College Mock Trial, nobody walks alone.
Brennan Berryhill, ’27, hails from Denver, Colorado, and when he isn’t writing or obsessively taking notes, you can find him playing trombone, debating, or nerding out over football.
Published in November 2023