At its core, I believe that speech and debate is about pursuing truth and glorifying God. Our rhetorical skill, strategic thinking, and persuasive ability have lasting value only when they are directed toward what is good, true, and beautiful. My goal as a coach is not simply to help students win rounds, but to help them become thoughtful, articulate Christians who use their words with wisdom, conviction, and integrity. Debate Credentials: I competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate for four years and Parliamentary debate for three years. During my senior year, I was ranked #1 in LD nationally for most of the year and won tournaments in each of the year's three resolutions. I finished the season ranked #2, after competing in the final round of the Upper Bracket at NITOC 2025. In Parliamentary debate, I advanced to elimination rounds at NITOC twice and won tournaments with several different partners. I can teach you how to strike, analyze, and prepare for all styles of resolutions.. What I Provide as a Debate Coach: One of the greatest strengths I bring as a coach is teaching what I believe is the key that unlocks high-level debate: burdens framing. Both sides of any resolution contain some element of truth; burden framing is the art of leveraging and highlighting the truth on your side so it becomes the central truth of the round. Students often spend countless hours refining arguments while overlooking the framework that gives those arguments weight and direction. This approach transforms the way students analyze resolutions, construct cases, and approach cross-examination, providing a foundation that strengthens every aspect of debate. Speech Credentials: I also have a deep love for crafting and recrafting platform speeches. At NITOC 2024, I placed 3rd in Original Oratory and 2nd in Persuasive speaking. At NITOC 2025, I placed 1st in Persuasive Speaking and 1st place in Duo Interpretation. Through years of competing, studying, and judging platform speeches, I've observed and developed techniques for creating narrative arcs, structure, and purpose that keep a speech compelling and unpredictable. What I Provide as a Speech Coach: I would love to assist with any part of the speech writing process that you find the most difficult, be that turning an unformulated idea into an outline with narrative arc, adding depth to a one-note speech, or wordsmithing a speech to give it the final edge.
