2026 National Debate Champion
No argument wins
on the merits alone.
Logic is the price of entry — necessary, never sufficient. The debaters who win make the room feel the truth of what they're saying, not just follow it. That's the craft most coaching skips, and it's what I write about.
Free and battle tested.
Who's writing this
I just won nationals. Now I'm sharing the lessons from all the losses it took to get there.
You don't get to the top without starting at the bottom like everyone else. Not long ago I was the one freezing in cross-examination, walking out sure I'd won rounds the judge gave away, and unable to say why. Getting from there to a national title wasn't luck and it wasn't raw talent — it was a specific set of repeatable things I want to help you learn.
The biggest thing you'll never learn from a textbook and only figure out in the heat of competition: being right isn't enough. I lost rounds I felt I deserved to win until I learned to make the judge feel the truth of my case, not just follow it. That's the craft I write about — from someone who made the climb this year, not decades ago.
The newsletter
What lands in your inbox.
Short and specific, each issue built on one conviction: logic gets you into the room — feeling wins it.
Round teardowns
A real round broken down for the moment it actually turned — usually not a logic point, but the instant one side made the judge care.
How judges actually vote
Not the rulebook — what makes a real person reach for your side when it's close: the felt sense that you're right, before they can justify why.
Persuasion past the logic
The delivery craft most coaching skips — pacing, emphasis, the turn of phrase that lands in the gut. How to make a sound argument actually move someone.
Composure under fire
Cross-ex, dropped arguments, and the clock. Staying present and commanding when the round speeds up — because presence is its own kind of persuasion.
Founding readers
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