About Us

Ace Peak is an institution that teaches academic speech and debate to students all around the United States. Since 2016, we have been a primary resource for hundreds of competitors, parents, and coaches in the speech and debate community.

Our Approach to Education

Attributes 2

No two students are the same.

Rows of desks push everyone to the lowest common denominator. We want to find out what a student is truly capable of. Rather than checking what’s next in the book, Ace Peak coaches check what the next step for improvement is in the student.

Your mind is your greatest ally.

Many well-intentioned educators cripple the minds of students by indoctrinating them into their own worldview. Ace Peak coaches inspire students to think as individuals; to ask hard questions; to separate right from wrong. For a rational thinker, nothing is out of reach.

Learning should shape your life.

Students should not wait until adulthood to learn crucial life lessons. Education is best when it develops students as pupils and as people, guiding them to wield power for good. Knowledge should be used to improve the lives of others: that’s the hallmark of a great life.

Our Mission

Teaching is our passion, not just a career. We believe in the value of rational thought, pure communication, and personal excellence. We also recognize that the high school years are among the most critical of a person's development.

Our mission is to see students excel in every area of their lives. This is why we make our approach to education holistic. We use competition to teach the importance of goal-setting. We use failure to teach the importance of growth. We use success to teach the importance of ambition.

Our Methods

We guide our students every step of the way, from novices who are brand new to the speech and debate world to the #1 ranked competitors in the league. The skill level of any student we work with is not important. The only thing that matters is their interest in advancing it.

In the three years since our founding, Ace Peak students have already won 24 national titles in competition, and even greater successes in life after high school.

Our History

All Coaches Come from Somewhere.

Here's our story.

Joseph debating an LD round at Stoa Nationals during his novice year.

2013 - Joseph Begins

Joseph grew up planning to be a professional soccer athlete. In a freak accident, he sustained a severe concussion and was forced to leave sports behind. He picked up speech and debate as a back up plan in his junior year of high school.

After his first Nationals, Joseph knew that he wanted to go all-in on competition. He started dedicating his time to it so that he could become his very best.

2014 - Drew Begins

Drew's parents had to push him to switch from theater to forensics. At first, he was unsure about the whole thing, but once he went to his first debate tournament, he was hooked.

Drew joined a small debate club in his freshman year of high school and began competing.

Drew competing in Team Policy debate during his novice year.

Joseph in debate finals at the NCFCA Wisconsin National Open.

2015 - Joseph Goes Dual-League

Joseph was one of the earliest competitors to actively pursue speech and debate in both of the homeschool leagues: the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, or NCFCA, and Stoa.

In the 2014-15 season, Joseph attended 2 camps and 18 regular season tournaments.

Stoa - Joseph Wins Nationals

In 2015, Joseph fought against every obstacle to claim Stoa's NITOC Tournament Champion title at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. He was the runner-up in Extemporaneous Speaking, and placed 6th in LD Debate.

Joseph also won 1st Place Speaker in both LD and Parli Debate, becoming the first competitor in league history to do so.

The moment Joseph won the Tournament Championship title.

Drew speaking during a high-powered prelim round.

2016 - Drew's First Nationals

At NITOC 2016, Drew met an up and coming coach named Joseph Abell.

Emboldened by his desire to excel, Drew began to pursue speech and debate to the fullest. Throughout the following season he picked up his first undefeated record and carried many of his speeches into final rounds.

NCFCA - Joseph Wins Nationals (x2)

No other competitor had attempted to win Nationals in both leagues. So in his final year, Joseph returned to NCFCA with a single goal: win the highest honor at the tournament.

Joseph was an Iron-Man at the 2016 NCFCA National Championship, competing in 5 speech events and debate. After 5 days of grueling competition in the Oklahoma heat, Joseph won the National Sweepstakes title.

Coaching - Ace Peak is Founded

We believe that speech and debate does more than teach us how to talk. It teaches us how to think, how to live, and how to become better people. Ace Peak is the product of this belief.

After retiring from speech and debate competition, Joseph began his career as a coach for students across the United States. Among his students was a rising star by the name of Drew Magness.

2017-18 - The Takeoff Season

At NITOC 2017, Drew approached Joseph and told him that he wanted to make his final season exceptional. He moved beyond occasional coaching into a disciplined schedule, and for the next year worked tirelessly to master the activity.

Much like his coach, Drew's ambition in his final season took him through 18 tournaments in 3 leagues. He came into NITOC 2018 ranked #1 out of over 1800 competitors on speechranks.com.

Joseph preparing Drew and his partner Micah for a Parli round at NITOC 2018.

Drew holds the 2018 NITOC Tournament Champion trophy.

Stoa - Drew Wins Nationals

Drew had one goal going into the NITOC 2018: to follow in the footsteps of his coach and win the Tournament Championship.

With Joseph at his side, Drew competed in 6 different speech events and 2 debate events. At the end of it, Drew's performance solidified him as Stoa's 2018 NITOC Tournament Champion.

Drew's performance at Nationals was one of the strongest in Stoa's history, as he went on to also win the Tournament Sweepstakes title and 1st Place Speaker in both Parli and LD Debate. In so doing, Drew joined Joseph as the only other competitor to win two debate speaking titles at Nationals.

Drew left with a record-shattering 6 entrances into the Stoa Hall of Fame, and prepared himself for one final challenge: The NCFCA National Championship.

NCFCA - The Finish Line

Drew was one of 4 Ultra-Ironmen at the 2018 NCFCA National Championship, competing in 5 speech events, Team Policy Debate, and Moot Court. Drew and his partner Ben Lux went 6-0 in Team Policy Debate and entered elimination rounds as the #1 seed at the tournament. He and his partner Logan Kolssak were the Moot Court National Champions. As if that weren't enough, Drew topped it off by becoming the National Champion in Extemporaneous Speaking.

With a total of 6 national titles, Drew's 2018 Nationals run was the most dominant in speech & debate history.

Drew preparing to debate in the finals of Moot Court debate at NCFCA Nationals.