Meet Our Coaches
Benjamin Rutten
Founder, Owner, & Head Coach
Benjamin competed for five years across Stoa and NCFCA. He competed in Team Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Parliamentary Debate as well as in Moot Court and Apologetics, Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Mars Hill, Original Oratory, and Persuasive Speaking. Over the course of his career, Benjamin achieved 44 first-place finishes across all six of his speech events and his three debate events. He achieved 6-0 records in Team Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Parliamentary Debate numerous times. He won tournaments in all three and won speaker points in all three. At Nationals in 2023, Benjamin placed 2nd in both Parliamentary Debate and Mars Hill Speaking. At Nationals in 2024, Benjamin captured the national title in Extemporaneous Speaking. His favorite event was Mars Hill in which he won 12 tournaments. Benjamin capped off his career by being ranked 1st in the nation for the majority of his final season. Since then, Benjamin has led multiple of his students to become national champions themselves. Regardless of your experience level, Benjamin would be honored to help you pursue excellence.
John Semple
Associate Coach
John competed in Stoa for six years and has been involved in the Stoa community since 2011. Beginning with Apologetics and Lincoln-Douglas only, he eventually added more events to his repertoire. Throughout his senior year, John consistently placed high in all 10 of his regular events, earning first-place titles in Apologetics, Impromptu, Extemporaneous, Original Oratory, Expository, and Open Interpretation as well as in Parliamentary Debate, Parliamentary speaker points, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Lincoln-Douglas speaker points, and Team Policy Debate. His favorite speech was his Expository which won first-place at six tournaments his senior year. At NITOC in 2023, John captured the national titles in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Apologetics Speaking. He broke the NITOC record for the most picket fences with seven and won second-place Tournament Champion. John ended his final season ranked 1st in the nation overall. Whatever event you seek to excel in, John would be honored to help you.
Hudson Kubiak
Associate Coach
Hudson competed in Stoa for five years and is the perfect fit for any student seeking to hone his or her techniques. Over the course of his career, Hudson won eight tournaments in Team Policy and Parliamentary Debate and seven tournaments in Original Oratory. He also won two tournaments in Team Policy Debate speaker points, a tournament in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, a tournament in Apologetics, and a tournament in Mars Hill. Hudson achieved eight 6-0 records during his time in Stoa and capped off his career by winning 33 of his final 36 preliminary debate rounds. At Nationals in 2024, Hudson snatched a 6-0 record in Parliamentary Debate, scored a 5-1 record in Team Policy Debate, and placed 4th in Parliamentary Debate speaker points. Simply put, Hudson is a persuasive master. Hudson is certified to coach all debate events and all platform speech events. Whether you are a brand-new competitor or a seasoned rhetorician, Hudson would be honored to help guide you to the next level.
Brayden Braun
Associate Coach
Brayden's persuasive prowess and humble communication style empower him to be the charismatic coach that he is today. Brayden coaches a variety of events but specializes in helping Team Policy teams master their impromptu Negative strategies. Brayden powered through Nationals in 2024, making outrounds in every single one of his events. He placed 4th in Team Policy Debate after going Negative in seven of his eight outrounds and made finals in multiple speech events. During his career, Brayden won tournaments in Team Policy Debate, Team Policy Speaker Points, Parliamentary Debate, Parliamentary Speaker Points, Apologetics, and Extemporaneous Speaking. At the time of his graduation, Brayden was ranked 1st in the state of Texas in multiple events. Brayden is a coach who seeks to bless his students with the guidance that only a real mentor can provide. As a beacon of persuasion, Brayden illumines what is dark in the ocean of Team Policy so that every ship that crosses its waters might have a light to guide it. If you are looking to be a debate powerhouse, then Brayden is the coach for you.
"Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach"
-Aristotle