About
The on-ramp between a confidence class and a circuit program.
Novice programs tend to sell a confidence floor and treat real competition as an afterthought. Elite programs sell tournament bids and aren't built for a true beginner. Podium Debate covers the whole range in between: the complete first-timer, the middle schooler who tried a season elsewhere and now wants to get genuinely good, and everyone in between who has nowhere obvious to go next. We teach speaking as much as we teach debate.
Coaching pedigree
MS TOC
Champion, 2x
2026 TOC
Finalist
2023 NCFL
Grand National Champion
Harvard
Champion
Duke
Champion
Yale
Semifinalist
Stanford
Top Speaker
Emory
Top Speaker
Berkeley
Top Speaker
NYC Invitational
Semifinalist
Matched to the right coaching, from day one.
Every student is matched to the coach on our staff who fits what they need. The staff is deliberately kept small so every match stays precise, and it grows carefully: a coach is added to cover a specific specialty or style gap, never just to open more seats.
Placement, not a waitlist
Every student starts with a placement session, not a generic intake form. That's what sets their level on the ladder and shapes who they work with.
Fit over first availability
Every student is matched to the coach who fits their style, pace, and what they specifically need to work on, not just whoever has an open slot.
Continuity across sessions
Coaching notes travel with the student, so whoever picks up a session isn't starting from zero. The record of what's been worked on comes with them.
Founding team
Founder & Lead Coach
Sachin Aggarwal
Sachin is the founder and lead coach at Podium Debate. A consultant at heart, he is dedicated to helping students and families reach their personal goals. The students he has personally coached ranged from making finals of the Tournament of Champions (including winning the Middle School Tournament of Champions, twice) to using their public speaking skills to scale their own startups. Before starting Podium, he was himself a debater participating in Lincoln-Douglas in North Carolina and Policy Debate at Emory University, later working at other established debate coaching organizations.
View judging paradigm on Tabroom ↗
Co-Founder & Coach
Fiona Hu
Fiona is a co-founder and lead coach at Podium Debate. As a debater, she was comfortable adapting in all styles of debates: winning tournaments in front of lay, parent judges while succeeding against top technical teams. This included starting a policy debate team at Columbia University. Her students have ranged from local elementary school students to ones who are nationally ranked, winning tournaments and being top seed at Emory's Barkley Forum.
View judging paradigm on Tabroom ↗
Co-Founder & Coach
Joel Tapper
Joel is a co-founder and lead coach at Podium Debate. He has coached numerous students one-on-one, each beginning with no prior experience, but going on to win 1st place or 2nd place at national tournaments. This includes collegiate-level conferences like NAIMUN, Duke, UNC, and BU. He also founded the Carolina Policy Debate Team, leading his team to win and top speak at the Georgetown Invitational at their first tournament.