Tyler Luu

Chief Marketing Officer of Ascend Speech & Debate and Ascend California - Congressional Debate Lab Leader

Now serving as Ascend’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Luu (6’2) is also a three-year alumnus of Ascend Speech and Debate and is excited to be a returning coach. In the calendar year 2023, Tyler did not lose to a non-presiding Congressional Debater at any tournament he competed in. His victories include winning the 2023 California State Championship, 2023 Tournament of Champions, and the NSDA National Championship. This means he is the only California Congressional Debater to win the "Triple Crown" and one of the only Congressional Debaters to ever accomplish the feat of championing all three. However, his proudest achievements are winning the Ascend Speech and Debate scrimmage and being mistaken for Charlie Gu.

He has coached the MS TOC Champion, the UT Austin Champion, as well as finalists at Long Beach, MLK, Emory, Harvard, TOC, and California State. When coaching Tyler puts extra emphasis on how to make a performance captivating, making the complicated simple, and helping debaters channel their natural personalities into rounds. He believes that every debater's personality is their greatest strength and wants to help every debater embrace who they are. But don’t worry he has an actual life as well, he is a food enthusiast, proud pokemon trainer, Ascend's internet influencer, and will one day be a pretty short comedian. He’s super excited to be working with the next generation of talent this summer at Ascend 2025.

Testimonials from Former Students

  • My favorite part of my journey in debate so far has been working with Ascend. A huge reason for this has been the coaching. I love how I have actually built relationships with the coaches, and that they have been able to get to know me as a person. The coaches have helped me use different parts of my personality, and what makes me unique, to be a better debater. I think this individuality is something that is super rare on the circuit, and this help has definitely helped me come into my own in Congress. The part of Ascend that has had the greatest impact on me is definitely the environment they create. At Ascend, I found people with the same passion and goals as me, and I made friendships that I honestly believe will last a lifetime. Between the students and the coaches, everyone at Ascend wants to be the best they can be, and encourage others to do the same. Being a part of Ascend has taught me that although trophies and awards are a great perk of doing debate, it is the community and being fueled by passion that leave me most fulfilled.

  • When I first joined Ascend, I started out at Champions Congress where I learned from the combined expertise of experienced debaters, each with their own style. They showed me that being yourself is the greatest skill. Tyler (6’7”) taught me how to actually execute my own style. Even if I didn’t always listen to his directions, he was always there after a tough round to encourage me and restore confidence in myself. I truly wouldn’t be where I am today, or even in Congress at all, without all his support and every coach in this program.