Aditi Jha and Valerie Schmitt at the Debate State Tournament finals in 2025. Photos: Edina Friends of Forensics
The Schmitt family’s long coaching tenure has built a foundation for sustained success.
Valerie Schmitt has debate in her blood. The Edina High School senior is the president of the debate team and a winner of state and national tournaments. She is the youngest of three children in the Edina family of Lynn and Joe Schmitt, who have been part of the debate coaching staff since the 1990s. “I like to joke that there are four kids in the Schmitt family,” Valerie says. “There’s Al, there’s Danielle, there’s me, Valerie, and then there’s the debate team. And my dad’s favorite is not one of the humans. It’s the debate team. He’s a father to everybody.”
For decades, debate has been woven into every part of the Schmitt family’s life. Joe and Lynn were Policy debaters in high school—Joe at Apple Valley High School and Lynn at Wayzata High School. After graduating in the 1980s, both continued to Concordia College in Moorhead. After Joe finished law school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they found themselves back in Minnesota and eventually settled in Edina where Lynn was the head coach of Edina High School’s team from 1993–2002. Joe was there from 1999–2007, when the couple stepped away entirely to raise their three children.
Still, debate never fully left the household. Lynn returned behind the scenes in 2017, handling administrative support, finances and team communication. Joe officially returned as head coach in 2020, fueling a period of remarkable growth in the team, which doubled in size to about 130 students across debate formats (Congress, Lincoln-Douglas, Policy and Public Forum) with numerous state and national rankings.
At the core of the Schmitts’ success is an unconventional philosophy. “Almost all debate head coaches focus on varsity,” Joe says. “We focus on the novice.” New debaters are carefully trained and supported, with each debate category led by a college-age coach who excelled in high school debate. “If you get people really excited and you train them well as a novice, then they will progress,” Joe says.
Joe Schmitt coaches a student during debate practice at Edina High School.
They also value team players. Varsity students help younger debaters, and sometimes topics in Policy will end up in Lincoln-Douglas, so the teams share research. That approach resonates with students like Aditi Jha, a junior and co-captain of the Lincoln-Douglas team. She remembers her novice state tournament and how varsity debaters attended to cheer her on and help out. “I love the team aspect. I looked up to the upperclassmen. Our coaches always emphasize making the team feel bonded and like a family,” she says, noting that debate isn’t about being loud or extroverted. “Anyone can be good at debate if they want to be. It’s really the research and the support you get.”
That support extends well beyond technique. Chloe Meredith, a senior and captain of the Public Forum team, credits Joe with believing in every student. “He never doubted my skills as a debater,” Chloe says. “That’s probably why we are the team we are because of Joe’s belief that every debater can be successful.”
Ellie Shipp, captain of the Policy team, remembers being intimidated at her first practice. “I wanted to leave,” Ellie says. “But as I learned more, I realized Policy gave me the opportunity to go all in on a topic and know it incredibly well.” Debate, she says, has challenged her academically in ways school never could.
Valerie and her parents also credit the team coaches, who are usually college students who loved debate in high school. They dedicate their time on evenings and weekends. Valerie says one even stayed up until 3 a.m. with the team, making sure they were ready for a state tournament. “They call us the Edina Debate Machine,” Valerie says. “We never sleep.” She describes debate as intellectually addictive and deeply collaborative. “Debate teaches you to look at the world and want to understand it better,” she says.
That curiosity, Joe believes, is the point. Research from the Minnesota Urban Debate League shows debate participation improves test scores and grade point averages. But for the Schmitts, the impact is more human. “What we do here has a huge impact on 100 to 150 kids every year,” Joe says. “That’s why I do this.”
Decades into their own debate journey, Joe and Lynn are still shaping arguments, but more importantly, they’re shaping thinkers.
Edina Debate & Speech
Instagram: @edinaforensics
