Youth Burnout

[FeatherBlade]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

Horror, more like. I'm not sure I can take 2 of you.

Worse, I think there is a third one somewhere...

[Valerio Versace]

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

Valerio how would you know if a KID has potential to be good? I'm pretty sure most coaches will tell you that drive, dedication, and determination make champions much much more often than ability does

Originally Posted by Valerio Versace

Probably, you won't notice before a few years... for now, just make sure that he doesn't hurt himself, keep him interested with the sport and teach him whatever you can.

By the time he's 12 or 13 you'll surely notice if he has the right stuff. I'm not saying that he must be born with a ****load of innate qualities, I'm pointing out that these are the years in which he'll fully develop his coordination and dexterity. By the time he's a bit more ready to sustain a real training program, you should have a rough idea about his potential. For now, focusing on teaching him stuff, making him confident with his epee and getting his mind into fencing seems to be the first priority.

[Zelda]

One thing I have learnt after taking youth classes, KEEP IT FUN! Give them simple but obtainable goals. One of mine is that once they demonstrate sufficent blade control they can fence electric ocassionally (ie when the damn thing works!).