Checklists!

[Craig]

OK - What checklists would be useful for the parents here?

In the office we've come up with:

• What to shop for in a fencing class
• What to bring to your first fencing class
• Packing checklist - local tournament
• Travel checklist - regional/national tournament

Craig

[oiuyt]

Questions to ask when choosing a college.

-B

[4qtrs]

Tournament nurishment (food, drink, etc.)

[dcmdale]

Local/NAC Checklist is something we use religiously.

Contents of Tool Kit: you already have on the site.

Contents of Med Kit:

• underwrap
• tape
• wrist/ankle/knee brace
• bandages
• pain meds
• instant cold compresses
• etc

For parents of serious NAC/International Fencers, list of recommended mortgage brokers.

[Phincer]

"Who is Fred and why do we love him?" I wrote a short article on Fred for new parents. A Fred fact list might be something to include.

Also:
Tournament folder checklist:

Boarding passes
Hotel reservation/confirmation
Rental Car info
Pool Sheets
DE Sheets
Tournament Chart
Notebook and pencil
Maps
Venue informaiton
Tournament registration information/confirmation
(local tournaments) waivers -filled out

[Phincer]

For parents of serious NAC/International Fencers, list of recommended mortgage brokers.

Hahahahahahahahaaa!!!! Oh wait, that's not so funny.... Shhhh, don't tell-we must lure them to our dark side...

[Allen Evans]

How about a checklist for the student and parent to decide if they are ready to participate in fencing?

AE

[Craig]

How about a checklist for the student and parent to decide if they are ready to participate in fencing?

AE

That's a good one - care to give a couple of bullets?

[fencerwallet]

I like the medical and tool checklists. I have borrowed tools to so many people I'm starting to get more action than an armorer. And those of you who have borrowed and still owe me Tylenols...

[4qtrs]

That's a good one - care to give a couple of bullets?

How about;

1. Club dues - $50
2. Lessons - (($25 x __ times per week) X 4 weeks) =
3. Gas to and from Club ((( ___ gallons X $3.00) X __ per week) X 4 weeks) =
4. Fast food because there is no time to cook (($10 x __ times per week) X 4 weeks) =
5. Add together and multiply by 12.
6. Now add box of Kleenex = Total + $3.00

[sleepyweasle]

How about;

1. Club dues - $50
2. Lessons - (($25 x __ times per week) X 4 weeks) =
3. Gas to and from Club ((( ___ gallons X $3.00) X __ per week) X 4 weeks) =
4. Fast food because there is no time to cook (($10 x __ times per week) X 4 weeks) =
5. Add together and multiply by 12.
6. Now add box of Kleenex = Total + $3.00

WHAT CLUB DO YOU GO TO??? I don't even want to MENTION our club dues, lesson fees and locker rentals for fear of causing the faint hearted to collapse! Now add camp fees, equipment replacement fees, and change it to commutation fees as my kid commutes by train 4x/week...

[Mo]

Questions to ask when choosing a college.

-B

Such as??
Suggestions oh college recruiting guy??
TheMomster

[oiuyt]

Such as??
Suggestions oh college recruiting guy??
TheMomster

First step should probably be the same as for any other student.

* Why do I want to go to college?
* What do I hope to achieve in college?
* Do I have some idea of what I want to study or for which job I want to prepare?
* Do I want to live at home or go away to school?
* Do I prefer an urban, suburban, or rural environment?
* Would I be happier in a small college or at a large university?
(list "borrowed" from here; there are a BUNCH more good questions there.)

Assuming that fencing plays some part in the answer to question 1 and/or 2, there will be a bunch more questions related to that.

There's a bunch of good information and suggested questions in "The College-Bound Fencer". It's targetted at NCAA programs. For those that might be interested in going another route there should probably be additional questions to decide between NCAA and club-level collegiate programs.

Some of the best questions/suggestions are contained in the third bullet point.

Talk to other fencers who are in college. Ask them about their experience as a collegiate fencer. Find out what training is like at their school. Is their fencing improving? Are they enjoying it? What sort of opportunities exists for training with better fencers? Be sure also to ask them about their academic experiences! Can you achieve the level of academic excellence you desire at their school?

Making sure that the school and program are a good fit is essential. Presumably these are people with whom you are going to be spending considerable amounts of time. It needs to be an environment where you can be comfortable, enjoy life, and have the opportunity to achieve whatever your goals happen to be.

Every school is different. Every fencing program is different. Finding the right place is, unsurprisingly, a very personal decision-making process.

I need to go to bed now, I have a loooong drive tomorrow. I'll try to write up a more complete checklist next week. If people have suggestions for it in the meantime, post them here and I'll include them.

-B

[Mo]

Brad,
Thanks for the quick reply and for taking the time to do it.
There are SOOO many things to consider and having five minutes with the kid would be amazing.
She is so busy.
The Momster

[Allen Evans]

That's a good one - care to give a couple of bullets?

I think these are some good questions for the student to ask themselves. I think they are also good questions for parents to consider, in their role as supporters of fencing. These are just the few I would use:

1. Why am I fencing? Because I hate team sports? Because I really love to fence? Because fencing gives me something nothing else does? None of these answers are right or wrong, but knowing why you're doing something helps you make decisions. And of course, there are wrong answers to this question, such as: "It will get into the college I want".

2. Am I use to being good at everything? Fencing is very hard -- much harder than most people think -- and if you are use to being good at everything, you might find that fencing is the first thing that challenges you. It could be that fencing is the one thing in your life that you don't do well, no matter how much you enjoy it. That can be good for some people, but not so good for others.

3. Are results more important to me than learning a new skill, or learning about myself? It was years before I won my first tournament. If I had to justify my fencing with medals, I might not be fencing today. Fortunately, I got so much from fencing without winning tournaments, it was easy to be patient until I did start to post results.

4. Do I learn things on my own? Fencing -- even at a club with a good coach -- demands a lot of introspection and self-analysis. The fencers who do the best seem to be the ones that are self-motivated and have a certain level of introspection, as well as the ability to be self-correcting.

5. Am I willing to take direction? This is a complementary question to the one above. If you aren't "coachable" you aren't likely to have a good relationship with your coach. And you need to have a good relationship with your coach, even if you are a "natural" at the sport.

6. Am I honest with myself? With others? Fencing is a small sport, even at a national level. Cheats, frauds, and bad sports quickly get a reputation that can not be escaped or avoided.


For parents:

1. Just how busy is my child? If this is their fifth or sixth outside activity, you might consider another sport. Fencing requires a large investment of time, and shoe-horning fencing into the 30 minutes between debate practice and a violin lesson is not going to make it any easier to learn a difficult sport. The fact that fencing no longer has a "season" doesn't help.

2. Is the child fencing because he or she thinks its cool, or because you think it's cool? Some kids have to be prodded a little bit to try new things. But fencing isn't broccoli. Not having fencing in your life isn't going to do you any serious, long term harm. If your child doesn't think fencing is for them, don't push them into it because YOU think they would find it fun.

3. Am I patient? Watching your child struggle with learning a skill you may not understand yourself can be a trial. It can take years to master fencing skills. If your child wants to fence, be prepared for a long haul while they learn the sport.

4. Can I let my child fence without competiting with other parents? I have overheard conversations at NAC's between parents about the unfairness of another child earning a ranking of a certain type before their child's. These conversations haven't been in the tone of friendly banter, trust me. For the most part, fencing has remarkably few stage parents. It would be nice if it stayed that way.

5. Can I pay the bills with a smile on my face, or better yet, without saying anything at all? Fencing can be expensive (though it is still cheaper than some of the other sports I see practiced here in N. Virginia). It's only going to get MORE expensive as your child gets better at it, and needs FIE gear, lessons from a more qualified coach, and travel to distant venues to get competition appropriate to their skills. Especially as they reach Jr. High and High School age, kids are very aware of how much things cost, and reminding them, even jokingly can put a lot pressure on them. A few years ago, one of my fencers melted down after just failing to make it out of pools at a Div 1 NAC. Why? Not because he had failed to qualify to the next round, but because he was acutely aware of how much had been spent on this trip, and how little fencing he had done, even though it was his first Div 1 NAC, and he fenced very well, for all that.

These are a few of the questions I would use, if I was making a checklist for students and parents for fencing. I'm sure there are others....

AE

[hpfencing]

OK - What checklists would be useful for the parents here?

In the office we've come up with:

• What to shop for in a fencing class
• What to bring to your first fencing class
• Packing checklist - local tournament
• Travel checklist - regional/national tournament

Craig

Are these check list published somewhere or can you send them to me.. I'd like to see what you have come up with.

Thanks a bunch

[oiuyt]

Are these check list published somewhere or can you send them to me.. I'd like to see what you have come up with.

I think so far it's a checklist of checklists-to-be-created. Craig appears to be looking for suggestions of additional materials to include on the list.

-B

[hpfencing]

Cool cool, I cannot wait to see the finished products.. These will be good resources for parents, fencers and coaches!

[pinkelephant]

Things to check your kid still has in their bag BEFORE they leave the competition venue.

[lefty_monster]

Things to check your kid still has in their bag BEFORE they leave the competition venue.

Isn't that the packing list minus food, plus the stuff that you bought?

(And if you're me, minus dignity.)

Algebraically:

Leaving load=arriving load+(new gear you don't need-consumables consumed-things broken)+whatever you borrowed from teammates-whatever you lost+two gallons of sweat soaked up by the uniform