who are the best épée coach in the USA?

[ysbadadden]

I agree with this unfortunate "natural selection at work" mentality and its short sidedness. There are lots of coaches who expect the athlete to mold to the coach (consciously or not), instead of the other way around. All athletes can excel if the coach is motivated to access that which can help that athlete excel. But, unfortunately, perfectly good athletes never come to fruition, and as a result, the coach can only point to the ones that fit the coach's mold. The coach would have more successes to point to if he/she was more flexible!

First of all, it's very far from clear that all athletes can excel!
More important:
1) Athletes have to have the brains and guts to quit coaches who are no good for them, no matter how famous the coach is;
2) Some of the best coaches are unfortunately not very flexible: part of their greatness is the fixity of their vision;
3) ... which takes us back to 1): if the athlete can't share the coach's vision and the coach is no good for them, it's up to the athlete to leave;
4) ... because not all coaches know when they should let one of "their" athletes go.

[scarlet_woman156k]

First of all, it's very far from clear that all athletes can excel!
More important:
1) Athletes have to have the brains and guts to quit coaches who are no good for them, no matter how famous the coach is;
2) Some of the best coaches are unfortunately not very flexible: part of their greatness is the fixity of their vision;
3) ... which takes us back to 1): if the athlete can't share the coach's vision and the coach is no good for them, it's up to the athlete to leave;
4) ... because not all coaches know when they should let one of "their" athletes go.

I said perfectly good athletes, not athletes generally. But I'm going to disagree on this one. If we're talking about adults, absolutely, but young athletes would need to rely on their parents for the suggestions you're making.

[ysbadadden]

I said perfectly good athletes, not athletes generally. But I'm going to disagree on this one. If we're talking about adults, absolutely, but young athletes would need to rely on their parents for the suggestions you're making.

Picture a sliding scale of agreement: the younger, or less mature, the fencer, the more I agree that it's up to the parents to spot the problem. And vice versa: to be a top-class fencer, you need to be in touch with your needs.

[tchwojko]

The coach would have more successes to point to if he/she was more flexible!

It depends on what you mean by "successes". If your goal as a coach is to make a lot of pretty darn good fencers, then the coaching strategy might be fairly different than if you want the #1 fencer in a specific weapon. Are you looking for a jack-of-all-trades or a master of one?

That's a hypothesis, I have no empirical evidence. I'm comparing management in the software world to coaching fencing. A small software company just getting going needs a different kind of management than a mid-sized reasonably established company. And both are different from a $1 billion company.

Some coaches are great for beginners, or kids, or adults, or patient fencers, or athletic fencers, or quick fencers, or smart fencers...

[KD5MDK]

Also, there are lots of coaches who are more focused on making money than developing champions.