NAC Workshops?

[Craig]

Which of these types of camps or events would you want to see hosted in a NAC city during the NAC weekend? (You can choose multiple.)

Club Business Workshop: One day workshop for fencing club owners to cover a variety of topics focused on improving the business aspects of running a fencing club. (Marketing, business models, etc.)

Speed Training Coaching Workshop: One day workshop focused on how to set up a speed and agility training program for a fencing club or team.

Speed Training Athlete Workshop: One day workshop focused on showing athletes speed and agility training drills tailored to fencing.

Sport Psychology Workshop: One day workshop focused on mental skills development and training.

Choose the one(s) that you would most like to attend. Assume there is some charge $50 to $100 for the workshop and that workshops would be scheduled on multiple days to offer the opportunity for attendees to fence one day and attend a workshop the other day.

If you would not be interested, please indicate that and post why and if there would be a different topic you would like to see please post that. (There are a number of requests for a referee workshop, that should be coordinated by the FOC and not fencing.net.)

Craig

[fencerina dad]

Speed Training for the athlete
Sports Psychology for the athlete

[TrojanMD]

Referee workshops (preferably w/ use of instant replay) maybe put on by the FOCs for that NAC.

[Allen Evans]

Coaching workshops, covering specific actions or techniques.

ROW interpretation workshops (much like the one Arianna gave at Summer Nationals).

AE

[TrojanMD]

ROW interpretation workshops (much like the one Arianna gave at Summer Nationals).

AE

Seconded. That would be awesome!

[Jason]

I think that it would really behoove the USFA to run a ROW workshop regularly. Few things will improve coaching and fencing in this country better than making sure everyone understands how to play the game.

[oiuyt]

I think that it would really behoove the USFA to run a ROW workshop regularly. Few things will improve coaching and fencing in this country better than making sure everyone understands how to play the game.

The FOC, at their annual meeting last August, discussed doing this. Probably targetted at higher-level referees (minimum rating of 4 or possibly 5) and aimed at supporting the move from national-level to international-level. To be offered at least annually in each weapon and ideally a couple of times each season.

There was also discussion about a similar series of talks aimed a bit lower for actively-working referees that aren't yet of the level mentioned above.

These, of course, should complement the standard seminar aimed at new (or newish) referees that's required prior to initial testing, which is offerred throughout the year at many locations around the country.

-B

[Jason]

That sounds good. However, I was talking about something like that directed toward coaches and fencers. Even here in the fencing wonderland of the Northeast, there are plenty of people confused about how ROW is being called right now.

I think a little up-to-date ROW education for the fencers and coaches would have a serious impact on the quality of the fencing in this country.

[KD5MDK]

Would the people who most need it attend?


That said, I would love to attend an intermediate or advanced* sabre seminar.

* Depending on what you consider that to be.

[Craig]

OK. Take referee seminar off the table here. That's something that the FOC should organize.

Craig

[edew]

I would like to see the club business workshop, but hopefully better prepared and conducted than the one during the Summer Nationals. That one was just too free-flowing with no direction of what to talk about. And it really was blind leading the blind. (When discussions go to the level of bake-sales to bring in revenues...)

The ROW workshop is also good. But again, please be professional and well prepared. I'd hate to go to some breakout room and have some referee wing it. The saber refereeing seminar at Summer Nationals was fairly decent, but it apparently didn't stick with any of the referees (at least not the following day, and not so much at the NAC A either).

The sports performance based workshops sounds better at local areas. Perhaps there should be a roving band of workshop providers who can go from one area to another leading these workshops each weekend. The economics sounds better to fly one or two person(s) to different places for, say, 20 weekends (round-trips) than to flying 2000 persons to one place for one weekend. (I'm assuming 100 attendees per weekend, which can happen if it's promoted right.)

Lastly, spelling nazi here. Compliment = saying nice things to someone. Complement = to fill up a void, to complete something.

[edew]

Maybe a roving seminar for parents to explain what events are required to qualify for various championships and international competitions. Some coaches probably don't know them all, and certainly a bunch of parents read only parts of the Athlete's handbook, and read them wrong, as well.

[journalmom]

Maybe a roving seminar for parents to explain what events are required to qualify for various championships and international competitions. Some coaches probably don't know them all, and certainly a bunch of parents read only parts of the Athlete's handbook, and read them wrong, as well.

As a parent, I'd love to attend this. I just recently realized how important Summer National is to a Cadet and older fencers who would consider international fencing. I always thought SN was an year end, the last hurrah for the season. I didn't know that it's really the "first" event of the season for some age groups. This and other confusing facts will be very valuable to all the newbie parents. Yeah, there are guides and athlete's handbook we can read but like edew said, we read it wrong. I think it'll be really nice for parents to take a working course on what it means to be a fencing parents....from basic things like taking lessons at the club to qualifying for competitions.

[fencerwallet]

The ROW workshop is also good. But again, please be professional and well prepared. I'd hate to go to some breakout room and have some referee wing it. The saber refereeing seminar at Summer Nationals was fairly decent, but it apparently didn't stick with any of the referees (at least not the following day, and not so much at the NAC A either).

Eric, were there issues with the NAC-A saber referees? I saw a parry-riposte called using an arm.

Actually, I would like as as many officer meetings to take place and noticed to members (so that they know they are actually taking place) during NACs, where possible. Members can wander in and see the officers during discussions and get information, where possible, from direct observance rather than second-hand via blogs. It wouldn't matter if they are well-attended, because the real purpose should be open access.

[oiuyt]

Eric, were there issues with the NAC-A saber referees? I saw a parry-riposte called using an arm.

???

Most of the time parrying with your arm in sabre results in a call of "Attack. Touch." (or some functional equivalent)



-B

[JEC]

Coaching workshops, covering specific actions or techniques.

USFCA coaching clinic the last day of a NAC. This could be a single weapon full-day clinic prior or after the NAC given by a group of High level Coaches. Delegating this to USFCA would strengthen the relationship between USFA and USFCA. MdA or other USFCA FMs might want to expand on this.

[MdA]

..... Yeah, there are guides and athlete's handbook we can read but like edew said, we read it wrong. I think it'll be really nice for parents to take a working course on what it means to be a fencing parents....from basic things like taking lessons at the club to qualifying for competitions.

Who is going to prepare and deliver this course?

[MdA]

USFCA coaching clinic the last day of a NAC. This could be a single weapon full-day clinic prior or after the NAC given by a group of High level Coaches. Delegating this to USFCA would strengthen the relationship between USFA and USFCA. MdA or other USFCA FMs might want to expand on this.

Sorry, but coaching workshops at NACs don't generally work. Coaches will not hang around if their events are over on the second day. If a coach has to be there until the last day....they usually want to go home and have little interest.

...or they won't want to pay for an extra day in the hotel....or miss an addition day of income at the club.

[darius]

When Paul Soter was the ME National coach, there used to be training camps at NACs (usually the day after the Div1ME event), where they'd charge a few bucks / head, get a few strips from the event organizers + a small conf room, and do conditioning/drills in the hall, then some organized bouting.

Normally these were open to a maximum number of registrants, by strength (top fencers got first priority). Paul was always very generous about letting other coaches sit in and observe.

I have no clue whether these netted a profit or not, but they seemed quite productive.

darius

[edew]

???

Most of the time parrying with your arm in sabre results in a call of "Attack. Touch." (or some functional equivalent)



-B

Yeah, we both wondered how that managed to called a parry riposte.