Looking for Coach in the DC area

[GWFencing]

Hi all,

We're a student athletic club at a large DC university, and are looking for a coach.

Some info about us:
- We have about 30 members, 15 or so quite committed. Our most predominant weapon is epee, but we have fencers at all experience levels in all 3 weapons. Experience ranges from 0 to 12+ years.

- The club has 2 scoring machines, and equipment for member use. We have a coach's sleeve but no other coaching equipment as far as I know.

Since we're a student club, we don't have the budget currently to offer any sort of pay at this point. You would get plenty of experience with a group of energetic and talented young fencers, and the opportunity to fence in DC without having to pay the high fees for a private club.

If you're interested, please let us know.

[Allen Evans]

You would get plenty of experience with a group of energetic and talented young fencers, and the opportunity to fence in DC without having to pay the high fees for a private club.

Experience doing what, exactly? Are you looking for someone to work with your club on a daily basis? Weekly/ Monthly? Run practices? Give lessons? Both? Travel with the "team"? What are the goals of your program?

You've scared off enough people by telling them up front they won't get paid. You might as well expand on the work expected for the salary so that anyone that might even be tempted has a good idea what they are getting in for.

AE

[eyad008]

eyad008@yahoo.com fencing coach for 3 weapons

[Rick Thompson]

It's going to be tough to find a DEDICATED experienced 3-weapon coach who'll work with a medium sized club on a regular basis with no hope of pay.

Experience points don't put food on the table...

There are a couple of viable alternatives.

One is that you could arrange for a coach to come and give private or group lessons for a fee. Private lessons would, of course, be the responsibility of the person. Group lessons, either ongoing or just a couple of "workshops" could be a pooled monetary effort, or charge a fee for attendance.

There are several student-led clubs that hold periodic workshops (day or weekend long) that get the students pumped and provide them with a new set of drills or specific things to work on. Not to mention the general education of having an experienced coach there to leech off of....

The second alternative would be bootstrapping yourselves and generating coaches from within your ranks. Many collegiate clubs do this by default, but without really encouraging the leaders to get training. It's often led by the most experienced fencer or someone who's been in classes before.

Student coaches can attend workshops or "apprentice" themselves to a nearby professional coach to get the experience needed. Of especiall importance is the creation of a season-long program, with a curriculum and training schedule. This establishes a set of expectations, both for the coach(es) and the students.

[arcon]

I seriously doubt theres any money in Obama's stimulius package for compensating a fencing coach.

How far away is the nearest fencing club ? (with a certified coach)

[bigyellowboat]

I suggest you get on the Metro and practice with DCFC in Silver Spring. It's probably the closest you will find. Very good club in Epee. OK in foil/saber.

[Allen Evans]

Actually, I would say much better than "OK" in saber.

DCFC's sole disadvantage to the original posters criteria is that, in fact, it costs money.

AE

[catwood1]

DCFC is also non-existant in foil these days. But yea, good sabre club...