HPD (Michael Pederson) Resigns

[darius]

However, none of our programs suck unequivocal balls; each weapon has had some success, and the people who get designated to titles invariably know what they're doing less than the people who have had success.

That's invariably true?

How did Mike Pederson go, in a single year, from the guy who helped architect that success in Beijing (with arguably less talent and non-arguably less consistency in athletes ... the MS group was mostly a NYC-Gelman group) to somebody who knows less than a successful private coach?

darius

[Gav]

Ahhhhh

There's nothing I like better than kicking back - at the end of the day - to waste some time on here by wading through the pages of paranoid conspiracy theories. AKA USFA politics. I really hope you guys keep it clean while wearing your tinfoil hats because I would hate to close another thread.
I sometimes think it would be simpler to have the opposing sides strip to the waist and then have a knife fight. Winner takes all.

Curiously, as a result of Fnet, I seem to know more about USFA politics than I do about British Fencing equivalents!

[Allen Evans]

It must be British restraint not to air their dirty linen in public.

The UK Forum is positively BORING.

[Gav]

The UK Forum is positively BORING.

That's not my fault. There's way too much self-censoring going on over there. I get the impression that there's quite a lot of misinformation being thrown about concerning who can say what. Something I've been doing my best to act against. What's worrying is the amount of people who come out in support of censorship.

Or maybe we work harder (with the possible exception of me).

And then you have this site which sometimes resembles a Roswell alien abductees meeting!

[MdA]

http://usfencing.org/news/article/28655…..
…..Pederson has decided to apply as a candidate for consideration in becoming the Women's Foil National Team Coach position that has not been filled….

The conflicts of interest are more than just amazing….they are bold face and shameless. As HPD, he helped pick his friends for the other national coaching positions. By resigning, he puts the entire HP program at risk. Now, he wants to be considered for the WF national coaching position…and he is responsible for that extended vacancy. There is no way that he should be seriously considered ….

If Aichele is serious about restructuring this program, he (and the selection panel) need to clean house.

[MdA]

He went from coaching a bunch of kids…..where everybody does what they are told….to managing a group of adults…..where nobody does what they are told!

[downunder]

Gav can you access the UK board at the moment?

[Gav]

Gav can you access the UK board at the moment?

Yup. All quiet on the Western Front.

[flechewounds]

By resigning, he puts the entire HP program at risk. Now, he wants to be considered for the WF national coaching position…and he is responsible for that extended vacancy.

This is one reason that I'm suspicious. Mike is too much of a stand-up guy to do that, at least without (a) having a qualified successor ready to step in on day 1, and (b) not upsetting the apple cart with regard to the other interviewees.

I mean, this is coming about in a somewhat Palin-esque manner - "I'm resigning the governorship of Alaska 'cause I don't like it, so that I can have an open forum on FoxNews and run for president in the future."

Conspiracy? Probably not... (sorry Gav). However, things as officially described? Fishy...

To quote Little Milton, "I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up late last night..."

[mdstasinos]

The conflicts of interest are more than just amazing….they are bold face and shameless. As HPD, he helped pick his friends for the other national coaching positions. By resigning, he puts the entire HP program at risk. Now, he wants to be considered for the WF national coaching position…and he is responsible for that extended vacancy. There is no way that he should be seriously considered ….

If Aichele is serious about restructuring this program, he (and the selection panel) need to clean house.

First of all your assessment of the process of selection is not true. There was a panel appointed to interview and select the from the applicants the National Coaches. The panel consisted of myself, David Mechanic, Sada Jacobsen, Kurt Aichele and Acting as HPD, Mike Pederson. Nobody went through a rubber stamping to get the Job. Each candidate had to submit a resume and give us a outline of what they saw as the vision for their weapon program. Each candidate was interviewed by the entire panel and then at the conclusion of the process we voted for the individual we felt best would construct and run that specific weapon program.
When Bucky Leach resigned as the National Coach for Women's Foil toward the end of July, the process had to begin again and those interested in the position needed to apply, as before, and a time frame established for the submission of applications, the beginning of the review of the resumes and the interviews. For this position, the process and time frame has been no different than before, with the exception of the two week break for the World Championships.
As for the selection of "Mike's Friends" as National Coaches, again, we voted independently on the matter, so to say Mike did this is false. The best candidate for the job, by our independent judgement of their resumes and interviews, was selected by the majority of the panel to fill the role.
I realize no matter what I state there will be those that will continue to doubt the process, the manor that individuals were selected and the relationship they may have had prior to being selected. In other words, they will be guilty by association. I assure you that we took the responsibility very seriously and were very detailed in our examination of all the candidates for all the positions.

Mark Stasinos
Vice-President
US Fencing Association

[mdstasinos]

He went from coaching a bunch of kids…..where everybody does what they are told….to managing a group of adults…..where nobody does what they are told!

Where again, as in the other thread dealing with this, this is false. Of course as a coach your students are trained to listen and follow your guidance. Perhaps all of the National Coaches have spoken to you about their out right rebellion, but I have heard nothing and I have been in contact with half of them in the past three weeks and nothing of what you have stated here is not happening.

Mark Stasinos
Vice-President
US Fencing Association

[catwood1]

Someone is in dire need of a sarcasm-o-meter readjusting...

[catwood1]

This is one reason that I'm suspicious. Mike is too much of a stand-up guy to do that, at least without (a) having a qualified successor ready to step in on day 1, and (b) not upsetting the apple cart with regard to the other interviewees.

I'm reasonably certain Mike is one of the nicest people I have met in my life. I'm inclined to agree with you Gary...

[flechewounds]

First of all your assessment of the process of selection is not true. There was a panel appointed to interview and select the from the applicants the National Coaches. The panel consisted of myself, David Mechanic, Sada Jacobsen, Kurt Aichele and Acting as HPD, Mike Pederson. Nobody went through a rubber stamping to get the Job. Each candidate had to submit a resume and give us a outline of what they saw as the vision for their weapon program. Each candidate was interviewed by the entire panel and then at the conclusion of the process we voted for the individual we felt best would construct and run that specific weapon program.
When Bucky Leach resigned as the National Coach for Women's Foil toward the end of July, the process had to begin again and those interested in the position needed to apply, as before, and a time frame established for the submission of applications, the beginning of the review of the resumes and the interviews. For this position, the process and time frame has been no different than before, with the exception of the two week break for the World Championships.
As for the selection of "Mike's Friends" as National Coaches, again, we voted independently on the matter, so to say Mike did this is false. The best candidate for the job, by our independent judgement of their resumes and interviews, was selected by the majority of the panel to fill the role.
I realize no matter what I state there will be those that will continue to doubt the process, the manor that individuals were selected and the relationship they may have had prior to being selected. In other words, they will be guilty by association. I assure you that we took the responsibility very seriously and were very detailed in our examination of all the candidates for all the positions.

Mark Stasinos
Vice-President
US Fencing Association

In this area, I have to agree with Mark. The biggest problem was the lack of applicants, not the cooking of the hiring process. If you look at it objectively, the selections made sense. (I don't think that there was anyone applying for WE when Ro took the job, for example, and I also don't think there was anyone seriously applying for WF until Buckie resigned it).

From what I can tell, the national coaching job is kind of a pain for someone with a top-level student. Instead of supporting your student above all others, you have to be fair - even if that disadvantages your student. That is one reason why it is difficult to get people with top fencers to apply for the job. Of course, there is also the fact that many coaches don't get along really well with each other - and putting one coach in charge of another's student can lead to a sticky situation, particularly when choices have to be made. I can't imagine that it is an easy job.

In this regard, the HPD's job may be a bit easier. Being one-step removed means that you don't have to have those wrestling matches on a daily bases (of course, there are others)...

[jespada]

That's not my fault. There's way too much self-censoring going on over there. I get the impression that there's quite a lot of misinformation being thrown about concerning who can say what. Something I've been doing my best to act against. What's worrying is the amount of people who come out in support of censorship.

Or maybe we work harder (with the possible exception of me).

And then you have this site which sometimes resembles a Roswell alien abductees meeting!

Is it a matter of the way the board/website is being run or is it the usual British reticence? The British press gives the impression of saying anything about everything. Last controversial post I saw on the UK board was a reference to someone who might have coached at one time having had a sexual encounter with an ? underage ? person who was not a student of his or connected to fencing. Most of the controversy was from one person who didn't believe anything should be commented on until the courts and parliament had passed on the matter. And then only after a 3 year cooling off period to ensure that nothing controversial was said.

Yup. All quiet on the Western Front.

Deathly quiet? Moribund? Advanced stagnation?

Anyway we need a spot to hold the Roswell alien inductees. Could you suggest an appropriate parliamentary borough? They'd be fine for back benchers.

[MdA]

Mark, I trust you….but the membership should not. You have to admit that this entire situation stinks. The only thing left to do is to try to clean it up. Nat is the obvious choice for WF national coach….I hope she is one of the nominees. Mike can be her assistant along with Iris. We have to stop rewarding poor performance by giving people the job they want. That is not good business. Even if Mike was doing a good job for 7 months….the fact that he resigned has hurt the program more….com'on 7 months? What can ya do in 7 months?

[garyhayenga]

That's not my fault. There's way too much self-censoring going on over there. I get the impression that there's quite a lot of misinformation being thrown about concerning who can say what. Something I've been doing my best to act against. What's worrying is the amount of people who come out in support of censorship.

Or maybe we work harder (with the possible exception of me).

And then you have this site which sometimes resembles a Roswell alien abductees meeting!

Wait, you mean this *isn't* where the Roswell alien abductees are supposed to be meeting?

[downunder]

Yup. All quiet on the Western Front.

For me and 3 other people on three different computers it shows Viagra adverts. I think there is a problem.

[evaluna]

Mike Pederson is an amazing coach! He knowledge of the sport on every level is amazing. He is a fencing genius and we would be lucky to have him as the national WF coach. If he says he wants to focus on coaching I believe him.

Yes, I am biased. Because I am a member of GGFC I've had the privilege of being coached by Mike, even though I'm an epee fencer. He taught me how to correctly hold my weapon my first month fencing when he filled in and taught my adult beginners class. A year later he was my strip coach at a NAC and got me within one touch of making the 16. Most recently he was my strip coach at a Vet Bay Cup, and I'm certain I got 100% of him on the strip... every bit as much as our Olympic foil women did.

He gives me lessons when his wife is traveling, most recently last week when Maureen was at the Montreal JWC. He was at home holding down the fort, just like she did when he was in Turkey.

During the Olympic year he was gone for months, yes months, while our women foilists were getting much needed international experience in Europe. Needless to say during that time his own foil program suffered from his absence, and he was missed by his family.

To top it all off he has received endless criticism for his decision not to sub Doris at the Olympics, when the "easy" decision for him would have been the one he didn't make. After years of working with Doris & David I can only imagine how painful their departure must have been.

He is a remarkable coach. He makes the tiniest adjustment in your positioning and it immediately shows up on the strip. He coaches on the strip without shouting, and you feel like he is right there next to you on the strip. He gives you the lesson you need, regardless of your level (and it's fascinating when you look back and see the evolution). After a bout he tells you what you did wrong, what you need to work on, and then he rewards you by being totally supportive of your efforts.

We are lucky to have him!

[misha]

I really don't see any reason we have to have either a high-performance director or any national coach.

We need a coach in each weapon/gender to be coaching during FIE Team events.
You can call him/her National coach or international coach or whatever.
But we need 6 of them to be familiar with our top fencers ability to perform
in a team event, to be familiar with opponents abilities, consistencies,
to predict the best match-ups etc.

We are up against Europeans who have coaches who live with their teams
for months during camps, we need at least to try to close this gap.

It requires travel to at least 5 WC + Zonals + World Championship per year.
Preferably more to gain more knowledge.

.