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Post by schlager7 on May 20, 2005 7:54:10 GMT -6
From the "Coaching Classifieds" in the current American Fencing:
Seeking Sabre Coach. Must be energetic & personable for an up and coming program. Please send resume to include picture, education, experience as a fencer, coaching experience in which weapons, your students' achievements, marital status, contact information, telephone number and address to: The Five Star Fencing School, 16387 Groce Lane, Hempstead, Texas, 77445.
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Post by DavidSierra on May 20, 2005 9:16:57 GMT -6
Hempstead? Isn't that like in the middle of nowhere between BCS and Houston on US290 or something? Talk about springing forth in the oddest of places!
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Post by Parry Nine on May 20, 2005 9:54:33 GMT -6
What does this have to do with your coaching ability?
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Post by DavidSierra on May 20, 2005 11:47:43 GMT -6
Not to mention its illegal to ask about in a job interview.
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Post by Incognito on May 20, 2005 12:06:27 GMT -6
It wouldn't surprise me if it's one of the rat fencing schools looking for a saber coach on the DL. Either it's Mauro looking for the real deal or it's Louise Looking for a saber coach on the DL since she has driven out the last two saber coaches.
Someone should apply and see who comes forward.
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Post by DavidSierra on May 20, 2005 14:08:55 GMT -6
What do you mean "Mauro looking for the real deal?" Oliver Diaz is a patient, skilled, and above all, communicative instructor who has done really good things with his students, and they are starting to display some excellent fencing. I should know, I observed them at Sectionals a couple of weeks ago putting forth some excellent fencing.
Raw credentials do not a good instructor make. I'd submit that Oliver is a perfectly capable sabre coach for Salle Mauro, and he has also shown the initiative to want to improve his coaching skills - a true sign of a valuable instructor.
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Post by Lt Columbo on May 22, 2005 12:13:33 GMT -6
A quick check of the county records shows that address in Hempstead to be a residence owned by a 'Joel Cohen', which is Louise Lepie's husband's name. So BCFA apparently is looking for yet another saber coach.
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Post by DavidSierra on May 22, 2005 13:08:03 GMT -6
A quick check of the county records shows that address in Hempstead to be a residence owned by a 'Joel Cohen', which is Louise Lepie's husband's name. So BCFA apparently is looking for yet another saber coach. Good for her! I hope she gets one. I also hope she's learned something from previous encounters. For that matter, I hope we get another 10+ good coaches developing sabre fencers across the region, so long as they develop their own students and not poach them from each other. That is the true measure of a coach, in my opinion - who have you developed from stratch, lately. *Chuckle* and for the overwhelming majority of those of us teaching sabre in this region, the jury is still out, myself included, although, the prelimiary analysis looks good. We're still getting thrashed at the national level though.
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Post by phincer on May 22, 2005 17:55:39 GMT -6
Miss Lepie.... Go to the board and write 100 times "I will be nice to my new coach if I get one" in your best handwritiing.
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Post by schlager7 on May 23, 2005 9:56:23 GMT -6
I'm with David on this. I hope she gets a good coach and they work well together.
We have Akhi. Oliver is giving his all at Salle Mauro. Another sabre coach in town will only improve the whole environment for sabre.
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Post by August Skopik on May 23, 2005 14:54:20 GMT -6
I am with David. We fight too much about which coach is better in an area when we need many more coaches, just like we need many more opportunities to fence. Oliver and Dan are at Salle Mauro, and if we can get saber started in several more areas and established we can get some traction. By traction you need 8 - 10 fencers in that club that fence that weapon, so when only 1/4 show up you still have someone to fence. Then every practice you get to fence.
We also need to apply this to foil in this division. Currently we have the very strong but we need to establish and grow it like saber. I know several clubs are looking at how to build that again.
All of these things are a process, and take several years. You don't see the fruit of your labor until 3 to 5 years later. Don't get discouraged David, your results will be there.
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Post by schlager7 on May 23, 2005 15:21:02 GMT -6
Augie is 100% right on this. For a weapon to really take off and continue to be practiced in an area you need at the very least a half dozen in a given club to be fencing it or it will wither away if you have too many slow nights.
Just as important, you need at minimum 3-4 clubs fencing that weapon significantly so that the local tournaments are worthwhile for the fencer.
Even if two clubs each have six sabreurs, when it comes time for the sabre event at a local competition, the same few people are fencing. Any one of them can already fence half the turn out on their own club night. Why show up?
Currently we have Oliver (and Dan) at Salle Mauro. Texas A&M has some sabre (for years it looked like they were about it for sabre in this division). Akhi and the Wysockis and Tim Guerinot are the core. I believe I continue to see sabreurs coming out of the Katy Blades.
(CLFC and BCFA have only very tiny sabre cadres at this time.)
Basically, we have the barest core for sabre to begin to, as Augie so succinctly put it, gain traction.
Foil is in a little better shape, but nowhere near what it should be for a town this size.
So if Louise gets a sabre coach, more power to her. The 4th largest city in America stretches before us. There is a lot of raw material out there to build from. I don't think anyone will need to steal students.
Properly approached, there is plenty to go around.
As to sabre in Hempstead, as I recall Andrey had a nice little bunch of epee fencers in Tomball a little while back. (Anyone know if they are still fencing?)
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Post by DavidSierra on May 23, 2005 22:23:24 GMT -6
You think you guys have it rough? *chuckle* I'm the only sabre coach working in all of Fort Worth and its surrounding suburbs! Granted, there's some good sabre fencing over in the Dallas area, and I'm trying to get some exchange programs set up this summer with a couple of them.
But yea, I've got about 25 people of various ages, all fencing sabre *evil grin* here in Tarrant County. And you're right Aguie, it does take time. I've got my first students just now starting to make their mark on the regional stage - one took third at Sectionals in the Women's Sabre event, and I can't even begin to tell you how good that made me feel. She's been with me for almost two years. So yea, I figure in another three, I'll have some good "fruit."
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Post by August Skopik on May 23, 2005 23:44:12 GMT -6
Now that Schlager and I agree on the beginning of the saber program, lets talk about how the division and the section built fencing when we had less than 300 fencers in the section and not more than that in the division.
We recognized that there are stages that the fencers go through, and we developed tournaments for the different levels. There were beginner tournaments, (less than one year) and novice tournaments, (less than two years). There were no Ds or Es, so basically you were beginner, novice, unclassified or a A/B/C. The evolution of our sport was bloody, with many division officers and purists not recognizing classifications earned at "unclassified" tournaments, (now Div. III). My first coach/division chair would not recognize my "C" earned at a 45 person unclassified tournament, but was happy I earned my "C" at the Yorrick the next week where I did not fence as well. In progress we set up tournaments to let the fencers achieve levels as they progressed in their fencing knowledge.
Each division did this at the same time, not as a coordinated effort but because we talked and saw programs that worked. We also knew that beginners don't normally travel well for the first couple of years unless in extreme circumstances. Many of the traditional masters would not let their students compete for the first several years, and then only locally. Claude Caux told us that the first six months of his training was footwork only, with no bladework at all.
Each division will need to set up multiple opportunities to allow the new fencers to fence each other from different clubs, and test their new skills. A beginner circuit or group of tournaments would be very helpful.
Unfortunately, there are limited dates on the calendar. There will be conflicts as we move forward. It would be interesting to have multiple venues with 20+ saber fencers in each division on the same weekend. This would be interesting in foil also, and it is already being accomplished in epee in this area. Without these beginner tournaments, the competitive nature of the fencers turns inward, and they do not feel the sense of accomplishment. It is this growth that springs the next level of divisional, sectional and national champions.
By utilizing this growth methodology, the Southwest Section became one of the fastest growing sections in the mid 80s. It is amazing, but if my memory serves the Gulf Coast Division is larger by far than the SW section was during this period. Now that we are poised for growth again, we need to continue to nurture the beginners and new fencers in our sport. Let's make certain that our legacy is a positive influence.
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Post by schlager7 on May 24, 2005 6:38:40 GMT -6
We recognized that there are stages that the fencers go through, and we developed tournaments for the different levels. There were beginner tournaments, (less than one year) and novice tournaments, (less than two years). There were no Ds or Es, so basically you were beginner, novice, unclassified or a A/B/C. The evolution of our sport was bloody, with many division officers and purists not recognizing classifications earned at "unclassified" tournaments, (now Div. III). My first coach/division chair would not recognize my "C" earned at a 45 person unclassified tournament, but was happy I earned my "C" at the Yorrick the next week where I did not fence as well. In progress we set up tournaments to let the fencers achieve levels as they progressed in their fencing knowledge. Not to digress, but now THAT is a story from the past I would like to hear sometime, Augie! Back on track, though, I agree whole-heartedly that we need many more beginniner/novice/entry-level (pick your favorite term) tournaments than we have now.
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Post by DavidSierra on May 24, 2005 7:51:17 GMT -6
Not to dredge up very fresh and tender wounds, but this is exactly the kind of conversation that we need to have to continue our regional development. *deep breath* Ok, so lets see if we can have it in a more rational context this time and keep the mudslinging out of it! (please, EVERYONE, don't make me regret this). So, here as I see it are the key questions that need to be addressed. Let see if we can agree on the questions before we start going off on the answers though. #1 - what is the proper role of competition in the development of a fencer at the novice stage? #2 - what is the proper role of competition in the development of a fencer at the advanced stage? #3 - how do you define a fencer in the novice stage? how do you define a fencer at the advanced stage? #4 - what is the overlap between the stages? #5 - at what point do we as coach's need to be looking beyond the borders of our club and at what point do we need to be looking beyond the borders of our division for competitive opportunities for our students - before national level here? #6 - is it worthwhile to enter into formalized agreements with nearby groups (either within our own division or outside of it) in the hopes of expanding competitive opportunities, recognizing that in order to get them to sign on board, we may have to compromise on some of the details, while not sacrificing the overall philosophy? #7 - without getting into the debate of weather or not they are the best ones, at which points in the spectrum of increasing competition do we adopt/mimic/adapt the different competitive protocols of national level competition to our own efforts? If there are any additional questions anyone wants to add, put them in. Lets wait until that happens before tossing out answers
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