Post by schlager7 on Aug 15, 2004 23:33:21 GMT -6
Since the Houston Chronicle Is not known for leaving viable links to their stories up for very long, I am pasting this here:
Aug. 10, 2004, 8:35PM
Local pair make mark in sport: Guerinot, Wysocki take different paths to wins at summer nationals
By TODD HVEEM
Chronicle Correspondent
AT first glance, their differences are quite obvious.
One is a 30-year-old man, while the other is a 17-year-old student. One is an advertising director, while the other is home schooled. And one is married, while the other is just starting to date.
But when you put the two together, something just clicks.
Or should we stay sticks.
Just over three years ago, Joe Wysocki, 17, and Tim Guerinot, 30, became training partners in the sport of fencing. It seemed like an odd match at first. But throughout the learning curve, the two have not only become friends, but two of the top saber fencers in the country.
"We train together almost every day," said Guerinot, who recently placed seventh in the Division I-A U.S. National Fencing Championships in Charlotte, N.C.
"He (Wysocki) has been doing it about six years, while I have been doing it five," he added. "When I first started, we started becoming buddies. He was really small, and I was in my mid-20s at the time. But we just started training together."
"I was 11-years-old when I found the sport on the Internet," said Wysocki, who earned a bronze medal at the Division I-A U.S. National Fencing Championships. "I was searching for different sports. I was active and liked doing things. That is when I found it.
"I started up, really enjoyed it and have been doing it ever since," he added. "My partner (Guerinot) helped me a lot. We are really pumped about his result and my result (at nationals). We have become good friends and helped each other a lot."
Guerinot said the entire process started with the two combatants sitting down and watching videos.
"When we started training, there weren't many coaches," Guerinot said. "We would watch a ton of videos, then put it into slow motion. We would put it into action and figure it out ourselves."
They also asked questions.
"We would constantly be asking people who were better than us about this and that," Guerinot said. "I think it really helped."
Wysocki, who is a junior in high school, also gave a lot of credit to coach Andrey Geva.
"Our coach has been great," said Wysocki, who lives in Jersey Village. "There are three (fencing) weapons — foil, epee and saber. Tim and I fence saber, but Andrey is really an epee coach. He had to work hard to help us train. He had to learn a lot of different things about saber. He put a lot of time in, too. He has helped us out a lot."
"He really dug that," Guerinot said. "He was so excited that we were so excited about the sport. He helped us out as much as he could. He helped us with coming up with different ways to train without getting too bored."
Besides fighting, the dynamic duo, who travel together for a lot of events, has started getting into the scientific aspect of the sport.
"We started really concentrating on weight training, diet and plyometrics," Guerinot said.
"We wanted to become more explosive and maximize the athletic aspect of the sport."
Wysocki said they increased their training dramatically in preparation for the national tournament.
"We started training for summer nationals a couple months ago," he said. "We started working harder and putting more days in. I think it really paid off. It helps us be able to compete at that level."
So what is next for the fencing friends?
"I just want to try and go as far as I can go," Guerinot said. "I am very happy with my results at nationals considering the competition. My work has been very supportive of me, and my wife (Erin Guerinot) is behind me 100 percent. I think I am only going to continue to improve."
"I was excited about winning the bronze medal," Wysocki said. "I also was very excited for Tim. But we aren't going to stop here.
"My ultimate goal right now is to make the national team for my age division, which is 20-and-under," he added. "I also would like to get a college scholarship to a school like Ohio State."
Wysocki, who has also been studying Arabic for two years, next will compete in the Junior World Cup fencing competition to be held later this month.
"That is going to be some tough competition," he said. "Right now, my age division has the best fencers in the world. I am really looking forward to that."
Aug. 10, 2004, 8:35PM
Local pair make mark in sport: Guerinot, Wysocki take different paths to wins at summer nationals
By TODD HVEEM
Chronicle Correspondent
AT first glance, their differences are quite obvious.
One is a 30-year-old man, while the other is a 17-year-old student. One is an advertising director, while the other is home schooled. And one is married, while the other is just starting to date.
But when you put the two together, something just clicks.
Or should we stay sticks.
Just over three years ago, Joe Wysocki, 17, and Tim Guerinot, 30, became training partners in the sport of fencing. It seemed like an odd match at first. But throughout the learning curve, the two have not only become friends, but two of the top saber fencers in the country.
"We train together almost every day," said Guerinot, who recently placed seventh in the Division I-A U.S. National Fencing Championships in Charlotte, N.C.
"He (Wysocki) has been doing it about six years, while I have been doing it five," he added. "When I first started, we started becoming buddies. He was really small, and I was in my mid-20s at the time. But we just started training together."
"I was 11-years-old when I found the sport on the Internet," said Wysocki, who earned a bronze medal at the Division I-A U.S. National Fencing Championships. "I was searching for different sports. I was active and liked doing things. That is when I found it.
"I started up, really enjoyed it and have been doing it ever since," he added. "My partner (Guerinot) helped me a lot. We are really pumped about his result and my result (at nationals). We have become good friends and helped each other a lot."
Guerinot said the entire process started with the two combatants sitting down and watching videos.
"When we started training, there weren't many coaches," Guerinot said. "We would watch a ton of videos, then put it into slow motion. We would put it into action and figure it out ourselves."
They also asked questions.
"We would constantly be asking people who were better than us about this and that," Guerinot said. "I think it really helped."
Wysocki, who is a junior in high school, also gave a lot of credit to coach Andrey Geva.
"Our coach has been great," said Wysocki, who lives in Jersey Village. "There are three (fencing) weapons — foil, epee and saber. Tim and I fence saber, but Andrey is really an epee coach. He had to work hard to help us train. He had to learn a lot of different things about saber. He put a lot of time in, too. He has helped us out a lot."
"He really dug that," Guerinot said. "He was so excited that we were so excited about the sport. He helped us out as much as he could. He helped us with coming up with different ways to train without getting too bored."
Besides fighting, the dynamic duo, who travel together for a lot of events, has started getting into the scientific aspect of the sport.
"We started really concentrating on weight training, diet and plyometrics," Guerinot said.
"We wanted to become more explosive and maximize the athletic aspect of the sport."
Wysocki said they increased their training dramatically in preparation for the national tournament.
"We started training for summer nationals a couple months ago," he said. "We started working harder and putting more days in. I think it really paid off. It helps us be able to compete at that level."
So what is next for the fencing friends?
"I just want to try and go as far as I can go," Guerinot said. "I am very happy with my results at nationals considering the competition. My work has been very supportive of me, and my wife (Erin Guerinot) is behind me 100 percent. I think I am only going to continue to improve."
"I was excited about winning the bronze medal," Wysocki said. "I also was very excited for Tim. But we aren't going to stop here.
"My ultimate goal right now is to make the national team for my age division, which is 20-and-under," he added. "I also would like to get a college scholarship to a school like Ohio State."
Wysocki, who has also been studying Arabic for two years, next will compete in the Junior World Cup fencing competition to be held later this month.
"That is going to be some tough competition," he said. "Right now, my age division has the best fencers in the world. I am really looking forward to that."