“Perseverance is a twin sister of Excellence. The former is a matter of quality. The latter, a matter of time.”
Our Method — Positive Development
We are products of the American Fencing Tradition. In stark contrast to (unfortunately) accepted standards of abusive coaching in modern competitive sports, we are trained from the ground-up in positive coaching that facilitates and enhances the development and growth of our athletes. We always keep in perspective the long-term goals of everyone we work with. To us, that means our responsibilities and effects of our years spent with the fencers have ramifications that go well beyond our obviously shared endeavor — fencing.
The philosophy and resources behind developing Coach Jay’s training was derived from the need for filling the void in the next generation of fencing education in the United States. Fencing is a sport that requires a sustained, focused training that requires a long-term plan to reach the level of competitive excellence. Through the stages of talent identification, general development, sport specific skill mastery, and competitive performance, coaches, athletes and families talk in units of years, quadrennial — and, among coaches, decades!
Sustaining that requires tremendous amount of perseverance, support and soul searching for all involved. We work hard to ensure that everything that happens in the training room and competitions retain the qualities we were taught and mentored. Fencing is a life experience for all involved – children, parents, coaches alike. We are very happy to find ourselves on this path. Fencing is both an art and a sport. We strive to promote growth in each and every one of our fencers.
We also believe in, and practice, the ideals of Positive Coaching Alliance. Every member of our coaching staff strive for a double-goal of teaching life lessons in addition to teaching how to win. We teach our athletes to honor the game, and we are immensely proud to say that our athletes, in return, contribute toward building a positive team culture.