Coaching Stories

Ian's Coaching Story

When I was about the age of 11 I wandered in to the school hall and found man asking people to sign up for the sport of fencing. The coach of the club was a guy named Jim, and he ran a fencing club in one of the not so well-off suburbs close to my home and school.

Now, Fencing is a bit of an elitist sport, mainly accommodated by the private schools who can afford to purchase the expensive equipment. Our ‘not so professional’ club had no access to that  so we spent our time honing our sporting skills by fighting in delightful places such as the back of polish clubs, and other less than impressive venues found in the various ghettos of the UK.

But when we did enter the main competitions against the private schools, we would more often than not WIN - even on their home turf, which made the win even more enjoyable.

The reason for our success was that the school clubs were all trained under the eye of the officially appointed National area fencing coach. All the schools ran the same program, trained the same way and achieved the same standards.

Our coach, Jim, coached us to take advantage our individual strengths. Some were tall, some were strong and I, being small and light at the time, was trained to attack low and use ‘closed in’ fighting skills. There wasn’t a taller competitor who could match my speed and accuracy.

When we fought the other schools, if we’d fought one, we’d fought them all. Their coaching method while producing skills, assured that they all lost their individuality.

Jim’s coaching left a lasting impression on me and today, I still try to understand the inherent skills of the individual and seek out ways to help them utilise them to their best advantage.