New Jersey has the largest population of fencers in the United States. What does that mean on a practical basis? My family can find fencers who are exactly the same age and ability level as our children. When kids work together, they make each other much better. I do everything I can to support Eleanor and her friends; I strip coach all of them and provide tools and expertise to make sure they have the right equipment. My husband performs the same role in épée with our two older children.
I provide reports and feedback to Eleanor’s coaches regarding group progress after each tournament. I am always the only parent present who fenced NCAA foil, so the right thing for me to do is to help everyone.
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Works Cited
McLanahan, Emily. “The hotbed of American fencing is … New Jersey?” Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! News, 13 Aug. 2016, http://sports.yahoo.com/the-hotbed-of-fencing-is-new….
The Olympic Sport of Fencing – New Jersey Division of Fencing. http://www.newjerseyfencing.org/?page_id=39….
