You’re watching an NBA basketball game with players who are paid high salaries to help win games. They have practiced for hours upon hours since they were young boys. They have probably shot thousands of free throws and could easily hit 10 in a row in practice. But with three seconds left in a critical game and the team’s best free thrower on the line, how often do we cringe as the ball bounces off the rim?
Month: September 2014 Page 1 of 2
It’s fencing tournament day and you’ve been running around from the moment you arrived. From check in, to warm up, straight to pool play afterward, and then to direct elimination. You are getting more and more agitated as the day wears on, and your fencer is getting irritable, fatigued, and maybe even a little shaky. The cure to all these woes may be simpler than you think. Ask yourself: When was the last time that you ate?
While it is your fencer’s primary job to improve their skills, learn their craft, and have fun, the parent’s primary responsibility is simply to offer support. As a parent, you know that your encouragement can mean the world to your child. However, it isn’t always easy to be a fencing parent—watching your child lose a bout can be heartbreaking, and a fencer’s training schedule and competitions can certainly take an emotional (and physical) toll on the whole family.

Fencing Collage of Andrew Lorenz Fencing – Fencing at Y10 Men’s Foil Bay Cup Tournament in August 31 2014
By Andrew Lorenz
As we approach Autumn, I’ve done some reflecting on my son’s first two seasons of fencing. It had been a long-time goal of mine to involve Ethan in fencing, a sport I grew to love in college.
Ethan started in the Beginner’s class in January, moved to Intermediate in late February, competed a few times, began weekly private foil lessons with Natasha, and competed a few more times. We missed Nationals due to the birth of our second son, Henry, but the break offered Ethan the chance to bond with his future training partner.

Bartosz Kuligowski took Gold and William Elloway took Bronze at SoCal RYC in Y10 Men’s Epee Fencing Tournament in Pasadena – September 2014
Congratulations to Bartosz Kuligowski for taking Gold and to William Elloway for taking Bronze in the Southern California RYC in Pasadena, CA in Men’s Y10 Epee! Both boys showed great fencing and a great friendship cheering for and helping each other.
This is the second tournament in a row that Bartosz has taken Gold. His excellent performance two weeks ago at the national-level SYC tournament in Dallas, Texas in both the Y10 and Y12 categories raised him in the national ranks for Y10 Men’s Epee, and currently he is rated #3 in the U.S.! Well done, Bartosz!