My daughter just discovered fencing her sophomore year of high school and loves it. What can she do to try and get herself up to speed so she might be able to fence in college? She has joined and fencing club and is willing to attend camps.
In all seriousness, I’d make some time to read through this thread, which is dedicated to college fencing recruiting:
The answer to your question will depend on a number of factors, including what sort of schools your daughter is considering and what level she’d like to fence at and does she hope to be recruited (and thereby get some support wtih admissions)…
Generally speaking, know that she is starting relatively late in the game.
Without knowing answers to my questions above, I’d recommend the following:
- Take private lessons in addition to group classes
- Start competing (if she hasn't already) in USA Fencing-sanctioned competitions locally/regionally (RJCCs and ROCs)
- Start familiarizing herself with the various NCAA programs/coaches
It would be extremely difficult to fence at a Division 1 fencing team if your daughter started mid sophomore year, unless she is a naturally gifted athlete and is able to excel to an elite fencer in the next two 1/2 years. Many Div 3 fencing teams may allow much less experienced fencers to join their team. However, she may not be ready enough next year to be recruited by any particular school.
Some schools have club level fencing teams which may be a nice way too continue the sport in college. As noted above it is unlikely that she will become a recruited athlete with such little experience in the sport.
Forgot to mention…if your daughter is truly interested in fencing in college, it would not be a bad idea to have a talk with the club coach ASAP. S/he may have relationships or at least open lines of communication with college coaches, and be able to help you put together a plan of how to maximize the time she has left in her high school career.
Be aware, that as with most things pursued at a high level, it could get costly…
There are some D3 schools where almost any back ground in fencing would put your daughter in a position to walk on to the team.
Are there any particular things your daughter is looking for, other than fencing? Small school, big school, east coast, mid-west, public, private, etc. Does she need fencing to help her get in the door, or are her scores/gpa what will get her into a school?
Between all of the varsity fencing schools and the schools with active clubs, there are plenty of opportunities to fence collegiately, and there’s likely at least one that should fit.
Best of luck,
–S.F.
Thanks for reply. She is only a sophmore, but thinks she would like an LAC. Her GPA is good, not sure what her scores will be yet. As she is just starting, I don’t know that she will be up to speed to be recruited, but she would love to be able to fence on a team or a more serious club.
Being a sophomore who just started fencing may make it difficult to be recruited (in the sense that the coach can offer assistance in getting into that college/university). But there are plenty of LACs where a coach would be eager to have a fencer, who is able to get into the school on her own merits, walk on to the team.
Take a look at the “List of NCAA fencing schools” on wikipedia and see what schools among those your daughter might be interested in and which schools she has a realistic shot of getting into. Once you have that list, you might have her email the fencing coaches inquiring about an opportunity to walk on.
If you have questions about specific schools, feel free to ask the thread @SevenDad mentioned above. Lots of helpful parents will be happy to tell you what they know about many of the fencing schools.
If she wants to continue to fence when you start to look at specific colleges this would be a good thing for your D to research (can look online to see if there is varsity or club fencing at each school) and ask about during a visit.
Brown used to run a very good summer camp - not sure if the new coach has continued it.
A few colleges with fencing teams offer camps in the summer…off the top of my head, Princeton, PSU, Columbia…
With Alex Ripa now leading Brown, I don’t know if he’d offer a camp via the University when he has his own club, RIFAC, nearby.
My kid wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to fence in college — and when she looked into fencing at the schools she was interested in, many didn’t really have teams or active clubs.