Rising Stars in the East

I recently made the long and arduous journey down to Norwich, the land that polydactyly will never forget. The main aim was to watch NAFs youngest and most promising.

I arrived at NHS, fencing gear prepared if necessary, and was amazed to find Tom Durrant and Alex Vozza doing roughly the same thing- filling in for absent coaches (or as was apparent). Why NAF had no coaches is, however, irrelevant. I was handed the pool sheet of the 'D' group and told to preside over them. Resplendant in my Norwich School leaver's hoodie (since it was NHS' open day I thought I'd promote the competition), I proceeded to open up the fencing. There were pupil I remember, and Alex W was all the way down in 'D' (presumably through non-attendance rather than poor technique), and, as expected, he won the pool (despite my betting he lose the deciding match- that's tuppence I'm not getting back from Vozza...).

More interested was I in what was going on in the middle of the table. The fencers were all roughly the same age and quality, although (mega hint for Dave if he's on the look for a much younger protégé than usual) one of them, whose name I believe was Seb, was fencing with technique. He had clearly learned from his coaches, taken on board what was being asked of him and actually ddoing it, rather than the multitude of nigh-on unrecognisable manoeuvres being employed by some of the others. I will actually coach the next time I am down- this was a mere factfinding mission to prove to myself that standards wouldn't slip if I wasn't there (ah, the modesty...).

I can say with conviction that I was neither aweed nor disgusted at what went on- the D group functions as it always has; it is where you go if:

I- you don't go regularly enough
II- you don't give a damn
III- you are not listening to your coaches
IV- you are new to this whole fencing lark

And as two of these categories are nearly irrevocable, some people will always be in D group. The newbies and rare-attenders, however, can be taught how to come into their own and will, in three or four years' time with the right attention, be at the top of the tree.

I hope that when I return again in the future, some of the names on the October 11th poolsheet will be much higher up the ladder. If not I will have to coach them to the standard they owe themselves.

Rising Stars are in the East, and I will watch them till morning light blinds me.