I’m currently an 8th grade (male) and I’m wondering it it’s possible for me to start doing fencing and be recruited to a division one school. I currently score top 1 percentile on all state tests and i’m not sure if I’m starting too late and I won’t be able to progress to the necessary level by senior year high school. Can anyone help and tell me around what age I have to start to be recruited into a top school in fencing and if I can to if I start fencing now?
I’m sure @SevenDad has an opinion
Most of the recruited fencers to Div 1 schools have started at an early age. Some as young as 8 yrs old, a few even younger. However, many have also started in middle school. Although mid way in 8th grade may be a bit late in starting if your goal is a Div 1 school, it certainly is doable. If you haven’t started to fence yet, it will be difficult right now to know if it is something you will become passionate about. Almost all Div 1 athletes are passionate about their sport, which is what drives them to strive to become better and persevere. As with many sports, fencing will require not only a full commitment from you, but your parents will also have to be fully dedicated as well. There will be a lot of traveling to tournaments (regional, national and sometimes international), private and group lessons at the fencing club typically 3 to 5 times a week. Just being a varsity member in your school usually is not enough, and sometimes can be a hindrance in your becoming an elite fencer. Many of the Div 1 fencers have not participated in their high school’s fencing team. In order to be recruited by a Div 1 school, you have to have proven yourself by the end of your junior year, not senior year. If you are able to achieve a high rating and ranking, then getting the attention of the coaches won’t be a problem. The top fencers who are typically the top ten on the national junior ranking list will have already committed to a school in the spring of their junior year.
Bottom line, you have to love what you’re doing. If you become passionate about fencing and strive to become the best, then it’s not too late. Many of my kid’s teammates at a Div 1 Ivy school have started in middle school. They are all tremendously passionate about fencing.
starwars1 covers many of the key points, IMO.
I’m not a big fan of pursuing any activity “to be recruited into a top school”…whether that’s fencing or any other EC. As starwars1 notes, you should really do something because you love it. NOT because you think it’s going to help you with selective college admissions. Generally speaking, you are going lose a lot at the beginning (and maybe even the middle and end!) of your fencing career…you’ll be a beginner taking on kids who have been doing it for years, some at a very high level. And so you have to really love the sport to persevere.
Is it possible? Yeah sure, I guess. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve totally supportive of anyone getting into the sport. But only if you’re doing it for the right reasons. Because what happens if you spend the next three years (as starwars1 notes…to be a recruitable prospect, you’ll have to have some accomplishments in the sport by your junior year of HS, not your senior year) pursuing fencing and you DON’T get recruited? Will you (and your parents) have considered all of that time, energy, and money wasted? I would hate to think so…
FWIW, my daughter started fencing at age 10, trained with the best coaches, and dominated her scholastic league the years she fenced for a high school…and even with all that experience (as well as national rankings/medals) was only a high second-tier prospect for her graduating year.
Start if you think you will enjoy the sport. My kid didn’t start til sophomore year of HS. She became a decent fencer by sr year of HS (her club had a great coach who coached an Olympic team to a medal). She wasn’t recruitable by top fencing schools, but she loved the sport. Do what you like. Don’t worry about college admissions. Get good grades and test scores, and be interested and interesting in your ECs. The rest will follow.