Printer Friendly Version - Fisler Fit Perfectly as Tigers' New Fencing Coach

After experience in fencing as both an athlete and coach, Rich Fisler begins his tenure as the Tigers' fencing coach and is welcomed in by an enthusiastic team that grew from 30 members a year ago to 56.

Based on his experience and the team's enthusiasm for the sport, Rich Fisler is the perfect match for Hand fencing as its next coach.

Rich grew up in New Jersey, where he fenced for Stevens Institute of Technology and later coached the school's JV squad. After teaching at Staples, Rich began his tenure at Hand this year as both a chemistry teacher and the Tigers' new fencing coach-taking over a squad that grew from 30 participants last winter to a whopping 56 for his first campaign.

"I heard the kids here say how great and big the program was so while I was interviewing for a job as chemistry teacher last May, I also saw the opening for fencing coach and interviewed with [Athletic Director] Craig Semple," says Rich, a Madison resident since 2000. "But this team has an amazing group of varsity seniors that are passionate about the sport and passing it on. There are 56 kids and one coach so I can rely on those seniors to help move things along in practice. I was very impressed with the dedicated kids we have on this team."

"It's nice to be both a teacher and a coach in the same school," Rich says. "I see kids that I have both in class and for fencing all the time. I also liked the continuity, too. You aren't running back and forth between one job and the next and you are right at the school."

Semple agrees that when you have the teacher-coach combination, it's always a big hit on campus.

"He has a vast fencing background and, any time you can have that teacher with a connection to the students as a coach, it's a home run," says Semple. "He's a well-liked teacher with great command of his classroom, which will translate well to the playing field. He is organized, enthusiastic, and brings a lot of expertise. I feel he will turn this program into a championship-caliber one."

"My goal is to make sure all of them have the opportunity to compete and get better. That's big for me," says Rich. "We have a lot of meets and opportunities to compete and I try to understand where each kid is with respect to their fencing skills and push them to get better."

"It's great to see people grow. We had a JV tournament and students were applying suggestions I gave them and getting better," Rich says. "They are open to taking the advice and turning it into success. It's also great being around the kids as they have a lot of energy and enthusiasm."

Rich says he came a little unprepared for his first team meeting, but for a good reason.

"We had an open house in November in the library and about 20 or so more kids showed up than I expected so I didn't have enough copies of paperwork to hand out, yet it was fantastic," says Rich. "At first, I was nervous because we don't have an 8th grader feeder program for the sport, but I was so charged up after that meeting because of how many showed up. It showed me that there's a buzz from the upperclassmen in the athletics program. It's a great testament to the people that have been on this team for four years."

Rich feels that fencing is a unique sports because it requires an equal mix of brains and brawn.

"There is a physical aspect. You need quickness in feet and hands, but it's also mental in determining how your opponent will attack and then reacting to that," Rich says. "It's like a chess match. Early on, a kid can be down 3-0 before coming back to win 5-3. It's understanding each opponent and applying what you know."

"In the long term, I want this team to get to three weapons. We only have foil right now, but I would like to introduce épée this year," says Rich. "For now, it's about getting my feet wet and others ready for states. We have seniors with a potential to place well."