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05/07/2020 12:00 AMIzzy Schanz continually improved while developing her technique through the course of her four seasons with the North Branford fencing program. More important than any wins or losses, though, Izzy found her voice and became a confident leader in her senior season with the T-Birds.
Izzy won 62 percent of her matches and finished seventh at the JV State Tournament as a senior this year. She went on to compete on the varsity strip at Individual State Championships for the first time in her career, finishing in 57th place for the foil tournament.
“My senior year was probably my best year fencing. Senior year, I really decided to change my attitude,” Izzy says. “A positive attitude can really affect you while fencing, and I really learned that my senior season. I looked inside myself to just relax and know that everything is going to be OK and I’m going to be fine.”
Izzy first stepped on the strip in 8th grade by taking lessons with Marc Ganych at the MG Fencing Club in Canton. Izzy fell in love with fencing as soon as she started and knew that she wanted to join the team at North Branford in her freshman year.
“I really loved how active it was,” says Izzy. “It’s not a very common sport you hear about much. I liked that it was different from any sport any school has.”
Izzy quickly realized that she wanted to continue fencing throughout her time at the high school. However, despite her eagerness, Izzy admits she was a bit timid when she joined the team. As she worked her way up the ranks, Izzy found that fencing helped her grow just as much as a person as it did as an athlete.
“I noticed that when I had a bad day at school, I would honestly just look forward to fencing,” Izzy says. “I would just wait until it just started. Fencing helped me let off steam. It made me happy.”
When Izzy started fencing as a freshman, she was doing so while working with first-year Head Coach Jacob Sweet, who says that he was a “novice coach as much as she was a novice fencer.” After watching Izzy start off as a shy freshman, Coach Sweet saw her figure out her style as her career unfolded. By the time she was a senior, Izzy had carved out her niche with North Branford and was no longer timid on the strip.
“It would have been really easy for Izzy to say at the end of her freshman year, ‘This is who I am, this is what I can do, and I’m OK with that.’ But she never gave up on developing her skills,” says Sweet. “I remember at the end of every season, we would have conversations, and she would say things like, ‘At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t do that, and now I can. I wonder what I’m going to do next year.’ That’s what coaches want to hear. We want athletes to challenge themselves year in and year out. That’s what Izzy did.”
As Izzy gained more confidence, she started to refine her fencing technique. In freshman season, Izzy would focus solely on whether she won or lost. By senior year, she was more concerned about how well she fenced. After speaking with other members of the team, Izzy realized that fencing was more about her effort than her record.
With that change in attitude, Izzy knew that her senior season was going to be “my year.” Izzy wound up winning 29 of her 47 bouts, while recording 208 touches on the campaign. Her total number of matches and 62-percent win percentage were both second among the Thunderbirds. Izzy’s relaxed mindset proved crucial in her senior success. Instead of worrying about what she was doing wrong, Izzy was focused on how she could fix it.
Izzy’s achievements as a senior were even more impressive considering that she was battling an injury. Izzy developed tendinitis in her right wrist during her junior year. Rather than let the injury get the best of her, Izzy battled back and did everything she could to keep competing.
“I didn’t want to stop fencing, because I love fencing. Every day I would go to the athletic trainer and get it wrapped and, when I got home, put ice on it or take medicine to make it feel better,” Izzy says. “I wouldn’t want to stop. I don’t want to let an injury stop me from fencing. I love it so much. I wouldn’t want an injury to stop it.”
Izzy is going to major in psychology at UConn after she graduates from North Branford. She’s hoping to meet other people who love fencing just as much as her and potentially start up a program at the school. As she reflects upon her time with the T-Birds, Izzy appreciates everything that she’s learned while representing her hometown high school.
“I love fencing, because it really makes you realize a lot about yourself,” says Izzy. “When you fence, you have to really go inside your mind and figure out what the other person is doing and respond to that. You have to learn that you have to take what you know, take what you learned, and apply it. It’s not just quick judgments. You have to really think about things. You can apply that to anything in your whole entire life.”