WW-P North, WW-P South add fencing

First-year programs set for varsity debut

By: Bob Nuse
   On Monday, both West Windsor-Plainsboro High North and WW-P South will begin fencing practice as high school teams for the first time.
   Those involved with the programs at each school can’t wait to get started.
   "The people are just so enthusiastic," said Gail Kedoin, the coach at WW-P North who was also the coach of the combined club team last year. "If enthusiasm has anything to do with drive and determination, we should do quite well. We have a great place to practice and the kids are ready to get going. I’m so excited and the kids are ecstatic. I see them in the halls and they are all anxious to start."
   Last year, more than 50 students participated in a combined club program between the two high schools. There was sufficient interest that this year, fencing was added as a varsity sport at each high school. Both North and South will field boys’ and girls’ teams. Practice begins Monday and each school has its first match in early January.
   Kedoin will be the coach of the team at North, while Ivanka Lucchetti will be the coach at South.
   "I had lived in New York and San Francisco and then came back here to New Jersey for about three years," Kedoin said. "About this time last year I read in the paper that they were having a meeting for people who were interested in joining a fencing club they were hoping to start at the high schools, combining North and South. I went to see what it was all about.
   "I was the only one who showed up without a child. I was a fencer and I wanted to find out what was going on. I had fenced in high school and college and I was in the Pan Am games. Fencing did a lot for me and I wanted to be able to give something back to the sport."
   Lucchetti also is now able to continue to give back to a sport that has helped her. She relocated to New Jersey a year ago when her husband, Marcos, was added to the coaching staff at Princeton University. Together, they run the Lucchetti Fencing Academy.
   "I was actually approached by one of the parents whose child was training with our private club," Lucchetti said. "They were training with us over the summer and they suggested that I might be someone who would be able to meet their needs.
   "I have not been fencing competitively, but I have been coaching for the last 10 years. We had a club in California, but then we relocated to New Jersey when my husband got a position at Princeton University. I followed him here and we opened up the Lucchetti Fencing Academy in Princeton."
   Both coaches are enthusiastic about what lies ahead for the programs at their respective schools. If the pre-season interest is any indication, both schools will field full squads this year.
   "We were at South with the club team last year and we had about 50 kids between the two high schools," said Kedoin, who fenced at the University of Pennsylvania. "We practiced for three days a week for the full season and the kids made so much progress. At the end of the season, we went to a tournament for fencers from high schools that did not have official school programs.
   "The top two in each weapon would qualify to go to the state tournament with the fencers from the schools with high school teams. We had two fencers who came in third and one who came in fourth. Out of the 50 we had last year, only about five had ever fenced before. So that was a big accomplishment. I felt like we made real progress with the kids."
   This year, the two coaches hope to build off that enthusiasm and success.
   "I think we will have about the same numbers as North," Lucchetti said. "I’m the lone coach, so I will be holding down the fort. I will rely a lot on my team captains and squad leaders to help so that I can concentrate on some of the things that need attention.
   "First you want to make sure there is enough interest and you have kids that want to do it, which I think we have here. The first year we are going to emphasize building and getting ready for the years to come. The kids are quite excited. Some of them I see at the club and they keep asking when we’re going to get started."
   Added Kedoin: "I think there is a good strong calling for the sport. It’s a high school team this year and there is a lot of interest. We have a girls’ and boys’ team at each school, North and South."
   And this year they’ll compete against a full schedule, with matches against programs from around the state that have been established for a few years. Last year, most of the competition was limited to facing each other in practice.
   "It was basically just a club and at the end of the season we had an intra-squad competition," Kedoin said. "We split up into four different teams and all the parents came out. It was a wonderful event and all of the kids fenced each other. I went out and bought ribbons so everyone got something. I got some feedback about it later that really made me glad I did it."
   And now she and Lucchetti each get a chance to guide a program through its first year as a school sport. And they — along with everyone else — can’t wait to get started.