So here we are. The almost unthinkable has happened, something that none of us have ever experienced before and we have to go on from here and get through it. As a professional coach, I have always taken care to have my eggs in lots of baskets - income from both school/leisure centre gigs and from clubs, different venues every night of the week, different groups and approaches. When one thing faltered, there was always something else to back it up. I never imagined losing all the baskets at once!
Fortunately, and the thing that has kept me going over the last few weeks, is that we have an incredibly cohesive and supportive group of people in the club and I have always had the sense that we could battle through this together. With circumstances changing by the day, sometimes by the hour, it has been very difficult to plan or see a way ahead but giving up has never for a moment seemed to be an option.
We are all, in the fencing world, now in uncharted territory. Clubs and coaches on all sides are rushing out with material and videos to keep people going but my feeling is that there is going to be a lot more to this than sticking a few things online. The most important thing at this moment is to get used to a new way of doing things. Our fencers will need to learn to do on their own what they are used to doing with a tremendous amount of supervision, support and company. They will need to learn to interact with fencing in a whole new way.
The upside, if we can get this right, is that when this is over - and it will be over eventually - the fencers that survive will have made tremendous progress compared to their peers. For our competitive fencers, this can be a great opportunity to get ahead and hit the piste running when fencing life resumes. Philip and I won't get all this right - it has never been done before, and we are feeling our way through the darkness - but I am confident that if we have the input and enthusiasm from our fencers and their families, the results will be outstanding.
It will be a long road and there is no sign yet of any light at the end of the tunnel. But we have plenty of torches for the journey and as long as we keep our spirits up it won't be long!
Fortunately, and the thing that has kept me going over the last few weeks, is that we have an incredibly cohesive and supportive group of people in the club and I have always had the sense that we could battle through this together. With circumstances changing by the day, sometimes by the hour, it has been very difficult to plan or see a way ahead but giving up has never for a moment seemed to be an option.
We are all, in the fencing world, now in uncharted territory. Clubs and coaches on all sides are rushing out with material and videos to keep people going but my feeling is that there is going to be a lot more to this than sticking a few things online. The most important thing at this moment is to get used to a new way of doing things. Our fencers will need to learn to do on their own what they are used to doing with a tremendous amount of supervision, support and company. They will need to learn to interact with fencing in a whole new way.
The upside, if we can get this right, is that when this is over - and it will be over eventually - the fencers that survive will have made tremendous progress compared to their peers. For our competitive fencers, this can be a great opportunity to get ahead and hit the piste running when fencing life resumes. Philip and I won't get all this right - it has never been done before, and we are feeling our way through the darkness - but I am confident that if we have the input and enthusiasm from our fencers and their families, the results will be outstanding.
It will be a long road and there is no sign yet of any light at the end of the tunnel. But we have plenty of torches for the journey and as long as we keep our spirits up it won't be long!
RSS Feed