Coach Kyle Di Tieri is one of the few people on campus with fencing experience – 12 years of it in total, three of which were spent fencing competitively. He is currently coaching students the fundamentals of fencing in Choate’s winter-term intramural program.
Coach Di Tieri said that his focus in coaching intramural fencing is to help kids find the love for fencing and gain a safe understanding of the sport. “Intramural fencing is mainly about teaching kids the sport — what it is, how to compete, how to take care of equipment,” he said. He added that the reason fencing is an intramural program at Choate is that he is also an active part of the robotics team; he wants to ensure that the robotics team is in a steady place before shifting his focus to fencing. Regardless, Coach Di Tieri said that he will continue coaching until all the kids are able to fence by themselves.
As of right now, there are 16 kids in the fencing program. With only two coaches, it can be difficult to manage that many students, particularly when so many are new to the sport. Coach Di Tieri stated that the most critical aspect of the program is safety, and if it grows to 20 students, he may need to start limiting numbers.
Coach Di Tieri mentioned that, in the future, if he managed to transform intramural fencing into an interscholastic sport, he would start recruiting students for the program.
But as of right now, Coach Di Tieri is happy with the fencing program being intramural because it allows for a more relaxed coaching style, and this can be helpful for students who have never fenced. However, he has coached interscholastic fencing before. He emphasized that he enjoyed coaching competitive fencing very much because he was able to really push the team and help them learn at a faster pace. Coach Di Tieri also found that he enjoys seeing kids’ love of the sport evolve around competition.
Intramural fencing is an exciting sport that is growing in popularity at Choate. The program is lucky to have Coach Di Tieri at its helm, as his experience and passion for the sport make him a tremendous resource for students looking to develop their fencing skills.
