As the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School fencing team’s season came to a close, its members had more to reflect on than just the state tournament.
The Falcons started the season not expecting to make the state tournament. After six months of grueling practices and bouts on the strip – the area where fencing matches happen – they proved to themselves and the fencing community that they belonged, even though the team didn’t lift the gold at the state championship tournament.
CRLS had home strip advantage, hosting the tournament at the War Memorial Recreation Center. The men’s team placed fifth, while the women’s team placed sixth. (The co-ed Falcons split into men’s and women’s teams for the tournament.)
Finn Graham, who has been foil captain for three years, said he was impressed with the team’s progress. “I saw so much growth from past years in our team, community, and culture, and that was really nice to see,” Graham said. “It feels like I’ve helped to contribute to that.”
Gareth Flandro, a junior and captain of the épée team, said “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at fencing. I’ve improved and started to not just learn the techniques, but really start to apply them. It’s fulfilling in that way for me.”
Fencing may seem like an individual sport, but it is more than that. The CRLS team is co-ed, with teams in all three blades. The team is composed of freshmen through seniors, and they all work together for a common goal, to have fun and get better.
“I really like that it gives us an opportunity to be so close, because no one’s there to prove themselves,” Flandro said. “It’s just to improve, enjoy the sport and eventually compete and work our way towards that.”
For many, the collaboration and camaraderie are what has gotten the team to where it is.
“When you’re just watching it, it can look like a more individual sport, but we really work hard together as a team,” Graham said. “It’s something that’s really great about the sport and about this team specifically, is the amount of collaboration that there is.”
Fencing may not be a traditional high school sport, but to some of the players on the team, that’s what makes it unique. Some students may compete to get out of a physical education class, but for others it is the sport that they have found themselves in.
Gregory Berger, the team’s head coach, has adopted a mantra for the team.
“Fencing attracts the geeks,” Berger said. “Me and my coaching staff say, ‘We make athletes out of geeks,’ and the kids grow with it, and they like it.”
The mantra has seemed to work out for the team, with the players excelling on and off the strip.
“One of the things that I’m most proud of outside of fencing is that the combined grade point average is over 90 percent,” Berger said. “I am probably the luckiest coach of all – I don’t have to bench anyone for bad grades.”
For some, the skills learned in fencing translate to both the classroom and into everyday life.
“I have definitely come really far in learning how to best support people and how to direct people in a kind, but effective way,” Graham said. “I definitely will be using those leadership skills beyond this, and being on the team and being captain really helped me a lot.”
Aside from the outcome on the strip, Berger and the program want the kids to have fun and enjoy competing. With the fencing season spanning through the bleak fall and winter months, it provides a great opportunity for kids to stay active.
“If the kids can join and enjoy it, I think that is the only thing I can ask for,” Berger said. “Placing on top is important, but participating is also very important.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
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