Click here for a photo gallery of the Drew Fencing High School Clinic
 
MADISON, N.J. (Nov. 20, 2015) – Members of the Drew University men's and women's fencing teams have been volunteering their time and talent every Thursday this fall to host a high school fencing clinic in the Simon Forum.
 
Head coach Vincent Paragano started the clinic with the idea to give area high school athletes a chance to learn advanced team-oriented training techniques from college coaches and college student-athletes. The program, the largest of its kind in the tri-state area, has 51 high school students from Morristown, Chatham, West Morris Central, Bernards and Kent Place School.
 
The Rangers and their coaching staff volunteer their time to provide over 10 hours of training, split over five two-hour sessions throughout the season. The clinic covers physical training, proper warm-ups, weapon-specific tactics, mental preparation, proper nutrition and group drills.
 
"For many of these high school fencers, it is the first time that anyone has had the time to teach them these things in a group setting – or has made them feel like the true athletes that they are becoming," said Paragano, who is in his second year at the helm of the Drew program. "For our Drew athletes, it helps to reinforce the lessons that we have been teaching them about leadership and responsibility. It is a win-win."
 
The Rangers have embraced the responsibility of becoming role models to these young athletes. The Drew fencers take the high school athletes under their wing and give them insight into the sport, along with the tactics and proper training regimens that go into making a program successful.
 
Paragano and the Rangers hope to open the program up to more of the area high schools in 2016. There are over 55 boys teams and 52 girls teams in the state of New Jersey.
 
The Rangers are back in action this weekend as they travel to Haverford College for a round robin on Saturday, Nov. 21 and the Vassar College Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 22. The women carry a 5-0 record into the weekend, while the men sit at 1-1.