Very interesting discussion and links to an NYTimes article about scholarships. At a quick glance, it seems that fencing gives a very good chance on average among other sports.
It takes about three years of good practice and competitive experience to start getting results that would get one noticed by an NCAA coach.
The main point of the article in the link and the discussion is this:
Relative to other sports, if you fence, your chance of landing a partial scholarship is about 16%. The highest by far of all the sports on the list. For example, Football is 2.75% and Basketball is 1.4%.
Thanks for linking my FNet thread. I enjoyed very much visiting your club last year and getting to fence your Epee guys – at least 4 of them (cadet/jr) will be in varsity NCAA.
I think that 3 years is very much on low side to be considered, and only if you are naturally athletic and/or tall.
You’re welcome, I found it surprisingly encouraging!
As to the NCAA expectations, you’re absolutely right, the three years timeframe is the absolute minimum with a schedule of four practices, two private lessons a week and progressive tournaments once a month or so. This the only construct I can speak to, other schedules/commitment levels are too unpredictable.
Natural athleticism and height is nowhere near as important as discipline, intelligence and guts. That’s the beauty of fencing, you do not have to be a natural athlete to do well. We can train the athleticism and adjust for height with technique.
If a teen falls for fencing around the freshman HS year, I have absolute faith there is a good chance they will be noticed, and the parents can expect a return on their investment… If they stick to the described schedule…
If a child starts around seven and takes it easy, it’s very possible the 10+ years of experience can result in an NCAA scholarhip.
If a child starts around seven and sticks to a good training schedule, well, then the world gets a Soren Thompson or someone similar.