Coaching>DFC Instructors

DFC Coaches:


Head Coach/Owner: Nathan Anderson

Biography:

Nathan Anderson has over sixteen years of experience fencing. In his two-year high school career, he fenced both foil and epée. He had many remarkable results in fencing: 1st Colorado State Open (foil), 2nd Junior North American Circuit Event in Kansas City (epée), 13th Junior North American Circuit in Stanford University.

He was recruited to fence at the University of Pennsylvania where in his freshmen year he fenced in the NCAA finals in Men’s Epée, where his team won a silver medal. In his sophomore year, Nathan fenced foil and Penn secured the Team Bronze Medal at the NCAA Championships. Also in his sophomore year, he won the Mid-Atlantic Sectional in foil and earned an ‘A’ rating. During his Junior year, he studied abroad in Belgium and finished 6th in a competition in the Netherlands. In his senior year, he was Team Captain, an All-American, first team All Ivy League selection in foil.

Nathan Anderson continued to fence after college and recently chose to take up sabre. In his first year of sabre fencing, he was ranked third overall in the State and had earned a ‘C’ rating. In 2005, Nathan won the Rocky Mountain Sectional Championship in Men's Sabre and was the runner-up in Men's Foil to the 2006 National Champion Andras Horanyi. Though coaching leave little time to fence in many competitions, Nathan maintains a ‘B‘ rating in foil, ‘C‘ rating in Epee, and a ‘C‘ rating in Sabre.

Head Coach Nathan Anderson Accomplishments

Since re-opening the Denver Fencing Center on January 3, 2004, Nathan's students have won a number of tournaments: Colorado Cups, Colorado Youth Cups, Colorado Unrateds, Colorado D & Under, Bill Goering Memorial, Nick Toth, and the Falcon Open. His fencers' have won tournaments in all three weapons: foil, epee, and saber. During the 2005-2006 season, Denver Fencing Center fencers represented eight out of the fifteen (53%) Colorado Cup winners. In his three years of coaching, Nathan has created over 33 new rated fencers representing all three weapons.

He has also put seven fencers on the US Fencing National Points list in Youth 10 Boys Foil, Youth 10 Boys Epee, Youth 12 Men's Epee, Youth 12 Women's Foil, Youth 14 Men's Epee, Under 17 Men's Epee and Women's Veteran's Saber.

In 2007, he got his North American Cup winner, Joseph Longuevan, won the Y10 Boys Epee event and his first National Champion when Mary Wilkerson won Veteran's Women Saber (40-49) title and received a special Coaches' medal for his success. Joseph Longuevan also finished the season as the Points Champion for the Y10 Boys' Epee Division.

Nathan is also a lifetime member of the US Fencing Association and the US Fencing Coaches' Association.

Coach: Ryan Retherford

Ryan Retherford came to Denver Fencing Center soon after it opened. He excelled as a fencer, but had a rapport with the youth fencers. He soon became a coach at Denver Fencing Center. Ryan has attended three seperate weeks of US Fencing Coaches' College. He is a graduate of the Foil I, Saber I, and Saber II programs. He has further trained with Maestro Arkady Burdan, who trained Sada Jacobson (2006 Olympic Women's Saber Bronze Medallist). He has also further honed his saber techniques and teaching with Maestro Ed Korfanty, who trained Mariel Zagunis (2006 Olympic Gold Medallist in Women's Saber). Ryan coaches four days a week at Denver Fencing Center and continues to fence competitively. He is a 'D' rated fencer in both Foil and Saber.


Coach: Russell Gibson

Russell Gibson started fencing in at DFC in 2004. He fell in love with the sport, even telling his wife, "I'm going to do this for the rest of my life," after taking his first class. He came to class as two and three times a week and read any material he could find on fencing technique and tactics. Early the next year, he competed in his first unrated tournament and finished in 3rd place.� That same year Russell also finished in 10th place in the Colorado Division National's Qualifier and was qualified for Division III Summer National Tournament in Sacramento, CA. Next year, Russell was the 2005-2006 Colorado Cup Foil Champion.

At the beginning of the next fencing season, Russell realized he wanted to coach fencing in addition to competing. He attended the United States Fencing Association's Coaches College held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and completed the Level I foil course. Since then he has been teaching youth and adult beginner fencing classes both at DFC and a new facility in Golden nicknamed DFC West. Russell looks forward to improving his own abilities as a competitor and coach and hopes to one day become a full time fencing coach


Coach: Haley V. Ward

Haley began fencing at the age of twelve; she has been fencing at the Denver Fencing Center for the past three years. At the age of thirteen, Haley qualified and participated in her first fencing Junior Olympics. In 2005, at the age of fourteen, Haley became Denver Fencing Center’s first youth fencer to earn a rating; she earned her E rating when she won the Air Force Academy’s Nick Toth fencing tournament. Later that same year Haley won the Colorado Cup for Women’s Foil, and finished a strong second in the under nineteen mixed foil. Recently, Haley placed 3rd at a mixed Colorado Cup and earned 'D' rating in Foil.

In addition to Haley’s strong competitive results, she has also strived to develop herself as a coach and referee. In the summers of 2005 and 2006 she apprenticed herself to Denver Fencing Center’s Head Coach Nathan Anderson and gained a strong foundation in coaching basics. She continued to hone her coaching skills as a volunteer assistant for Denver Fencing Center’s Musketeer class, where she assisted teaching youth fencers ages 5-8 years old. Encouraged by these positive coaching experiences, Haley attended the United States Fencing Association (USFA) Coaches College. At age fifteen, Haley has distinguished herself as an up and coming fencing coach. She is the youngest USFA certified coach in the nation; she is a level one coach in foil, epee, and wheelchair foil and epee. Currently, Haley is the assistant to Head Coach Nathan Anderson for youth foil classes and is working with Coach Anderson to establish Colorado’s first wheelchair fencing program. Haley holds a level 6 referee rating in both foil and epee.


Coach: Paul Von Renztell
Paul Von Rentzell is a professional science and drama educator with a masters degree in Education, and has been on the staff at Denver Lutheran High School for over 20 years. Von as he is called by friends and students is a gradute of US Fencing Coaches College in Foil and Epee (Level 1) and has coached summer camps for the last two years at DFC. In addition, he has trained at The Denver Centers Rumble in the Rockies, in unarmed and armed combat, and is one of the few High School Theater directors to use live full steel theatrical weapons on stage in such productions and Brigadoon, West Side Story and many other shows. Von reguarly competes in foil and epee competitions, and looks forward to this years' kids camps..


Coach: Maggie Barrett
Maggie, who fences epee and foil, has been fencing since summer 2004. She has competed nationally since her first tournament in 2005. In August 2006, she was the youngest coach to graduate the US Fencing Coaches' College for five whole minutes, until her good friend Haley Ward also graduated. Maggie will graduate from high school in 2009 and hopes to continue fencing for as long as possible.


Coach: Jim Cross Jim started fencing in 1992 at Iowa State University where he was coached by Al Anderson in foil. In 1995, he switched to epee. When he moved to Denver, he started fencing with Denver Fencing Center and took lessons with Bob Block. He worked with Bob Block from 1997-2001. Over that time, he has become one of the best epee fencer at DFC. In 2007, he placed 2nd at the Rocky Mountain Sectional Championship and at Bill Goering Memorial, he was the runner-up to Isaac Erbele, the Bronze Medalist 2007 Summer National Championship (Division I).

In 2005, Nathan recruited Jim Cross to teach the Youth Epee class on Wednesday evening. He has been coaching ever since.



Fencing Master: Henri Darricau

Henri has been teaching, coaching, and living in Denver since 1979. He grew up fencing and his fencing career had some remarkable achievements. He has fenced foil in the U-20 World Championship, was the youngest fencer at World Miltary Championships, and in 1978 fenced in World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. His team took first place in foil at the French National Championships

He got his Brevat D'Etat, Optiones Escrime (Fencing Master Degree) from the Institute National de Sports Education Physique (I.N.S.E.P.) in Paris France. His degree is recognized by the United States Fencing Coaches' Association.

In 1984, he qualified and fenced the Individual and Team Foil events at 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. After fencing in the Olympics, Henri took the referee exam and became a 'B' level International Rated referee. From 1983-1992, he served as the Head Coach of the University of Colorado Fencing Club. Henri still continues to fence all three weapons at DFC and finds ways to challenge fencers to bring their game to the next level. Henri gives private lessons on Thursdays nights at the Denver Fencing Center in all three weapons.