Today we’d like to introduce you to Annemarie LeDonne.
Hi Annemarie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My mother had my brother take a fencing class coached by a former college classmate. She remembered him when he was on the college fencing team, and the newspaper would cover their matches. I also did a year or two in middle school but stopped because I needed to improve. I didn’t practice! Once I got into high school, my brother, a senior at the time, bribed me with new equipment if I joined the team. Who would pass that up? In addition to practicing every day after school in the winter season, I would go to my fencing club, Salle Santelli in Englewood, NJ, to get additional lessons and practice even more, coming home around 10 or 11 pm. I finished my first year by winning the Freshman-Sophomore, undefeated in Freshman Girls Epee. In sophomore year, I was starting and made 2nd team all-state in addition to the team events we won. I competed at the Junior Olympics and earned 11th in Cadet and top 32 in Junior. These results earned me a national ranking in both categories. I also was on the volleyball team in my sophomore and junior year in the fall when I wasn’t fencing.
The biggest blow was during my junior year; I broke my ankle while warming up for a match. I rushed to the hospital, and it was determined that I had broken two bones and ligaments and dislocated my ankle. I needed surgery to repair my ankle. They put a plate with screws and one pin through my ankle so it wouldn’t move. Even though I could not practice, I cheered on the sidelines. This did not stop when fencing season started. I was a newly elected captain and attended all practices and meets. The only meeting I missed was because I was recovering from my last surgery to remove the pin. After that, I had to learn to walk again, let alone start fencing. I went to physical therapy and gradually regained my strength, started walking without crutches, and eventually joined the practices, but no matches yet. My first time fencing, I won both of my bouts. This was my only practice before districts I would compete in as the A strip. (A strip is where your best fencer is placed—a strip only fences other A strips in competitions. Then there is the B strip and C strip) My team won districts, and I was the Individual Epee Champion for our district. A month later was the state championship, where our team won the title. Individuals happened another day, and with my brother John as my coach, I won the Individual State Epee Title. After only walking for a few months, I was the State Champion. I would not have done this without my mother, who was an assistant coach for the team at the time. Without my mother, sister, and brother, I would not have won a single title, let alone one bout.
I did fencing for another year at Rutgers University and did well in competitions and meets. In my first year, I had a winning record with only 8 defeats in dual meets. At one meeting, our team had notable wins over St. John’s, Columbia, and Princeton. I then took time off to continue school, work, and personal life choices. I joined The Edge of America Fencing Club when I moved to Charleston, SC, to live near my sister and her family. This was to practice and hopefully start competing. The coach role was still calling me, so I asked to join the coaching staff, which they happily granted. From my time coming on as a coach, our membership has grown exponentially. From less than 10 students at one location to two locations with upwards of 70 students. I have started an after-school program at The Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, a prestigious private school, and looking to expand to other schools. In the fall of 2018, the Pan American Fencing Federation hosted a coaches clinic in El Salvador. If one wanted to attend, one had to apply to their country’s fencing organization. So I applied and was chosen to represent the USA in El Salvador. It was a two-week clinic, all expenses paid, to better coach Epee. It was taught by the former National Coach of Costa Rica and Canada, and the translator (for Spanish-speaking coaches) was a former Olympian from Venezuela. During the downtime, I was asked to practice with the Salvadoran National Team, and it was an incredible experience. I still maintain my friendships with the coaches today.
Now, I coach around 40 students at one of our locations, which continues to grow. I have students that compete regionally and nationally, with one of them placing 3rd in a regional event held in Myrtle Beach winter of 2021. I have another fencer that has earned a ranking! I am also currently mentoring a former student to be a coach for increasing interest in the sport here.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a challenging road! I am a type 1 diabetic, and managing that was challenging. Add on competition as a fencer and coach, which is quite the obstacle. If you have high blood sugar, you cannot perform; if you have low blood sugar, you cannot. I was lucky to have a doctor as one of my fencing coaches so that he could monitor me during competitions. Another huge obstacle has cost. Getting your gear, paying for fencing club memberships, traveling to competitions, and paying for them took a lot of work, to the point I did not go to as many competitions as I would have liked. My father passed away at 10, so my mother was raising three children alone, two of which were fencers! She worked competitions so we could get free registration and eventually got good enough that clubs would let us practice for free. Once I went to college, a lot of the expenses were taken care of, but I needed more for me to be able to continue. As a coach now, we don’t want cost to deter others from doing it. While we need money to support the club and other expenses, we do our best to ensure everyone can participate.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently, I work for a local builder as an office manager, which allows me free time at night and on weekends to pursue my career as a coach. Before that, I worked in retail in various leadership positions. I am known for and proud of how well I can develop as a person. Whatever they want to be or do, I can help them get there. It could be the workforce or fencing. In one retail job, I was there for about a year and a half and had 15 people promoted.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If anyone wants to come to work with me, send them my way! I am developing a new coach and would love to teach more so I can do more and grow! If you are good with children of all ages and have patience, I can teach you how to coach beginner fencers. I also have opportunities to promote the club so any expertise would be welcomed! I currently have a parent that helps and would love more help in that area. The last would support monetarily for others. Become a sponsor to fencers.
Pricing:
- $150 to take my Beginners’ Course (James Island)
- $90/month for class and open fencing (James Island location)
- $100/month for class and open fencing (North Charleston location)
- Private lessons $25/1-30 minute or $100/5-30 minute lessons (James Island location)
- 20% discount on equipment if you would like to purchase your own
Contact Info:
- Website: https://edgeofamericafencing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eoafencing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fencingcharleston/
