Coaches and Staff
All SITS coaches and staff members are volunteers, willing to provide their time, energy, and expertise to promote the vision Drew and the other coaches have for a fencing club and believe to be active members of a community promoting health and wellness and making this opportunity available to everyone.
One of the things that sets SITS apart from other clubs was our approach to coaching. The founding members all had education backgrounds so their approach to running a club and instruction was different from other coaching perspectives. They saw the club as much as a classroom as a fencing salle. As teachers they also had a heart for the community and wanted to blend their love of fencing with their understanding of pedagogy and student engagement. Our unique methods of instruction were designed to develop the strong athletic and community culture we enjoy today!
SITS History
Our club originally began as a historical combat group. Western Swordsmanship Technique and Research (or WSTR, LLC) was founded in 2004 by Drew Page and Ken Johnson to research and teach German longsword and other historical combat techniques. During the first year, Coach Steve Martin, a former fencing coach at UConn, joined the club and began talking about the modern sport of fencing. He eventually agreed to teach modern fencing to some of the longsword students. Drew and Steve decided to focus instruction on epee for several reasons, but mainly because it was so similar to other techniques that club members had studied in historical longsword.
Our first fencing class took place in a church in Coventry in January, 2006. Saber and right of way instruction then began a year later when Jonathan Ferris, another former UConn fencing coach and NCAA fencer joined the club. When we out grew that space, we moved to our current location in Willimantic. The historical fencing program was split off in 2011 and became its own non-profit organization. Our historical colleagues still train at our facility on Wednesday evenings.
Today, SITS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We have over 60 active members and have taught fencing to over 500 individuals. We have coached many Allstate athletes and a two-time state high school champion, 17 Junior Olympians, and 2 USFA Summer National bronze medalist, including former coach and Executive Director Drew Page.
Community Involvement
SITS is regularly involved in community events. Some of these include:
- The annual Willimantic Boom Box Parade
- Regular participant in the Connecticut Renaissance Faire
- Strong connections with local schools. Several SITS fencers and coaches have run clubs in local schools including Coventry High School, E.O. Smith High School, and Oak Grove Montessori School.
- UConn head fencing coach. Many of the SITS coaches have also been the head coach at the University of Connecticut.
You learn more from losing than winning.
— Morgan Bayard Wootten
SITS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.