Head Coach

Page content: Profile of Head Coach : Roles and Responsibilities of Head Coach

Commencing in 2009, the Head Coach of NSW Fencing is Antonio Signorello, who brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Profile of Head Coach

Having been a fencer himself, Antonio made the decision to become a coach and thus dedicate his life to the sport and tradition he loved.  In 1994, Antonio began working as a fencing teacher in Kassel, Germany, under the instruction of French Maestro, Dominique Gauvillé.  In 1995 he returned to Italy and was employed at Mazara, a Sicilian club where he coached many students to win Italian Championships in both foil and sabre.  Alongside his work at Mazara, Antonio was receiving expert practical as well as academic instruction in the technique, history and tradition of fencing at the National Italian Academy of Fencing in Naples.  Antonio spent a total of four years studying at this academy and received his graduation diploma in 2000.  During this period, Antonio spent much of his own money travelling to international competitions and clubs to spend hours studying and conversing with the world’s best coaches.  A strong facet of his personal philosophy is the belief that coaching, as well as the sport of fencing itself, is about communication.

Meanwhile, Antonio’s talent and successes with his own students at Mazara did not go unnoticed by the Italian Federation.  As a result, after the Sydney Olympic Games, he was asked by the Italian Fencing Federation to become a coach of the national team; first working with juniors, but later also with seniors.  During the period between Sydney and Athens Olympic Games, many of his students won medals in the European and World Junior Championships.  Likewise, he contributed to many of the Italian team victories around the world during this period.  In 2004, Antonio was selected as a Sabre Coach to the Athens Olympic Games where Italy won gold in the individual men’s sabre and silver in the team men’s event.  Antonio continued working with the Italian Olympic team until his departure for Australia, though he was unable to attend the Beijing Games due to the birth of his first child.  Prior to his arrival in Australia, in January 2009, he had spent the last few years personally working with, among others:  Giovanna Trillini (5 times Olympic medalist in women’s foil), Gigi Tarantino (currently ranked 3rd in the world in men’s sabre) and the Italian Women’s Sabre Team.  Antonio has been living and breathing fencing at an International level for over 15 years.  The NSWFA feels incredibly lucky to have the expertise of this man at the disposal of both our athletes and our coaches.

A full list of Antonio’s student’s achievements is available at www.atafencing.com/about/resume.php

Roles and Responsibilities of Head Coach

The Executive of the NSWFA has assigned and delegated the following roles and responsibilities to its Head Coach:

1. Generally, to advise and assist NSWFA to develop programs and take initiatives to advance the development of fencing at all levels and increase participation.
2. To oversee the development of high performance fencing in NSW with the objective of producing high quality national and international fencers.
3. To work with clubs and schools, to concentrate on the early development of young fencers and their introduction to contemporary fencing philosophy and technique.
4. To run NSWFA Squads for selected fencers in foil, epee and sabre weekly throughout the fencing season in pursuit of 2 above.
5. To continually assess and select squad members.
6. To plan and oversee training camps available to any NSW fencer to be held at times requested by the Executive.
7. To act as Team Manager and Coach for NSWFA teams competing in the Cadet, Junior and Open National Championships.
8. In conjunction with the NSWFA Selection Commission, to select teams for the Cadet, Junior and Open National Championships.
9. To lead the development of coaching in NSW with the objective of enhancing coaching techniques and to bring on new coaches.
10. To run a specific number of coaching courses and clinics throughout the year in pursuit of 9 above.
11. In conjunction with the NSWFA Coaching Commission, address issues of coaching practice and policy in NSWFA and affiliated clubs.
12. To provide a quarterly report to inform, via the website, NSWFA members on the activities of the Head Coach and other news on the development of fencing.

The Executive will review these roles and responsibilities at the end of the 2009 fencing season in conjunction with a performance review of its Head Coach.

The list of Head Coach Roles and Responsibilities is available as a downloadable .pdf document.