By: Katie Mitchell
Executive Sports Editor
Junior Alex Jeffords lunges into victory as he devotes most of his childhood to fencing.
Jeffords did not initially start fencing when he started playing sports. In elementary school, Jeffords played soccer and baseball. Unfortunately, in the third grade he had an accident on the baseball field, resulting in a concussion. After recovering from his head injury, Jeffords’s family decided to sign him up for a fencing summer camp. He immediately fell in love with the sport and has been fencing ever since.
“I got super into fencing after meeting a few really cool people in my summer camp,” Jeffords said. “I have stuck with it for about nine years now and I love it.”
Jeffords is currently fencing for the Los Angeles International Fencing Center. He does conditioning three days a week, and practices sparring his teammates three days a week. Additionally, he does 30 minutes of cardio every day to stay in shape. In total, he trains for about 10 hours a week.
“Even though it’s difficult, I believe that my training pays off,” Jeffords said. “My weekly training has helped me improve and kept me in shape throughout the years.”
As much as Jeffords loves fencing, there are difficulties that come with this independent sport. As much as it is a physical sport, it also can be mentally draining. According to Jeffords, the most challenging aspect of the sport is having a tough mental game.In Jeffords’s eyes, the most rewarding thing about fencing is the community it comes with. He describes it as one big community and everybody is friends with each other. According to Jeffords, fencing supplies a fun, healthy amount of competition.
“I sometimes lose myself in thoughts while fencing because I doubt myself, and I believe that getting over that mental block is as hard as it is important to stay in it,” Jeffords said. “Luckily everyone supports each other, even if we lose.”
At only 16 years old, Jeffords has quite a few international accomplishments. He has been a member of the US National Fencing Team for 2 years. This has allowed him to travel to Hungry, Austria and Bulgaria to represent the US in international tournaments. Additionally, Jeffords has also competed four times in the Junior Olympics.
“We all enjoy what we do, but we are also very serious about fencing.”
Domestically, Jeffords has won the Division III National Tournament at the 2018 July Challenge in St. Louis, Missouri, which is the biggest fencing tournament in the world. He has also finished in the top 8 players in the Cadet Division and the Men’s Cadet Team Events.
“To be honest, until this interview I didn’t realize how much I’ve accomplished,” Jeffords said. “I feel very proud of myself and I know that if I keep working hard, I can do more.”
Jeffords is currently planning on continuing fencing in the future. He plans to fence throughout high school and college, and recreationally afterwards.
“I love this sport,” Jeffords said. “It has given me many opportunities to work on myself mentally and physically.”
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