Michel Sebastiani
Michel Sebastiani is a French fencing master.
Early years
[edit]Sebastiani is a native of France.[1] He earned two master's degrees from the National Institute of Sports in Paris.[1][2] Sebastiani earned a Master of Science degree in Health, Physical Education, and Sports from the National Institute of Sports of France in 1957.[2][3][4] He also graduated from the Ecole Superieure d’Escrime of the National Institute of Sports, where he also earned his Maîtrise d'Escrime M.A. Fencing Master degree.[2][3]
He was a member of the French National Modern Pentathlon Team in 1959, and the French Mondern Pentathlon Team for the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy.[2][3][4] He was also an officer in the French Foreign Legion paratroopers in the West Algeria War in 1960.[1][4]
Cornell University
[edit]In 1963, Sebastiani came to the United States as assistant men’s fencing coach and as head coach for the women’s fencing team at Cornell University. [2] The women’s team won the national title in 1967, 1968, and 1969.[2][4] Cornell’s fencers also won the NIWFA individual title in 1968, and the NCAA men’s title competing in epee in 1968.[2][4]
Brooklyn College
[edit]Sebastiani was appointed an assistant professor of Health and Physical Education at the School of Sciences at Brooklyn College, where he also served as head fencing coach of the men’s fencing team from 1971-77. [2] Among his fencers was Matt Israel, whom he coached to the semi-finals of the 1973 Junior World Championships.[4] During this time he also served on the coaching staff for the United States Team at the World Championships in Buenos Aires, at which two of his Brooklyn College fencers competed.[2]
Texas
[edit]While teaching and coaching at Rice University in Texas, he founded and headed the Sebastiani Fencing Academy in Houston, the top fencing academy in the country.[1][2][4]
Princeton University
[edit]Starting in 1982, Sebastiani was the head fencing coach of the Princeton University men's and women's fencing teams for 25 years, through the 2005-06 season.[1][2] The men were (213-89) and the women were (141-88) during that time.[1][4]
The teams won nine Ivy League championships and six Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) National championships.[1][2] The men finished in the top four of the NCAA or IFA 16 times, and had 19-straight winning seasons.[1] They had a winning record 11 of the last 12 years.[1] The women won two national team championships, in 1993 and 1994.[4]
He coached three NCAA individual men's champions, and one NCAA individual women's champion.[1]
Sebastiani twice won the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association's Schreff Sword, given yearly to the most outstanding college fencing coach of the year as voted on by their peers, in 1994 and 2006.[5][4] The Schreff Sword is an engraved silver Glamdring broadsword resting on a red velvet cushion.[5]
US Olympic Team
[edit]Sebastiani coached the US Fencing Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[4]
Princeton salle
[edit]In November 2001, Sebastiani opened a fencing center in Princeton, New Jersey, the Cercle D'Escrime de Princeton-Sebastiani (Sebastiani Fencing Academy), which has 120 members.[1][2][3][4] There, he coaches Olympic fencers in the classic French method of fencing.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Michel Sebastiani," Museum of American Fencing.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Instructors," Sebastiani Fencing.
- ^ a b c d "Sebastiani Fencing", Town Topics, August 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Sports," Town Topics, June 14, 2006.
- ^ a b "Fencing Stories," CSTV, March 26, 2006.
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