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Our Coaching Staff

Where the Passion Begins

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BRENDEN RICHARD

Coach (Foil)

Coach Brenden has been teaching fencing in Orange County since 1994 and is committed to the development of fencers of all ages in a focused and positive learning environment. He is certified as a Prevot by the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA), of which he is a lifetime member.  He began as the head of the fencing program for the University of California at Irvine in the 1990’s and left to create the South Coast Fencing Center, a non-profit center focused on developing fencers of all ages and levels in the greater Orange County area.
 

In the early 2000’s he traveled extensively to Europe, training in England, Spain, Italy and Holland.  He was invited to train with the Spanish Olympic team under the guidance of their National Coach and Olympian, Jesus Esperanza, and Brenden relocated to Madrid to focus on that training.  He has since continued his development overseas as well as domestically.  He has taught at the U.S. Coaches College at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, and is a certified coach through that program.  In 2009, Brenden was asked to represent the U.S. at the Pan-American High Level Fencing Course (also at the Olympic Training Center).  Together with U.S. National Coach Buckie Leach, Brenden taught the foil portion of the course to over 80 national coaches from across the western hemisphere.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Brenden was a Regional Youth Coordinator for the United States Fencing Association (USFA), overseeing youth fencing development across southern California, Hawaii and Nevada.  He was a former member of the United States Fencing Officials and was an active referee at the national level for many years before leaving to focus on the fencing center.  He is also Chair for the Orange Coast Division of the USFA, which oversees fencing in the greater Orange County area.

Brenden’s students have been finalists at numerous North America Cups (NACs) and National Championships.  His alumni have gone on to fence at the international level, including the Junior World Championships.  In addition to his role at the Center, Coach Brenden also runs the fencing programs in the Kinesiology departments of the California State Universities at Fullerton and Long Beach.

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BRADEN SAITO

Coach (Foil)

Coach Braden started out as a student at SCFC in 2007 and has been passionate about the sport ever since.  He has many years of experience fencing in the national circuit, competing and training across the country prior to graduating high school.  During his time competing, he was ranked in the top 25 of Y14 Men's Foil  fencers nationally.  Braden went on to study Computer Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he volunteered as the foil coach for the school's fencing program.

Braden is a certified Moniteur de Foil by the United States Fencing Coaches Association.  He has a patient and analytical approach to coaching his students.  Coach Braden loves working with fencers of all ages and skill levels.

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ATI SEIF

Coach (Epee and Foil)

Coach Ati is an accomplished foil and epee fencer.  She trained with the Iranian National team and competed in the Olympic qualifying games for Athens 2004.  She fenced in the Asian games in 2003 and 2004 and placed 1st in the Junior Olympic games in 2008.

Ati served as a fencing coach at the University of Tehran Polytechnique and a lecturer in Sports Science at Tehran University of Scientific Research.  Coach Seif is the assistant coach for the fencing team at UC, Irvine.  She also taught at Cal State Long Beach.  Coach Seif has been certified by the United States FEncing Coaches Association as a Moniteur d'Arms (all three weapons) and a Prevot de Epee and Foil.

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TORREY BURGESS

Coach (Foil, Epee, Saber)

Coach Torrey started fencing at age 11 and the sport has been with him ever since.  His broad history in fencing spans all aspects of the sport, enabling him to bring a unique perspective to coaching.  He has been a successful competitor, referee and coach, as well as a respected armorer and tournament organizer.

As a competitor, Torrey earned ratings and won medals in every weapon.  He was nationally ranked in foil and saber throughout his career and was 2005 Pacific Coast Champion in Junior Saber.  In high school, Torrey was a 4 year varsity fencer and holds a number of All-Conference awards and championships.  In addition to his individual achievements, Torrey was a member of several Senior Pacific Coast team finalists as well as Junior Team Foil Champion.

With a unique experience and appreciation for fencing, Torrey enjoys sharing that knowledge with his students and has a genuine interest in providing a tailored approach that suits each fencer.  Training under Maestro Buzz Hurst in San Diego, Torrey holds coaching credentials from the United States Fencing Coaches Association.  He has worked with fencers of all ages and skill levels.  His former students include Youth 12 and Youth 14 regional finalists as well as Cadet and Junior high school champions.

Be sure to say "Hi" and introduce yourself when you see Coach Torrey around the club!

OUR ASSISTANT COACHING STAFF

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MISSAG PARSEGHIAN

Assistant Coach (Foil and Epee)

Missag Parseghian is a founding member of the SCFC staff.  Dr. Parseghian first studied fencing briefly under the direction of Tedd Katzoff at UCLA.  Upon starting his graduate studies at the University of California, Irvine, he joined the fencing program and focused on foil fencing with Coach Laura Holmgren.
 

Along with several fellow fencers, he helped establish SCFC in 1999.  Missag's foil coaches at this time were 1964 Olympian Ed Richards and SCFC Coach Brenden Richard.  While Missag has been continuously teaching introductory foil fencing classes since 1999, he developed a passion for epee fencing and is a student of SCFC epee Coach Sarkis Assadourian, a 1976 Olympian.
 
Missag's thought on fencing: A sport who's mastery is never fully mastered until you know thy self.

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JAIME WOOD

Assistant Coach (Foil)

Jaime Wood is a founding member of the South Coast Fencing Center and has been teaching for over 20 years.  Jaime started his fencing career in Tennessee, moving out to the west coach in the late 1990's.  

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