Her love of coaching has inspired local coach, Greta Ingram to start a fencing class for children with special needs.

Ingram is the founder of Mpumalanga Fencing Clubs, there is one in Nelspruit called Dragons Fencing Club and another in White River called Eagles Fencing Club.

The fencers in the class she recently added to her already established club have children with Asperger syndrome and one has a Kochlear implant. She says that fencing is an amazing sport and this is why she decided to add this class.

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“It has benefits both mentally and physically. When I started the class I wanted to see if it will benefit the fencers,” she said. Ingram understands the fencers and know how to accommodate all of them.

She says as a coach you need to be patient when training children with special needs.

“You also need to pay more attention to each child, observe their mood before and during class. If I feel that the noise or training is becoming too intense or over stimulating I need to slow down. We then do a few calming and deep breathing exercises,” she explained.

During the lessons she focuses more on teaching the fencers through fun exercises and games.

“Repetition is the key and building muscle is very important. I have already seen the benefits with the few children I have been training.”

This local coach says that she has seen kids who used to say that they do not like sports but changed their mind after joining the fencing class.

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“Each parent knows his child best but sometimes a sport that you think will never suit your child might just be the key they need to succeed in sports.”

One of her most memorable moments in class was when one of the fencers Conrad Kotze referred to her as ‘master’.

“This was during our first lesson. I loved it and it warmed my heart. I am not sure what other coaches will think about this since you have to try for so many years before you get the title,” said Ingram.

Asperger syndrome is one of several previously separate subtypes of autism that were folded into the single diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with the publication of the DSM-5 diagnostic manual in 2013. Asperger syndrome was generally considered to be on the “high functioning” end of the spectrum. (Source:www.autismspeaks.org).