Proud by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Author:Ibtihaj Muhammad
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2018-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

One day in early 2009, almost a year to the day since I’d committed myself to fencing, something happened that would completely change the trajectory of my career. More people were joining the Fencers Club, so we were in desperate need of another saber coach. There had been some talk about a former foundation fencer, moving from Texas back to New York, who would take the new job. His name was Akhnaten Spencer-El, and he had been on a few national teams as a kid and even qualified for the Olympics in Sydney back in 2000. I had met Akhi at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance back in Maplewood, when he briefly worked for Coach Mustilli before joining the foundation. He’d towered over Coach Mustilli. With his golden skin, permanent five o’clock shadow, and eyes that crinkled like crescent moons when he smiled, I found him to be easily approachable and always very encouraging when I’d stop in for a secret lesson unbeknownst to Sam. I didn’t know much about Akhi, but he seemed really nice and invested in the development of his students, so I didn’t hesitate to tell Peter that I wanted to switch coaches. I had grown tired of walking on eggshells around Sam and dealing with his unpredictable behavior. Lately Sam had been showing up to my competitions late, if at all, and dressed like he was going out clubbing in Harlem in the 1920s. Instead of wearing sweatpants and sneakers like most coaches, one day Sam showed up in what looked like a pink zoot suit—pink slacks, pink shirt, pink fedora, and pink alligator shoes. His choice of attire showed just how uninterested he was in coaching or in helping his athletes during competition. He proved to be more of a distraction than an asset. Even though I really didn’t know if Akhi would be the right coach for me, I figured he had to be an improvement over Sam. At that point, anyone would have been an improvement over Sam.

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