Coach Malcolm
HEAD COACH
Malcolm Muhammad began coaching by default immediately upon his daughter entering the fencing arena in 2005 at age eight (8) and subsequently, developed a love for the sport. He quickly learned the mechanics of the weapons and founded the Bronzeville Fencing Academy with the goal of providing high-quality fencing instruction in the Black Metropolis – Bronzeville community thus introducing the Olympic sport of Fencing to the underserved and underrepresented youth in the community.
Coach Malcolm’s primary objective is to promote a life-long interest in the community youth for the sport through which participants can literally explore the world. By providing expert instruction from coaches, athletes, officials and other professionals in the sport of Fencing, these lessons empower the student-athlete to compete at the local, regional and national level of the United States Fencing Association and most importantly, help to cultivate a pathway to post-secondary education. Eighty (80+) private high schools offer fencing as an interscholastic sport and forty (40+) colleges and universities have National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned Division I – II – III fencing programs. These programs offer financial assistance, up to and including full scholarships.
The Academy's program was largely developed during his daughter's middle and high school fencing career. The rigorous, disciplined-focused regimen was created in response to the lack of available resources and programming in the sport of Fencing to student-athletes living in underprivileged and underserved communities like his daughter. This regimen includes academic programming and athletic performance plans including but not limited to Olympic-style weightlifting variations, isometric and plyometric agility and physical velocity exercises.
Coach Malcolm enjoys teaching and promoting the Olympic sport to students of all ages and skill levels. He teaches beginning to competitive level Foil, Epee and Saber. As a professional member of the United States Fencing Association and the United States Fencing Coaches Association, he fences competitively to enhance his own skills and teaches classes at the Academy and other after-school programs in the Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools.
When he’s not traveling to watch his daughter’s Fencing competitions and son’s Jazz performances, Coach Muhammad is a member of the Engagement Council at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he serves on the off-Campus committee facilitating student engagement, developing programs responsive to the Alumni experience, and training ambassadors for the arts education institution. He also volunteers with community organizations, working to revitalize and preserve the authenticity of the African-American heritage and architectural history of Bronzeville.
