Alumnae Coaches Bring Passion and Acumen to Their Former Teams

Alumnae Coaches

Bring Passion and Acumen to Their Former Teams

BELOW: Fischer, pictured center with the 2021-2022 girls varsity basketball team, is focused on the girls program’s long-term health and success. When it comes to The Masters School’s various athletics programs, it turns out you can go home again.

Two alumnae — upper school admission director Andrea Fischer ’02 and Clara MeereWeigel ’15 — have both returned to 49 Clinton and are flourishing in their roles as former student-athletes-turned-coaches.

Fischer, a standout basketball player for the Panthers, grabbed the reins to the varsity girls program this past year. Meere-Weigel, a gifted and accomplished fencer, has served as the head fencing coach for the middle school, junior varsity and varsity programs since 2020.

The experience has been both gratifying and nostalgic for Fischer, who helped guide Masters’ varsity girls basketball program to prominence in the early aughts.

“It’s one of those full-circle moments," said Fischer, who became a 1,000-point scorer at College of Mount St. Vincent after graduating from Masters. “Being back to coach a team that had such an impact on my life in just two years, it’s been a lot of fun. I never thought I’d be back coaching the same team I played for 20 years later.”

Meere-Weigel, meanwhile, recalled feeling a tinge of jealousy after throwing her rose on Graduation Terrace and heading off to Concordia University. After all, she never got a chance to sharpen her épée skills in the Fonseca Center’s state-of-the-art Francisco Martin Fencing Room.

“We had to set up the strips in the Middle School every time,” Meere-Weigel recalled with a chuckle. “Now these kids are so lucky, so it’s amazing to have access to the space.”

Meere-Weigel learned about and fell in love with the sport under the direction of former Masters head coach Francisco Martin, a legendary figure in the fencing world who still helps out with the Panthers’ program. Meere-Weigel learned more than blade technique from Martin.

BELOW: Fischer, seated second from left, has loved basketball since her days as a Panther.

“When it comes to coaching middle and high schoolers, (Martin) taught me a lot about commanding a room,” she said. “I’m only 24 years old, so it’s not like I’m a lot older than the kids I’m coaching. As a new coach, I am working my way toward that. I’m bringing the team together, getting everyone to do drills and conditioning and learning more about the sport.”

Meere-Weigel has been assisted in the process by Petar Agatonovic ’18, a superstar fencer who currently competes at Sacred Heart University. He has also come back to help out Masters’ program.

Fischer’s time as a former player has allowed her to become a more informed and personable coach. She pointed toward all the various demands placed on studentathletes these days and how that knowledge has helped her better communicate with the team.

“I only see them for two hours a day, and there’s so much more going on in their lives — particularly at a school like Masters where there’s so many different demands on their time and competing schedules,” Fischer said. “I knew that as a student, but even more so as a coach because I lived it. As a coach now, I hope that I have that level of empathy with my players.”

Both Fischer and Meere-Weigel inherited programs that were coming off long stretches without interscholastic competition due to the pandemic. As one can imagine, putting all the pieces together proved to be a bit of a tough task.

Fischer, however, noted that her focus wasn’t all on the present. Ensuring the program’s long-term health and success were both top of mind.

“I have every player coming back next year,” Fischer said. “My goals for the long-term are to build a program. That’s not just a varsity team but a middle school team that can feed a junior varsity team and a junior varsity that can feed varsity. I have my work cut out for me. But my hope is to drive more numbers and get that buy-in from starting at the middle school level, where sports are part of the physical education curriculum. And then getting those kids invested and involved in the sport through senior year.”

Meere-Weigel initially questioned whether she would have enough fencers to fill out a lineup card.

“I was pretty worried,” Meere-Weigel said of her mindset coming into the 2021-2022 fencing season. “We lost a lot of seniors last year who were the backbone of a lot of our teams, and I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough interest with kids getting into the sport. I also didn’t know how many international kids were coming back. Luckily, we did an intro to fencing class this fall, and a lot of those kids ended up being starters on varsity this year. We medaled (at the team championships) in all weapons, so I call it a success. We got third place in everything and first place in girls foil.”

There are now over 100 fencers among the middle school, junior varsity and varsity programs. With a swell of interest in the sport, Meere-Weigel has another problem to confront.

“Next year, I think we will need one more coach,” she said.

And an old Masters yearbook might just be the best place to start the search.

RIGHT: Meere-Weigel, second from left, placed in the Independent School Fencing League Championship for girls épée in 2014.

BELOW: Meere-Weigel’s coaching style is inspired by acclaimed Masters fencing coach Francisco Martin.

News and happenings  on campus

International Dinner

Through song, dance and dishes representing more than 20 countries, cultural goodwill was on display at the International Headʼs Dinner this spring. The annual event is an opportunity for students to share and celebrate their heritage with the community.

Rave Reviews

The far-from-“revolting children” in the middle school production of “Matilda” wowed audiences with a darkly entertaining, humorous script and energetic song and dance. The cast and crew of 24 students received standing ovations for each of their two performances in early March.

Frank DiCicco Retires

To the man who always delivers. After 39 years of service to

the Masters community, beloved mailroom manager Frank DiCicco retired in April. Head of School Laura Danforth noted that Frank held the record for the longest tenure at the School, adding “he was an anchor to me and had always given me sage advice.” She said his “calm presence on this campus was invaluable.”

He made many friends over the years and often said “the people that I got along with so well here” were the main reason he stayed as long as he did. “It was such a joy knowing that I had friends to rely on all these years,” he shared.

DiCicco joined Masters in 1984 as a carpenter’s helper, then became a driver of the School’s fleet of vans and buses. His journey continued for the next 12 years as a member of the grounds crew before taking a position in the mailroom, where he became a familiar and comforting presence.

The Yonkers-raised, current Long Island resident will miss “the feeling of being part of the Masters family,” but looks forward to being with his own family in Georgia which includes three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. After that, more travel: “I’d like to see more of the world.”

Digging In

Fifth graders helped celebrate innovation at Masters during a groundbreaking ceremony for the School’s new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. The new building will open in 2023.

Model UN Conference Day

In March, all tenth grade students participated in the annual Model UN Conference Day. Students were assigned to one of five committees and wrote resolutions, gave speeches, and debated global issues, including climate, agriculture, cybersecurity and political security.

An Undefeated Season

Thanks to their positive attitudes and hard work, Mastersʼ middle school girls basketball players celebrated a successful season. The Panthers — powered by an unwavering team-first approach — went undefeated with an impressive 5-0 record.