By David Driver
Updated in 2024 from the original 2013 article.
Amanda Sirico didn’t hit the soccer field as a tot like the majority of the kids in Maryland, instead the Bowie teen chose the sport of fencing.
“My children were raised in the sport,” says mom Cynthia Sirico, who, along with her husband, is an avid fencer. “Amanda has been doing some facet of fencing since she could walk.”
Amanda, 17, clearly chose the right sport. In 2012 she won the gold medal in the North American Cup, has competed internationally and is an Olympic hopeful for 2016.
“If I could, I would like to compete for the rest of my life,” Amanda says.
In Maryland, kids traditionally start off playing soccer, basketball or baseball. As thy get older, some move on to football, lacrosse or hockey. Some kids swim competitively while others find their place in the martial arts. But if your child doesn’t seem to fit any of these molds, don’t think there isn’t a sport out there for him or her. There are many kids, like Amanda, who have found their prowess in more unusual sports. Read on to learn more about these sports and the kids who play them.
Kids who participate in the sport of fencing
Like Amanda, the Talbot kids of Chesapeake Beach have found their niche in the sport of fencing. Mom Rose Talbot enrolled her son, Ryan, 13, in a fencing camp a couple of summers ago because it fit with her schedule. It was such a big hit that her daughter, Amelia, wanted to give it a try and both are now involved in the Calvert-Anne Arundel Swordsmen, which meets at the Northeast Community Center in Chesapeake Beach during the summer and practices at schools in Owings during the academic year.
“Fencing is a good match for them because it relies on strategy just as much as athleticism,” Talbot says. “It’s a sport where their size plays less of a factor in their success, and they can feel a sense of accomplishment because they challenged an opponent twice their size. It doesn’t matter if they win their bout. It’s a matter of scoring and improving their skills.”
Amelia, 10, says she likes it better than soccer, “In soccer, you are just using your feet, in fencing, you use everything,” she explains. “You have to use your head to think about what you are going to do and what your opponent is going to do.”
Fencing involves the use of various types of swords and points are awarded when a competitor is able to touch certain parts of their opponents protected body. The sport is divided into three different weapon categories: a foil, which is a light thrusting weapon; epee, which is a heavier thrusting weapon and sabre, which is a light cutting and thrusting weapon.
Amanda Sirico now fences with a club in Silver Spring, has a coach from Poland and is ranked among the top junior fencers in the country. She ended last year as the No. 1 ranked Cadet (U-17) in women’s epee in the United States and earned a spot on the U.S. Junior/Cadet team that took part in the world championships in Croatia in April.
Kids who play rugby
Columbia resident Jake Soriano, a senior at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, grew up playing soccer, basketball and football and was on his pool’s summer swim team. It wasn’t until he was , 11, however that he found his real passion — rugby.
Jake joined the Ellicott City Express, which is a rec program that has co-ed touch rugby teams for kids 15 and under. When he got older, he joined a tackle team and now plays on his school rugby team at Calvert Hall.
“It was like a brotherhood,” he says of the sport. “I like the physical aspect of the game. You have to be precise with your hits. You have to tackle in a way that doesn’t hurt you.”
Rugby is like football without the pads. It’s played with an oval ball that can only be passed backwards, but can be run in any direction. In touch rugby, you can stop a player by touching him with both hands on the shorts. In regular rugby, low tackles can be made. In both, the ball can also be kicked. Points are scored by grounding the ball in the goal area or kicking it between the uprights and over the crossbar.
Jake’s sister, Jenna, 13, also plays touch rugby. “The camaraderie is amazing compared to any other sport they have played,” says their mother, Gayle. “They welcome anyone and they are open to teaching the sport.”
Kids who participate in archery
Max Scott, 12, of Chestertown is a bit of a modern day Robin Hood. Not because he steals from the rich to give to the poor, but because he’s a good shot with a bow and arrow.
Max competes with the Shore Shots 4H Archery Club of Kent County and has been for about two years. His father, Brian, participated in archery when he was a teenager and his interest in the sport has been passed down.
“He had done soccer and running as well, but we dropped soccer,” Brian says. According to Max, soccer was boring and stressful. “Archery, on the other hand, is engaging the whole time. It’s individual, you don’t have to wait,” says his mom, Karen.
Max says he likes the mental aspect of the sport and the need to be consistent. He did well last fall, coming in third in two categories — target and 3D target for compact bows. The club meets twice a month, but Brian and Max practice every night in their back yard, shooting into a bale of hay. When a catalogue comes from the Lancaster Archery Shop in Pennsylvania, the two of them pour over it.
“This is something he’s definitely sticking with,” his mom says. “This is his thing.”
Kids who compete in synchronized swimming
Denise Chadwick of Columbia could have chosen not to participate in synchronized swimming, but it was so ingrained in her family, she couldn’t refuse.
Denise’s mom, Ginny, is the long-time coach of the Potomac Valley Pearls, a synchronized swimming program based out of Fairland Aquatic Center in Laurel, and her older sister swam as well. So even though she played soccer for the Soccer Association of Columbia for 10 years, it was synchronized swimming that she eventually chose to devote her time to and plans to pursue in college at the University of Arizona.
“I think what I like most (about synchronized swimming) is it’s in the water,” said Chadwick, who basically grew up in the water. “But I don’t like swimming back and forth. That bores me.”
According to Ginny, Synchronized swimming is a fun and challenging sport that combines the flexibility of a gymnast, power of a speed swimmer, perfection of a figure skater, endurance of a marathon runner, team effort of a cheer squad and the throws and artistic interpretation of a dancer — all in the water.
Synchronized swimmers are never allowed to touch the bottom. “Most of the time they are upside down, holding their breath, while expending all their energy, ” Ginny explains.
“I think that kids who get bored just swimming laps like synchro,” she says. “Kids who like dance or gymnastics and swimming and want to combine them, like to try it out.”
Events can be done solo or as duets, trios, combos or as a whole team. Swimmers can begin at any age but need to be comfortable in the water, Ginny explains.
Betsy Stein contributed to this article.
How to sign your kids up
If your kids are interested in the sports of fencing, archery, rugby or synchronized swimming, here are a few contacts for how to get involved.
Fencing: DC Fencers Club
Rugby: Howard County Youth Rugby, Anne Arundel County including South River Youth Athletics Rugby, Severn Park Athletics
Archery: Anne Arundel Archers
Synchronized swimming: Potomac Valley Pearls.