2008 Woodie Awards
Fencer's humor matches strong talent
Ben Shedlock
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Just like the quick, confident strike of his fencing foil, junior Dan Willard has made a strong impact on his teammates, even though they didn't see him coming.
After putting down his equipment near the end of high school, Willard did not even know if he would fence at Drew University until he arrived.
But over the last two seasons, he emerged not only as a top-notch talent, but as an important part of the team's dynamic.
"There is a big social aspect to the fencing team," Willard said. "I'm a central figure there."
Always smiling and laughing, Willard is an energizing presence for the team.
According to Coach Dayn DeRose, Willard "livens" practice, and sophomore McKinley Parker said he takes the edge off of long, boring meets.
"He is a generally happy person," sophomore Emily Lynch said. "He's very outgoing and always smiling."
Willard isn't a team leader, but more of a morale booster, Lynch said.
Lynch and McKinley agreed that he wasn't a role model, but more just "a fun guy."
According to DeRose, there is always someone like Willard on a team-someone who isn't strictly a team leader, but whose attitude is "appropriately fun and makes practice a little brighter and happier."
The teammate Willard looked up to as a freshman had that type of personality.
"I idolized [former Drew fencer] Adam Ivy [CLA '05]," Willard said.
Willard adopted Ivy's work ethic, which he describes as "terrible."
DeRose concurred, and said that Willard, "had a little too much fun this summer," and that he needed to get back in shape.
When Ivy was on the team, he was the "fun one after the meets" according to Willard, who has taken that role to a new level.
"My nickname is actually 'slacker,'" Willard said, though his good results, like his team-topping 13th place in the Temple Open last weekend, speak to a different set of priorities.
Willard came to Drew because he liked the school, not because he wanted to fence.
DeRose said he was surprised to find a talent like Willard at Drew-one who had not immediately shown interest in the team.
Willard didn't even write down fencing as an interest on his application.
"Fencing was not a big element in my decision to come here," Willard said.
Willard grew quickly as a child, but by the time he got to high school, his friends caught up to him.
He was involved in football, but then everyone else grew, and Willard said he was just "a little runt that can't play defensive end."
He quit football and needed something else to do.
He joined a local fencing club in New Jersey, enjoyed it for a while, but then felt like moving on.
"What brought [Willard] to Drew was serendipity," DeRose said. According to DeRose, students would be "cheated out of four years" academically and socially if they came to Drew just for athletics.
He believes that this is one of Willard's best attributes: He came to Drew for Drew and then decided to fence.
Even though Willard didn't have a long history of fencing before Drew, he still came well-prepared.
"My strengths are speed and handwork," Willard said.
Both of these are foil traits that made his decision to specialize in that weapon easy.
"[Willard] was more than fundamentally good when he came to Drew," DeRose said.
According to DeRose, Willard's grasp of the sport helped him weather a rule change in foil competition that put a premium on making stronger, longer touches from farther away from an opponent.
Willard said one of his weaknesses is to "commit too much on attacks," a problem that should have made the transition difficult.
However, the coach said that Willard's easygoing attitude made the adjustment to the new rules easier than for most people.
"[Willard] is flexible and he takes advice, which is unusual for a fencer," DeRose said.
Another result of his flexibility, according to DeRose, was his quick adaptation to the intense physical fitness requirements that the college level demands.
Though Willard claims to be "out of shape" now, his physical work in the past indicates that he could have a breakout junior year, DeRose said.
"Junior year is when people hit their top performance," DeRose said.
Willard's 13th place at Temple University last weekend, the highest Ranger placement, set his performance bar for the year.
"Without any serious work yet, it was a damn good placement," DeRose said. DeRose doesn't like to make predictions, but he said that Willard has the potential to make the NCAA tournament, which Drew is hosting in March.
Ever laid back, Willard said his performance last weekend was "alright."