HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, Mass. - “The kid who does fencing.”

It’s what Sean Quinlan said his high school peers call the Pioneer Valley Fencing Club member. He’s been active in the sport competitively since he was a child.

“It really came from being kind of obsessed with movies as a kid. I’d see sword fights scenes, and I was like, ‘Oh my god! It’s so cool!,’” said Quinlan. “Always wanted to do that, and one of my friends, Liam, came over to my house one day we’re hanging out together with his fencing bag, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

Quinlan admitted he wasn’t as skilled in some more popular sports like football and basketball.

And, his experience as an athlete growing up is unique, taking on older opponents and changing how he felt about competition.

“I was fencing with the majority of people who were like freshmen in high school or seniors in high school up to people in college, so I lost just about every single bout I fenced for around two years,” said Quinlan. “But I had to make my mindset towards, ‘It’s not about if I win​, it’s how hard I make it for them to win.’”

By making it challenging for his opponents, Quinlan eventually earned the opportunity to compete in nationals in Utah last year, where he placed 150th out of 286 qualified fencers.

Although fencing may not be as popular here, Quinlan enjoys the more isolated aspect of the sport, and takes plenty of pride in having a platform and community to compete in as an athlete.

“The individuality is really the main thing, just the- everybody does, ‘Oh I do lacrosse! I do soccer! I do football! Baseball!’ Yeah, nobody fences,” said Quinlan. “But even though nobody fences, we’re still a really close knit community and we’re still here.”

And there is a path to a larger stage. This week, Quinlan’s coach brought in John Linscott, who’s competed at the U.S. national championships, to compete against his student. 

For Quinlan, his mindset was the same, and it was another chance to get better.

“Competition is really a way to improve myself, too. You really can fence a really diverse group of people with different styles and looks on fencing,” said Quinlan. “And really also just, I’m a really competitive person so it’s just fun to do also just to prove a point that I’m here and I’m fencing.”