Abdallah Abohashima | Olympic Coach and Referee

Coach Abdallah Abohashima has been a fencing referee and coach for many years and has trained some of the best young fencers around the globe. His most recent debut on the world stage was Cairo 2022.

He has been coaching at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club for the past year and is a fantastic edition to the club. His students have won regional, national medals, and international competitions.

We couldn’t be more excited to have him on our team, developing our Epee Program and supporting TMFC students.

DISTANCES TO TIM MOREHOUSE FENCING CLUB IN STAMFORD, CT AT CHELSEA PIERS:
Stamford, CT are: Norwalk, CT (7.2 miles); Greenwich, CT (7.3 miles); Darien, CT (8.1 miles); Westport, CT (9.2 miles); New Canaan, CT (10.4 miles); Port Chester, NY (11.3 miles); White Plains, NY (13.5 miles); Rye, NY (14.1 miles); Harrison, NY (15.6 miles); and Stratford, CT (16.2 miles).

Akhi El-Spencer | Olympic Silver Medalist and Olympian Coach

We are thrilled to announce that Olympian and Olympic Team Saber Coach Akhi Spencer-El is officially joining the coaching staff at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, starting Monday, February 3!

This is far more than just a professional addition to our team—it’s a truly meaningful full-circle moment. Akhi and I share a special history that dates back to our elementary school days at Central Park East in East Harlem. From being schoomates to becoming Olympic fencers, our journeys have intertwined in incredible ways over the past 40 years!

Akhi is widely regarded for his exceptional coaching expertise and just as importantly, he is also deeply respected for his integrity, kindness, and dedication to his students. As Akhi joins us as a coach, I am very grateful that I will be able to work with him to inspire and develop the next generation of champions at our newest facility, TMFC’s East Side location, where he will play a key role in leading the growth of the club.

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Akhi to the TMFC family!

A Legacy of Excellence in Fencing

Akhi Spencer-El brings an extraordinary wealth of experience and accomplishments to TMFC. A seasoned coach at both the prestigious New York Fencers Club and the Peter Westbrook Foundation, Akhi has also spent years shaping top-tier athletes at Columbia University with the team claiming 3 national titles during his tenure. His coaching career includes serving as a multi-time U.S. National and Olympic Men’s Saber Team Coach at the Paris Olympics. His students include US Olympic Medalist Daryl Homer, Olympian Khalil Thompson and Olympic Medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad in addition to the numerous national and international medalists he has coached and developed throughout the years.

Coaching education

Akhi’s education and training are equally impressive—he holds a Maestro’s degree from the renowned Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, a program that has also produced TMFC coaches Iba Keita, Mamodou Keita, and Coach Sall.

Athletic Accomplishments

As an athlete, Akhi represented the United States at the highest levels of competition. He made history as the first U.S. saber fencer to achieve the #1 world ranking as a Junior, a groundbreaking achievement at the time. He competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, became a two-time U.S. National Champion, and solidified his legacy as one of the sport’s greatest.

A Vision for TMFC

At Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, Akhi will bring his unmatched expertise, passion, and coaching philosophy to help elevate both our developmental and competitive programs. From guiding youth fencers to supporting elite athletes, Akhi’s leadership will be a game-changer for our community. His addition reflects our commitment to providing world-class training and mentorship for fencers at every level.

A Family Affair

Akhi is not only a remarkable coach but also a dedicated family man. He and his wife are proud parents to four wonderful children: twins Zoe and Olivia, who are both 11 years old; Elijah, a 13-year-old saber fencer who is excited to join the TMFC community; and Skye, who is 16 years old.

Achievements as a Coach

• Olympic Coach: Coached the U.S. Men’s Saber Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

• Columbia University: Guided one of the nation’s top collegiate fencing programs to three national championships.

• Peter Westbrook Foundation: Continues to mentor young athletes, fostering their development in fencing and life.

Welcome to the team, Coach Akhi Spencer-El—we are thrilled to have you with us!

Daryl Homer | Olympic Silver Medalist and Coach

Daryl Homer, an Olympic silver medalist in saber fencing, joined Tim Morehouse Fencing Club (TMFC) as a coach in the spring of 2024. His extensive experience and dedication have significantly enriched the club's training programs. As a former Olympic teammate of TMFC founder Tim Morehouse, Daryl brings a deep-rooted friendship and a shared commitment to excellence, serving as an inspiring role model for students.

Background and Achievements:

Born on July 16, 1990, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Daryl moved to New York City at the age of five. He began fencing at 11 after discovering the sport in a dictionary and joined the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which introduces inner-city youth to fencing. Daryl chose saber, inspired by Peter Westbrook, a six-time Olympian and 1984 Olympic bronze medalist.

Daryl's fencing career is marked by numerous accolades:

• Olympic Games: Three-time Olympian, securing a silver medal in individual saber at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics—the first U.S. men's saber silver since 1904.

• World Championships: Silver medalist at the 2015 World Championships in Moscow, becoming the first U.S. men's saber fencer to achieve this feat.

• Pan American Championships: Eight-time team champion and three-time individual champion, underscoring his dominance in the Americas.

• NCAA: Back-to-back national champion during his tenure at St. John's University, where he earned a degree in advertising communications.

Beyond his competitive success, Daryl has always been dedicated to mentoring the next generation of fencers. 

As Daryl prepares for a potential run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, his presence at TMFC offers students unparalleled insights into elite-level training and competition. His journey from a young enthusiast to an Olympic medalist exemplifies the dedication and passion he now imparts to aspiring fencers at the club.

Daryl teaches at both Tim Morehouse Fencing Club’s Manhattan locations on the East and West Side of Manhattan during the week.

Slava Grigoriev | Olympian and Head Foil Coach

Slava Grigoriev is a two time Olympian and recognized as one of the top coaches in the United States. His passion and dedication to the sport of fencing has helped to create numerous national and international level athletes. His students have won Cadet and Junior World Championships as well as Pan American and Asian Championships. 

Slava is dedicated to helping his students gain self-confidence, coordination, focus and precision as well as to develop a winning attitude through good sportsmanship in order to realize their full potential as athletes.

His students have also had incredible NCAA success with former and current students being recruited for and fencing at some of the nation’s top colleges and universities including Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Brown, Duke, Stanford, NYU, Notre Dame, Vassar, Brandeis and Rice.

Eli Dershwitz | Olympian and World Champion

Eli Dershwitz is a Harvard graduate (‘19) from Sherborn, Massachusetts. At nine years old, he followed his older brother into fencing. We are proud to have the 2023 World Champion joining our full-time coaching staff. Eli is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games. He is currently training for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. His many fencing accomplishments include being a muli-time Senior World Championship medalist, two-time NCAA Champion, and the first American men’s Saberist to finish the season ranked number one in the FIE Senior points standings. He also found success on the Junior circuit, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Junior World Fencing Championships. 

After graduating, he became the assistant coach of the Harvard fencing team where he aided the team in clinching the 2022 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Individual  Saber titles. He is now the assistant coach of the New York University fencing team. Tim Morehouse Fencing Club students will have the privilege of benefiting from Coach Eli’s extensive elite competitive experience. 

Tim Morehouse, Olympic Silver Medalist | Founder of Tim Morehouse Fencing Club

Tim is one of the most decorated US athletes coaching Saber in the USA today with an Olympic Silver Medal ('08) won in the men's saber team event and a quarter final individual finish at the London Olympics ('12). Tim is a three-time US Olympic Team Member ('04 '08 '12), 9-time senior world team member and two-time individual US National Champion ('10 '11).

Tim spent fifteen years as a student of 4-time Olympic and USA Fencing Hall of Fame Coach Yury Gelman. 

Tim also has extensive experience in education having served both as a teacher and teacher trainer in the prestigious Teach For America program. Tim holds a Masters Degree in Education and he was honored by the White House as a "Champion For Change" in 2012 because of his efforts in education through his non-profit Fencing In The Schools and his work with Teach For America.

His students have won national medals at every level and his students were recruited and attended elite schools including Yale, Johns Hopkins, Cornell and Princeton amongst others.

Ziad Elsissy | Olympian (Saber)

Coach Ziad is the current Senior Individual Saber World Championships bronze medalist and is currently training for his second Olympic Games. At his first Olympic games in Tokyo 2021 he was the Team Captain of the Egyptian Saber Team. He is a multi-time African and Arab Senior Saber Champion and the 2022 Mediterranean Games Saber Champion. In the 2022/2023 season he won the Individual Saber bronze medal at the World Cup in Alger. Currently, he is ranked 4th on the FIE Senior Points Standings and 3rd on the Olympic Qualification Rankings. 

He began fencing in his native Egypt and has been fencing for 18 years. He emigrated to the United States to study at Wayne State University, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American finalist and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2018.  He received his Master’s Degree in 2021 in Mechanical Engineering specializing in Advanced Propulsion and Engineering Systems. In 2022 he was presented with the First Class Sports Medal in Egypt.

Coach Ziad has been with Tim Morehouse Fencing Club since 2018. His students have won Regional, National and International medals. We are lucky to have him passing his incredible fencing knowledge and experience on to our elite fencers in both Manhattan and Westchester. 

Essam Mohamad | Olympian and Coach

While Coach Mohamed Essam is one of the most recent coaches to join Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, he is a highly accomplished fencer and experienced coach. Fencing for 24 years, he has been a National Foil Team Member in his native Egypt for the last 10 years. He is a Rio 2016 Olympian, participating in the individual and team events. Since 2013, he has earned multiple Senior individual medals at the African Zonal Championships and the African Games. In 2011, he was the African Junior Individual Champion. He has earned more than 50 medals from Egypt’s National Championships for the Junior and Senior Competition. As a member of the Egyptian Team, he is a multi-time African and Arab Champion. He has a degree in BSC Logistics & Supply Chain Management from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime. 

Before joining the TMFC team, Mohamed worked as a coach for 5 years in clubs located in Egypt as well as France. His previous students won 15 medals at Egypt’s National Championships for Cadet and Juniors. In his short time at TMFC, his students have already won numerous medals at Regional and National level competitions, including a North American Cup Cadet Boys gold medal. We look forward to more success in the future!