About

Coaches

Gareth Payne - Head Coach 

Head Coach Gareth Payne started fencing in the summer of 2017, before his freshman year of high school. He became assistant men's captain of the team his junior year and team captain his Senior year. He currently trains at Dunwoody Fencing Club and with the Kennesaw State University fencing club, where he is the vice president. He also competes at the local, regional, and national level, and has been certified by the North American Mangiarotti Society for high school coaching. When he's not actively fencing (or studying footage on YouTube, reading books about fencing, or otherwise thinking about it), he studies political science at KSU.

Robbie Garber - Coach

Coach Robert (Robbie) Garber started fencing in 2015 when he joined the DHS fencing team his sophomore year of high school, and was men's captain his senior year. He continued fencing in college at Denison University, where he became vice president of the men's fencing club and captain of the epee travel team (which won the Midwestern Fencing Championship in 2023). He still competes at the regional and national level, and is certified for coaching high school fencing through the North American Mangiarotti Society. When he's not fencing or coaching, he's working at a local newspaper as he pursues a career in book publishing.