Highlights & Accolades

Now leading the nation's first National Performance Center with USA Fencing
Currently serves as Team USA's Women's Foil National Coach
USOPC Olympic Coach of the Year
Coached Team USA to Women's Foil Gold (Paris 2024) & the 2025 World Title
World No.1 for 600+ days; Silver Laurel Leaf honoree
2002 World Champion & 4x European Champion
Olympic Silver Medalist (Sydney 2000)

Ralf Bissdorf

Director of Fencing

Ralf believes that working as a coach is one of the most rewarding professions. With younger athletes, he values the opportunity to watch them grow and to play a meaningful role in their development.

With high-level athletes, he is motivated by the challenge and fascination of helping them perform at their best and giving them the greatest chance for success.

Ralf competed in the Olympic Games in 2000 and again in 2024. Twenty years after his first appearance, he returned to the Olympics in 2024—this time as a coach.

COACHING PHILOSOPHY

What does teamwork mean to you?

Teamwork is when everyone works together for as greater common goal. When everyone subscribes to the same values on and of the fencing. Everyone’s success and contribution are celebrated. Teamwork requires cooperation, communication and trust.

How do you define success for your athletes — both on and off the field?

Success for student-athletes is multi-facetted. It is our obligation to positively impact the lives of our students to make the better athletes, better students and better members of society. We need to prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead of them - so success comes in many forms.

What can students expect from your training sessions?

Our fencing training will be state of the art. It will include competitive fencing, individual lessons, footwork, strength & conditioning, situational bouting, skill development, technical and tactical training and more.

What does competition look like in your program?

We will compete in local, regional, national (and international) competitions. And we will compete in different age groups. I foresee us competing between 10 and 20 competitions per season.

What does the athlete pathway look like in your sport?

Fencers will be exposed to competitions at different levels and age categories.

“It is our obligation to positively impact the lives of our students to make them better athletes, better students and better members of society.”

– Ralf Bissdorf, Director of Fencing

COLLEGE PLACEMENT & PATHWAYS

Former personal students have been recruited / admitted to all leading colleges in the United States: MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Notre Dame just to name a few.

START YOUR JOURNEY

We’re building something special in New England, and we’d love to tell you more about it. To connect with our founding team at Masters Academy International, please fill out our inquiry form and we’ll be in touch within 24 hours.

MAKE AN INQUIRY