Coach Mauro Hamza

Club founder and Head Coach Mauro Hamza serves as Director of the U.S. Foil Program, charged with developing and training the men’s and women’s teams for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Originally from Cairo, Coach Hamza established Salle Mauro in 1999 in Houston, where he is Fencing Program Coordinator at Rice University. He spent three years serving the Gulf Coast fencing community as volunteer Chairman of the Gulf Coast Division. Since 2009 Coach Mauro has run the U.S. men’s foil program as National Coach. Under his leadership, the U.S. Junior Men’s Foil team won the 2011 World Championship in Baku, Jordan; the U.S. Junior Women’s team took home silver from Baku. In addition, the U.S. Senior Men’s Foil team placed 5th at the 2011 Grand Prix in Bonn, the highest ranking ever attained by the U.S. men’s foil team in that international tournament.

Coach Dan Gorman

Dan Gorman is full-time coach at Salle Mauro, where he teaches classes and private lessons in saber, foil, and epee. His students have achieved top rankings in regional and national United States Fencing Association tournaments. Coach Dan is distinguished by his intense passion and energy for the sport of fencing, whether guiding an up-and-coming talent to the national level or introducing fencing to a child or adult for the first time. He started fencing at Purdue University and went on to coach the fencing club at Texas A&M.

Coach Noura Younis

As a foil competitor in Egypt during the ’90s, Noura Younis earned a place on the national women’s foil team over several years. She has won numerous gold medals at national and international competitions.

Coach Noura channels the same energy that made her a top international fencer into developing and inspiring her students. At Salle Mauro, she focuses on future fencers, working with students to develop a solid foundation of footwork, right of way, sportsmanship, and discipline for their future competitive careers. She has brought many of the club’s fencers to top regional and national results, including, most recently, the 2010-11 Regional Youth Circuit competitions.

Coach Aldo Precciozzi

Aldo began fencing in his native Uruguay before coming to the U.S. At Salle Mauro, Coach Aldo specializes in foil. He works with the full range of Salle Mauro fencers, from young beginners to senior champions, building great athletes through a combination of rigorous training and passion for the sport. He has developed several of the club’s fencers to finals appearances in national competitions.

Coach Kat Kelsch

Coach Kat has been working with Salle Mauro’s youth fencers since 2010 in foil and saber, teaching footwork and other fundamental skills in both weapons. She serves as an officer in the Texas A&M Fencing Club, where she competes in saber while pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M.

Coach Allie Abney

Coach Allie teaches beginner foil classes and saber at Salle Mauro, working with the club’s youth fencers. Coach Allie is also a student at Texas A&M University, where she is a member of the fencing club and pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering.