Richard Berry looks on as group of about two dozen 11- and 12-year-olds, don masks and protective vests, pair up, face and politely salute each other with their foils. The fencers then proceed to duel with abandon on a portico outside Hickey Gym. "Looks like we're getting ready for Armageddon," he says smiling as he takes in the enthusiasm the structured swordplay has inspired.
As the campus again faces an onslaught of summertime visitors, some 500 young area residents in the National Youth Sports Program are discovering fencing and several other athletic activities while making an important mental leap - replacing thoughts of never going to college with dreams of attending UC Davis.
The program runs each weekday late June through July. Participating students ages 10-16 take part in more than a dozen sports and educational stations set up in and around Hickey Gym.
Administered through Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Services, the program this year has seen 69 additional staff members hired to instruct 482 youths in everything from how to make a hoop shot to how to choose a career. Activities include swimming, basketball, pingpong, water polo, rock climbing, volleyball, tennis, racquetball, softball and football. The manifest of activities also boasts three classroom courses - math and science, education and careers, and drug and alcohol awareness.
The program has won several awards from the NCAA and is in the running this year for another national award. But it seeks to accomplish far more than merely promote interest in specific subject areas and encourage health and fitness, said director Lianne Boren.
Started seven years ago with a roster of 200 children, the program was designed to also change youths' perceptions about higher education in general and UC Davis specifically.
Some 95 percent of the participating youths - who hail from lower-income households in Yolo and Solano counties - would be the first-generation in their families to attend college, Boren said.
"The main goal of the program is to encourage these students to go on to college and make them feel like UC Davis is their home. So in two-to-five years they may want to enroll here," she said.
Taking a break from soccer, Jacqueline Eubank, 11, of Rumsey, said the 5 1/2 weeks she's spending on campus are definitely getting her thinking along those lines. "It would make me feel more comfortable about coming to college here, because I'd feel like I'm coming to a place I know," she said.
The program also builds friendships and self-esteem and exposes youths to sports they simply might not get a lot of opportunities to participate in.
"I like it because I get to play volleyball, and I never get a chance to do that," said Deborah Stapleton, 11, of Woodland.
Making its debut as part of the scheduled activities, fencing has proven popular this year. Simon Pitfield, a world-class fencer who owns a fencing school in Davis, helped bring the new sport to the program with the aid of Berry, the 1957-'58 national fencing champion and a volunteer coach for UC Davis' fencing club.
The new offering has made an avid fencer out of David Clara, 11. "I like it because you get to sword fight every day," the Vacaville youth said.
Dillon McAmoil agreed. "Instead of putting your energy into getting angry and fighting, it lets you have fun," said the 12-year-old West Sacramentan. And parrying with real foils sure beats play fighting with wooden stakes, he added.