When Madeline Rake was younger, she played just about every sport.

Yet, it wasn’t basketball, softball, soccer or tennis that captivated her the most. It was fencing.

As the Free State High senior grew older and found herself concentrating more and more on fencing, she had to give up the other sports. By eighth grade, she fenced, and played nothing else.

“It was kinda cool, you know, because it was something a whole lot of people didn’t do,” Rake said.

She has won tournaments, fenced around the United States and in Europe and has become part of the fencing community — which promises to grow once she starts fencing at Brown University this fall.

Rake had considered Northwestern and Notre Dame, but liked Brown’s coach, Atilio Tass, and the school itself.

It’s funny too, because Rake, who belongs to the Kansas City Fencing Club, doesn’t think many people at FSHS even know about her sport.

“Maybe one or two of my friends know that I fence,” she said. “Fencing is so much a part of my life, but it’s amazing. I really don’t think many of the people at Free State realize how much of a big deal it is.”

Rake said none of her friends have seen her fence, but most of that is because of geography. With so many tournaments on each coast and practice in Overland Park, the travel involved doesn’t lend itself to Lawrence spectators.

Madeline Rake's favorite sport is fencing. Next year the Free State High senior will continue her career at Brown University.

Rake uses the saber, the sport’s fastest sword. Of the three classes — saber, foil and epee — saber is probably the toughest because of its speed and scoring area. Any point on the body counts as a point, while the foil is limited to below the torso and epee has designated target areas.

Her coach, Kelly Williams, said Rake is perfectly suited to the saber because of her size — Rake is just taller than 5 feet — quickness and intelligence. It’s not that she’s just suited for fencing either; Williams said any athlete would be a good fencer.

“It’s the same thing with other sports,” Williams said. “If you’re good at basketball, if you’re good at soccer, you’ll probably be good at fencing.”

Plus, Rake likes the strategic aspect of the saber. With its speed, she has to be ready for anything.

“You have to have a plan before you start. A touch scores. If you don’t plan out, you’re screwed,” Rake said.

“I’ll try to watch — if I get a chance — my opponent before we start so I get an idea of what they like to do, instead of just responding to what they might do. I also try to start with something they wouldn’t expect.”

Williams, who was an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina and the head coach at North Carolina State before coming to Kansas City, said planning was necessary for one to excel.

Madeline Rake, left, and Jeff Baum work on their fencing during a recent Kansas City Fencing Club practice in Overland Park.

“You have to be good, but also smart,” Williams said. “You have to be able to react to what the opponent is doing. To flourish, you have to be able to change your approach if your attack doesn’t work.”

Rake started with the Lawrence Fencing Club, but moved to K.C. when it folded about five years ago. At K.C., she learned from former Soviet Union head coach Vladimir Nazlymov, who’s now head coach at Ohio State. When he left in 1999, Williams became the head coach.

Rake practices two hours a day, five times a week, though she has cut that down in the past year so she can focus on her college preparation.

She had most of her own equipment, which helps defray the cost of what can be an incredibly expensive sport.

“Everything costs at this point,” her father, Lance, said. “The biggest cost is just the travel to the tournaments, which are mostly on the coasts. She’s been everywhere.”

Everywhere is right. The Rakes lived in England in 2001 from January to August, at which point Madeline fenced in England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. She won the Cole Cup, in Manchester, England, a 17-and-under national tournament, but certainly will see stiffer competition when she starts college this fall.

And through it all, she relishes the sport. She likes everything else, but fencing is her niche.

“There’s so many opportunities I’ve had because of fencing,” she said. “I don’t really miss the other (sports) because I love it so much.”