ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Innovation Academy fencing club is dominating state rankings at a school dominated by academics.
Opened in 2021, Innovation Academy on Milton Avenue in Alpharetta is a STEM magnet school where students can hone their skills in engineering, health sciences and information technology. The school only has one Georgia High School Association sport: eSports.
Despite the lack of a strong athletic presence, the school joined the Georgia High School Fencing League on behalf of its growing fencing club.
Now, Innovation Academy is ranked number one in both the men and the women categories of the league’s 19 member schools, and its team boasts more than 80 members, compared to the average high school team of 25 to 35.
The club is led by head coach Bill Donges, a retired Navy captain who started his own fencing career at Newfield High School in Selden, New York. There, he fenced under famed Coach Tom Cakouros and went on to become captain.
In addition to his career at Newfield, Donges served as fencing captain at the U.S. Naval Academy.
“I was on gifted teams and did really well,” he said. “We did really well.”
But, Donges said he went many years without thinking about fencing until seeing a local tournament in the Dunwoody Crier. There, he said people asked him to take up coaching, and soon Donges found himself heading the team at North Springs High School.
Donges began at the newly opened Innovation Academy in 2021. His granddaughter Anna Donges, who had fenced under his guidance at North Springs, now studies and fences at Innovation Academy.
Another former fencer at North Springs, Tyler McCubbins, also joined Donges at Innovation Academy to serve as assistant coach.
Every Thursday, Donges clears the tables and chairs from the cafeteria just before the final bell rings. Innovation Academy lacks a gym,…
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