"You'd look better in navy blue" is what the Penn State fencing staff said to current senior Aidan Johnson after he beat all of the men's foil fencers as just a junior in high school and went on to win the 2018 Nittany Lion Cup. Johnson was wearing his club's black jacket at the time.
"That was the best I had ever fenced in my life. After that, I didn't even want to go to any other school. I've always loved Penn State" Johnson said.
Fencing at Penn State was a dream come true for Johnson, but it did not come easy.
As the youngest of four kids with three Division I athletes to look up to, the stakes have always been high for Aidan as a member of the Johnson family.
His oldest sister, Aileen, played field hockey at Duke University and was a member of the US National Team. His other sister, Shannon, followed in similar footsteps, but ultimately chose to play field hockey at her sister's rival school, The University of North Carolina. She was also a member of the US National Team. With Shannon being a goaltender and Aileen being a midfielder, things got interesting as the two faced each other twice in the Final Four throughout their four years playing in collegiate field hockey. Aidan's brother, Stephen, was named one of the best soccer players in the state of New Jersey and went on to be the star midfielder at Steven's Institute of Technology.
"Already doing all the sports as a kid, I watched the Star Wars movie where Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi are fighting with the lightsabers and I was like, 'that'd be really cool.' So, I go to my mom 'I'd love to try fencing.' She was like 'uh okay?' She had never heard of fencing. She found a club 10 minutes from my house. I did the beginner class and was pretty good at it. I stuck with it and 15 years later, I'm here."
Aidan chose to pursue the less conventional sport out of his siblings but has had matched levels of success through countless hours of training. And commuting.
He fenced at the club in his hometown from the age of eight to twelve, and then joined Empire United Fencing. This meant he had to commute an hour one way to Jersey City 5 days a week from age 12 to 14. Luckily, he was able to work out a carpool system with two other fencers from his area.
Empire United Fencing then moved to Manhattan, which extended Aidan's commute to fencing practice even more. School would end at 2:25 p.m., he'd get home by 2:30, heat up something quick to eat, at 2:38 his grandpa would pick him up to drive him to the train station before he got his license, and then he would get to the train station by 2:48 for the 2:55 train.
"I did it every day for four years. I had it down to a science" Johnson said. "This commute was probably one of the hardest aspects of my fencing career."
He did his math and science homework on the way there and English and history on the way back. He had at least a three-hour round-trip commute to fence when he was 14-18 years old.
"If I can commute to the city every day that young, I can do anything. It taught me how to be independent and do things on my own. Following in my sibling's footsteps was hard, but that's what inspired me to train every day more or less. With high expectations comes high reward. All my siblings have great jobs now and I think being a Division I athlete taught them how to work hard, manage their time, all that stuff. So, I think that's why they're so successful today and inspires me to be successful too" Johnson said.
Johnson is in the midst of his senior campaign and looks to be an NCAA qualifier for the second straight season. Upon graduation, he has decided to forego his extra year of eligibility to attend flight school in his home state of New Jersey.
"For 15 years, you're flying a couple times a month, you go North American Cups, you go World Cups, you go to all these tournaments. Throughout my entire middle school and high school career, I was on a plane up to three times a month. I've always loved the thought of aviation, I've always loved the thought of flying, I've always felt kind of at home and comfortable on a plane. Similar to fencing, I thought to myself, 'I would love to be a pilot.'