| Member News
August 24, 2007
Jimmy Pedro Conducts
Successful
USA
Judo Elite U-23 Team Training Camp
Seventy athletes participated in Pedro’s Camp of Champions
in
 |
Asma Sharif throws Ronda Rousey. |
| |
 |
Workout session. |
| |
 |
Radu Brestyan throws Rick Hawn. |
| |
 |
Leo Lopes (blue) during randori. |
Wakefield
,
Mass.
this week, including members of the
USA Judo Elite U-23 Team. The camp began
on Monday and concludes on Friday.
Thirty-two players from outside the Pedro’s Judo Center,
including the U-23 Team, participated in three daily workouts that included
morning newaza technique and randori, afternoon technique and evening randori
sessions.
“It’s been an awesome camp so far,” said Jimmy Pedro
(Wakefield, Mass.)
,
former World Champion and U-23 Team Director. “We’ve gotten some good technical
work done and these guys are all eager to learn and very impressionable, so
they adapt well.”
The U-23 Team came to the camp following a training camp
last week at the German Open in Braunschweig which was attended by nearly all
of the top players in
Europe
.
“They got to work out with guys that up until now they’d
only seen on ‘101 Ippons,’ but everybody who’s anybody was there and this was an opportunity to train with the best
players in the world.”
Two members of the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team were among those who fought for medals in Germany. Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE / 70kg) upset the reigning World Champion en route to winning a bronze medal while Josh O'Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 60kg) finished fifth, counting a quarter-final victory over a two-time European medalist among his wins.
"I'm very proud of this program and the success it has brought us in only the second year," said Eddie Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance. "We feel that we're off to a great start in preparation to have our most successful Games in 2012."
Players attending the camp included:
- Josh O’Neil
(Colorado
Springs
,
Colo.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Olympic
Training
Center
/ 60kg), fifth-place
finisher at the German Open
- Aaron Kunihiro
(Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
60kg), #1-ranked junior
- Gerhard Zeitler (GER / 60kg), 2006
German Junior National silver medalist
- Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho /
Western Idaho Judo Institute / 73kg), 2007 British Open silver
medalist
- RJ Cohen
(Buffalo Grove, Ill.
/ Cohen’s Judo / 73kg), three-time Senior Nationals medalist
- Bobby Lee
(Coral
Springs,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at North Miami
/ 73kg), 2006
U.S.
Open
Champion
- Radu Brestyan
(Wakefield, Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
73kg), 2007 British Open bronze medalist
-
Harry
St.
Leger (
Brooklyn
,
N.Y.
/ Starrett Judo / 81kg), 2007
Senior Nationals bronze medalist
- Garry St. Leger (
Brooklyn
,
N.Y.
/ Starrett Judo / 90kg), 2007 Pan Am Championships bronze medalist
- Shintaro Higashi (
Scarsdale
,
N.Y.
/ Kokushi Budo Institute of
New York
/ 100kg),
2007 Senior National Champion
- Aaron Handy (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
100kg), 2007 British Open fifth-place finisher
- Daniel McCormick (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
+100kg), 2007 British Open bronze medalist
- Sayaka Matsumoto (
El Cerrito
,
Calif.
/ NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute / 48kg), 2006 Pan Am bronze medalist
- Ann Shiraishi (
Elk Grove
,
Calif.
/ East Bay Judo Institute / 48kg), 2006 U.S. Open medalist
- Marie Scott (57kg), 2007 Senior
Nationals bronze medalist
- Marti Malloy (
San
Jose
,
Calif.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
San Jose
State
University
/ 63kg), 2007 Senior National Champion and World Team member
- Kristin Allan (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
63kg), 2007 Pan Am Championships fifth-place finisher
- Kayla Harrison (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
63kg), 2007 Senior Nationals silver medalist
- Ronda Rousey (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
70kg), 2007 Pan Am Games Champion and World Team member
- Asma Sharif (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE /
+78kg), 2007 Senior National Champion and World Team member
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