Member News

March 16, 2007

It Takes a Club… USA Judo Club Spotlight: A New Feature on www.usjudo.org!

USA Judo is pleased to announce a new feature that will appear every month of the USA Judo Web Site, www.usjudo.org.  “It Takes a Club” will highlight a USA Judo member club every month that typifies the success and dedication of those coaches in the grassroots trenches working tirelessly and selflessly to grow the sport to new heights of popularity.  This month’s featured club is Becerra Judo and Jujitsu Club in Garland, Texas.

Becerra Judo and Jujitsu Club: Led by a Man with a Passion

The largest USA Judo club in the nation, Becerra Judo and Jujitsu Club boasts more than 325 students who participate in the club’s 11 weekly classes in Garland, Texas.

Becerra (far right) with six of his top junior players, all of whom won Junior National and Junior U.S. Open medals in 2006.

Although the club is one of the most successful junior programs in the Southwest, recently winning its twelfth consecutive team trophy at the Texas State Championships in San Antonio, Head Coach Bert Becerra (Garland, Texas) is quick to point out that wining medals is secondary to making sure his players are consistently enjoying the sport.

“Our main thing is that we want to make sure our kids have fun.  Our classes are tough, but we’re always having a good time,” Becerra said. “We play lots of games pertaining to judo and the kids just think they’re having fun, but they’re really learning at the same time.”

Based out of the Gale Fields Recreation Center, the club frequently has potential new students check out the evening sessions.

“Since we’re at a rec center, there’s always kids who’re coming through and see the class going on and how much fun my kids are having and then they want to sign up too,” Becerra explained. “It’s simple.  If they’re not having fun, they’re not going to stay.  I don’t care if I’m the World Champion, they’ve got to enjoy it to keep coming back.”

Diana Yoshida (center) receives the Overall Team Trophy for Becerra Judo at the 2006 Dallas Invitational.  Yoshida is one of the club's top seniors and is a contender for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Judo.

Becerra’s “fun philosophy” paid off well in 2006 when six of his students won Junior National medals, including a Junior U.S. Open title by Paul Gomez (Harlingen, Texas).  A former Triple Crown winner Michael Assels (Garland, Texas) won two Junior National medals in 2006 and took a silver at the Junior U.S. Open to finish out the year ranked second in the Male Intermediate B (11-12-year-old) division.

Ashley Cameron (Garland, Texas) is another of Becerra’s top juniors.  A Junior National bronze medalist in the Juvenile B 44kg division last year, Cameron recently qualified for the 2007 Pan American Juvenile Team at 48kg and will compete at the most prestigious junior event in North or South America in April in Santo Domingo.

Last year, another of Becerra’s protégées competed on the Pan Am Junior Team when Andre Taylor (Dubuque, Iowa) won a silver medal in the 55kg division and competed the next month as one of the youngest members of the Senior Pan Am Team in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Although Becerra has clearly coached a number of athletes to top finishes, he doesn’t point to any one tournament or athlete as his proudest moment as a coach, rather he says: “Any time I see any of my students getting better and improving, that’s what makes me proud.

“It’s a daily thing, not just one tournament or one win, but just when I see any of my students out there doing well and having fun, whether they win that day or not,” Becerra continued.

Becerra (far right) served as one of the coaches for the USA Judo High School All-Star Team trip to Japan last summer.

Also in 2006, Becerra had the opportunity to serve as a coach for the U.S. High School All-Star Team that trained and competed in Japan.

“I’ve lived in Japan before, but this trip was just great.  Nobody thought we would win and we did,” he said.  “The kids we took were all great and they really gave their hearts out. I was very proud.”

This year Becerra and his crew plan on focusing on two major domestic junior tournaments as well as sending teams to train and compete in Mexico and Brazil. 

“We have a lot of new students and so we have some local tournaments we’re getting ready for, but we’re really concentrating on High School Nationals and the JO’s [USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships] in San Antonio,” Becerra said.

Becerra can be found on the mat for four hours at a stretch six days a week in addition to traveling with his players to events throughout Texas and the nation, but can always be found with a smile, happy to help any athlete who asks.

“Bert not only a great coach, but he really cares about his athletes and is always striving to do whatever he can to help grow the sport of judo,” said USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

For more information on Becerra Judo and Jujitsu Club, visit www.becerrajudo.com or call 972.681.9485.  A seventh-degree black belt who has trained and taught at the Kodokan in Japan, Becerra’s staff includes fifth-degree black Ron Yoshida (Plano, Texas) and second-degree black Rita Law (Richardson, Texas).