Member News

September 6, 2006

USA Judo U-23 Elite Team Update

Members of the USA Judo U-23 Elite Team had the opportunity to participate in two top-level training camps, training in Montreal, Canada from Aug. 13-18 and at Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield, Mass. from Aug. 21-25. 

U-23 program director and 1999 World Champion Jimmy Pedro (Methuen, Mass.) led sessions at the Montreal camp along with fellow Olympic medalists Nicolas Gil (CAN), Jason Morris (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) and Mark Berger (CAN).

"It was equally important for this team to be around winners and champions,” Pedro said. “Whenever a youngster can surround themselves with champions who have achieved greatness, they start to believe and realize that success is possible.  In Montreal, the team had the luxury of learning from four Olympic medalists.”

Following the Montreal camp, the U-23 Team embarked on a second week of training at Pedro’s Judo Center that included three judo training  sessions per  day.   In addition to team members, athletes from throughout the country attended the camp, including Olympians Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica, Calif. / NYAC / 63kg), Rick Hawn (Woburn, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center / 81kg) and Adler Volmar (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site / 100kg); 2006 Senior Nationals silver medalists Radu Brestyan (Woburn, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center); and 2005 World Team member Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo Club).

"The last two weeks of training camp were terrific development and training opportunities for the U23 Team,” Pedro said. “In addition to intense randori sessions at the Shidokan in Montreal and Pedro's Judo Center, we were able to get in some quality technical sessions with the team and work on their weaknesses."

With as many as 80 athletes attending nightly randori sessions, athletes had plenty of opportunities to train  with players from throughout the country.  In addition to coaching from Pedro, camp participants also had the chance to learn from coaches; Jim Pedro Senior, 1993 World Team Coach (Salem, N.H. / Pedro’s Judo Center) and 2006 Junior World Team Coach German Velazco (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) while the camp was managed by Chris Skelley (Upper Saddle River, N.J. / West Patterson Martial Arts Center).

"I am extremely happy with the group's attitude toward training - they work hard on and off the mat.  If we can continue this program's momentum and carry it through to 2012, I have no doubt that we will have a strong American judo team from top to bottom."

UP NEXT: The U-23 Team will take the skills learned in camp to the competition floor at the Rendez-Vous Canada, Sept. 22-23 in Montreal, Canada.  In their last international outing at the Tre-Torri International in June, U-23 athletes brought home two medals and three top-five finishes.

This time with nearly all of the team members scheduled to compete, expect to see many more trips to the podium for this young crew.

Jimmy Pedro, 1999 World Champion, currently works full-time for Zebra Mats (www.zebramats.com), runs Pedro’s Judo Center in Wakefield, Mass. (www.pedrosmartialarts.com), and is the U23 Program Director for USA Judo.  To contact Jimmy Pedro send an email to: jimmypedro@zebramats.com. 

U-23 athletes participating in the Montreal training camp included:

Men:

Women

U-23 athletes attending the camp at Pedro’s Judo Center, included:

Men

Women