| Judoplayer of the Month |
December 2, 2009 |
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| Coaching Course |
November 22, 2009 |
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Colin Phung was selected as the Junior Judoplayer of the Month, on his 7th birthday, for his improvement in physical toughness.
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Twenty-two coaches from Southern California participated in a USJA Coach Course conducted by Coach Gerald Lafon. |
| Judoplayer of the Month |
November 4, 2009 |
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| Friday Night at the Fights |
October 30, 2009 |
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Cami Lopez was selected as the Junior Judoplayer of the Month for the outstanding progress of her randori skills. |
A great pre-Halloween event that should have been called "Friday Night at the Frights." First, a class only devoted to competition and randori, then a quick change into Halloween costumes, topped off with lots of food. See a video from the event or some of the pictures in our gallery. |
| Revenge in Montreal |
October 17, 2009 |
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| Quebec Open |
October 10, 2009 |
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Natalie Lafon defeated Canadian national champion Laurie Wiltshire to win gold at the Rendez-Vous Montreal, scoring both waza ari and ippon to exact revenge on her loss to Wiltshire by yuko the previous week. |
Natalie Lafon placed second at the Quebec Open, losing to the Canadian national champion in the final. Next up is the Rendez-Vous Montreal. |
| Judoplayer of the Month |
October 5, 2009 |
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| Nanka Team Challenge |
October 4, 2009 |
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Ryan Knight, soon to be 8 years old, was selected as the Junior Judoplayer of the Month for her outstanding technical progress and attitude change. |
On a last minute lark, Malcolm Rahming, Eric Geib and Parisu Komaradat represented Judo America at the Nanka Team Challenge and took second place |
| U.S. Open |
September 26, 2009 |
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| Judo America Tournament |
September 20, 2009 |
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Natalie Lafon moved back up to 52kg and placed third at the U.S. Open in San Jose, losing to the eventual gold medalist Jeannette Rodriguez in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Parisu Komaradat took first in his first Master competition competition in the 30-34 year old, 90kg division. |
Our last tournament of the year attracted 88 competitors from Southern California and Mexico. We received many compliments for our new blue and yellow mats which we installed just a week before the tournament. |
| Black Belt Promotions |
September 4, 2009 |
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| Bahamas Training Camp |
July 6-19, 2009 |
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Coach Lafon promoted Eric Geib to 1st Dan (degree black belt) during a promotion ceremony that featured nineteen black belts and scores of junior and senior members. Two others were surprised by their promotions. Coach Paul Smith was awarded his 2nd Dan, while two-time Olympian Valerie Lafon Gotay was awarded her 5th Dan. 2008 U.S. Olympic Coach Israel Hernandez was on hand to demonstrate his famous Cuban roll turnover. |
Coach Lafon conducted a two-week international training camp and coach education course in the Bahamas for players and coaches from the Bahamas, Barbados, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. He also refereed (!) in the Caribbean Cup 2009. See the action here. |
| Senior Nationals |
April 17, 2009 |
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| Club Tournament |
March 22, 2009 |
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Natalie Lafon won a silver medal at the USA Judo Senior Nationals in San Diego. She came in as the #1 ranked player at 48kg but was unable to defeat Katelyn Bouyssou in the finals. Lincoln Han finished a very respectable 7th at 73kg. |
Our first club tournament of the year featured 75 junior competitors from 10 clubs from Southern California and Mexico. |
