Here are my thoughts from the tournament.
11 of the roughly 16 or 17 attendees at the rules clinic given by our
guests that drove all the way from Chicago were from the University of
Tennessee. I received no complaints about us leaving at 430 am to make
it there and everyone there actually came to the clinic instead of
sleeping or listening to their headphones out in the gym. Most of the
others outside our club who attended, including many of those living
in Nashville, just strolled in an hour or two after the clinic
started. No other club in Tennessee extended that level of courtesy to
our guests.
5 of the 12 referees were from the University of Tennessee. I
received many compliments for all of your work, as well as several
admonishments for some of you not refereeing on the national level
yet. That's a good thing in that very experinced referees are
recognizing your efforts in developing your refereeing abilities and
see a lot of potential in you. No other club in Tennessee is stepping
up to support all of the tournaments in the region in this way.
Everyone that I saw tried the things you have been working on! It
seems basic, but many times people forget to do that in the heat of
battle. I saw great effort, enthusiasm and spirit in your performances.
There was great positive encouragement and support for one another on
and off the mat, none of the "angry" stuff that I heard from other
coaches and clubs. I thought it was great that when our players were
coming off the mat, their teammates were there to greet them, win or
loss. I don't think I saw that level of comeraderie in any other team
there.
I saw great sportsmanship in both wins and losses. Accepting victory
and defeat with grace and an extended hand in friendship is an
important part of respecting this sport and its tradition.
I received many compliments from other senseis that you guys all
seemed like really good people. I couldn't agree more and that is what
makes me proud to be a part of this group. Thanks for representing
yourselves and our club and University so well this weekend. Whether
you are a state champion or not, take a bow.
Thanks,
Mike Takata
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 21, 2010, at 1:06 AM, Jason Rieger <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> We had 11 club members compete in the TN State Judo Championships
> this weekend. The team earned a combined record of 23 wins and 18
> losses. Jeff Prentiss, Matt Coleman, Chris Graves, and Russell
> Ragghianti competed in a 16 man division. Jeff finished 4th and Matt
> finished 5th. Jason Rieger played in both the Seniors and Masters
> Divisions. He finished 1-2 for 5th place in a nine-man division in
> Masters and 3-0 for 1st place in an eight-man division in Seniors.
> Amy Coleman threw two quick ippons in a best of three to place 1st.
> Hatem El Dakhakhni also won 2 straight to finish first. Felix Kim
> finished third in his division. Tucker Netherton and Joseph Kwon
> played in a twelve-man pool. Tucker recorded 3 wins and 2 loses and
> Joseph recorded 2 wins and 2 loses. As always the state tournament
> was also an open tournament. John Thompson finished third overall in
> the tournament, but placed second in the state. Next week the club
> will travel to North Carolina to compete in the Mayfield Judo
> tournament.
>
> --Jason Rieger
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