To say that our first time Ivey League MMA kids competitor’s did good would be an understatement indeed. We took a team of 5 kids to the tournament, held in Ashbury, NJ. We walked away with 2 golds and a silver medal. Not bad at all considering most of the kids have less then 6 months training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu(BJJ). Below is a recap of how things played out…
The day started with 6 year old Donavon Boggs, one of the newest members of our Black Belt Club (BBC) program. Donavon won his first match after being down 10+ points. Being as tough as little D is, he came storming back to win by rear choke. He ended up placing 2nd in nogi beginner (1 year and under training) and also placed 4th in white belt. Keep in mind that most of the kids Donavon rolled against had about a year of training under their belts and Donavon has 5 months. Not bad at all.
Second up would be Holden Murphy, This wasn’t Holden’s first rodeo as he has been our most consistent kids competitor over the last year. (Holden took a silver medal at the prestigious pan kids tournament held in California) Holden went 1-2 for the day so not what he hoped for but in the end you have good days and bad, he’ll pick himself up quickly and get back into the game like the 3%’er he is.
Alex Coe was going on the mat right next to his big brother Holden. Alex had a good day we thought, he placed in the top 8 in both gi and nogi and really showed some big improvements. It’s tough for kids (and adults!) because they only care about the gold medals and coming in first. In the grand scheme of things Alex did a really good job and maybe he didn’t medal at this tournament but we see big things out of him for the future.
Jack Thomson hit the mats on the other side of the floor and got his BJJ tournament career started. He did well, going 1-2 for the day (one lost was to another ivey league kid so not sure how to count that?) Jack ended up beating the young man that beat him in the first round by using a better strategy, so he showed us he is coachable. We think Jack will be a hammer in the future as he keeps on going with his training.
Jacob Goodman had a day a lot like Jack’s, went 1-2 but showed great ability to be coached. Jacob had some nice moves and was about to use his great balance all the time. Something he also used which a lot of people who don’t roll with him miss is his insane flexibility. He’s like a rubber band! He will grow and learn from the tournament and like the other Ivey League kids, return 10x better!
The breakout star of the tournament was Jr BBC student Austin Dalton, who had the day of his life. After doing a headstand to make weight (ha told you guys it works!) He laid down the law on all he faced. Winning double gold medals in both gi and nogi. He had some tough matches but Austin has a great ability to adjusts to situations and seemed to always come out on top. On top of winning he used lots of great skills like armbars, double legs, takedown defense and guard passing to win. Much congrats to the newest star for the Annapolis’ kids martial arts scene.
Overall it was a great time for the kids (and parents). We’re pretty sure the kids had just as much fun playing before the tournament as they did competing in it. Next up will be the Naga in NJ when we will be debuting more new kids to the circuit like the Dvorak twins and Emma Munsey. Stay tuned!!
Below is a much that Holden Murphy had
