Summer intensity heating up
Published Saturday July 4th, 2009
SAINT JOHN - Early summer sweat doesn't take long to form on the athletes inside the Kiyokan Judo Club.
While it is near dusk, the humidity is high and the temperature outside is still comfortable.
Yet inside the club - housed above the Peter Murray Arena on the city's west side - the thumping of athletes hitting the mat and the barks of instruction from the coaches is masked by the wailing fan that provides some cool air and makes training bearable.
The athletes' physical effort is taxing but necessary as the dedicated judokas put the final touches on their techniques and form before starting a crucial stage of their 2009 season.
For five members of the club, that means the Canadian under-20, under-17 and under-15 judo championships, which are underway this weekend in Calgary.
That will be followed by a week at national training camp, also in Calgary, almost three more weeks of training in Brazil, another-two week camp in Quebec and for three of the club's athletes, the ride will continue to the sixth edition of the Francophone Games in Lebanon in September.
For some, the overall experience is an introduction to major national and international competition. For others, such as 18-year-old Maxime Raymond, a Kedgwick native now living in Saint John, the meets provide a platform to develop an already impressive resumé.
"He is the most talented judoka in the province right now," said Carrie Murray, who along with John Parent, are the club's head instructors.
Raymond, his brother Miguel, Vannessa St. Pierre, Tabatha Cormier and Billy Hanlon are all in Calgary for the junior nationals, all with high expectations.
Then in September, Maxime Raymond, St. Pierre and 27-year-old Ok Ikejani will represent the province at the Francophone Games.
Maxime Raymond, 18, has big dreams and hopes to end the year on the Canadian junior men's team. He's confident based on a victory in the juvenile division two years ago, a seventh-place result in this year's Canadian senior nationals and a third-place result at an elite senior meet in Boston earlier this year.
"I have a lot more confidence, more experience and more strategy," he said of his recent success.
Murray said Raymond, who will take physical education at the University of Laval this fall, has great potential and could become a Canadian senior champion.
Raymond dreams of the Olympics, a goal he said became a possibility after he won the national juvenile division crown in 2007.
He ranks the Francophone Games slightly ahead of the nationals in importance. However, a Canadian junior title and a possible berth on the national junior team could reverse that.
Ikejiani took up judo after his soccer career ended at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. While studying for his master's degree, he got a tip about the sport and hasn't looked back since.
He quickly progressed through the levels, impressing as an orange belt who defeated black belts and continues on.
At 27, he is the oldest member of the New Brunswick judo team but he doesn't let that bother him.
"To me, they are like my brothers and sisters. It is a big family," Ikejiani said.
While his soccer background played a role in his top-level fitness, he learned judo quickly, earning high praise from Murray, who describes Ikejiani as one of those rare natural athletes who walks into a club and flies through the system.
For example, with less than three years of formal training in the sport, he finished seventh at the senior nationals this year, "which at his age, to do what he has done is superb," Murray said.
He'd like to win a medal in Lebanon and is dedicating almost two months of training in Brazil to try to meet his goal. He's trained with former Canadian Olympian Nicholas Gill and has developed into a shining example of dedication at the club.
"He is an icon in the club," Murray said. "It is his personality. He is likeable and very influential."
St. Pierre won a national silver medal at the 2008 nationals and is making the jump to junior.
Like her teammates, she will train this summer in Brazil, which she also did a year ago.
"I think that helped me get a great result," said St. Pierre, who will turn 16 during training in Brazil and is the youngest member of the New Brunswick judo team heading to Lebanon.
"It really helped her confidence," Murray said.
St. Pierre, who attends Samuel de Champlain, worked out twice a day in Brazil and like her Kiyokan teammates, feels it helped her speed, technique and overall skill.
As for goals, St. Pierre wants to get a medal at the Francophone Games, "but whatever happens, happens. I just want to continue to get better and go far in judo."
The junior nationals continue through Sunday.
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