As 75 judokas of all ages and sizes dressed in blue and white moved back and forth on the mat with their partners Sunday, Jeremy LeBris encouraged them to do it again.
And again.
And again.
The judokas listened. After all, it's not every day they receive guidance from a national team coach.
LeBris is the national assistant senior coach for Judo Canada and was at the Northern Sport Centre all weekend for a Team B.C. mandatory 2015 Canada Winter Games selection camp.
It was organized by the Prince George Judo Club. LeBris was invited to the camp by Bruce Kamstra of the Hart Judo Academy who's a Team B.C. head coach.
"I'm trying to show them the basic judo sweeps," said LeBris Sunday morning. "I'm showing them split techniques with very short movements and then they'll put them all together from the first of the move to the end of the move. It's all about repetition. I'm trying to get them to just move. I don't want them thinking during competition. They're the same things that can help them win some medals and prepare for the Canada Winter Games."
LeBris, 36, knows what he's talking about and has impressive credentials.
He spent 10 years between 1995 to 2005 competing for France on the international stage, winning a world championship team bronze medal
and several medals at various international tournaments. He was the No. 2 or 3 ranked judoka for France in the under-60-kilogram weight class.
He and his family arrived at Judo Canada's national headquarters in Montral last winter.
He was surprised to see so many athletes attend the camp but liked what he saw from those gathered from around the province.
"I'm very happy with the level of judo here," said LeBris. "I see the kids, I see they love judo. They like to learn. Hopefully I'll see some of them at the judo National Training Centre in the future."
The Team B.C. that will compete at the 2015 Canada Winter Games will be selected Oct. 18 at a tournament in Abbotsford. The squad will feature one male and one female in each of the seven weight categories, for a total of 14 athletes.
The weekend camp in Prince George was part of Judo B.C.'s four-year plan of identifying and developing talent in certain age groups and weight classes, said Renee Hock, Team B.C.'s Canada Winter Games coach.
Hock was the provincial head coach for 11 years before stepping down in 2010 to have a family. She only returned to the provincial scene this summer.
"This [camp] for me is about connecting with as many kids as possible and relationship building," she said. "These are the kids I'll be working with at the [2015] Games."
She was also impressed with the facility at the Northern Sport Centre.
Once the Canada Winter Games team is selected, it and the top-five in the under-18 and under-21 divisions will compete in the Qubec Open Nov. 1-2 in Montral followed by a training camp at the National Training Centre that's based at Olympic Stadium.
"We probably could've selected the team a long time ago, but this process is good to keep them focused," said Kamstra.
