For Marcus Hale, Nicole Laurell and Ian Stahuljak, judo is more
than a sport. For the trio of Woodland Park High School students,
judo is the means to becoming better athletes, students and members
of the community.
In all, judo guides the three locals to become better
people.
“The focus we teach in judo has a lot to do with not only school
and your academic achievements, but focusing on anything you want
throughout your life,” said Jeff Laurell, who along with his wife,
Amy, coaches the athletes of Suzuran Judo in Divide. “If there’s
something you want to go get, you want to achieve a higher level in
a job position or any kind of aspirations you might have, if you’re
able to keep a good focus on it and believe strongly in what you’re
doing, it can be achieved. That is a very important message that we
pass on to our classes.”
Hale, Laurell and Stahuljak applied their inspiration to a level
that few student athletes have attained in judo. The trio has been
selected to train with Team FORCE, an elite national judo program
that emphasizes success on the mat, in school and in leadership
roles in any facet of life.
Team FORCE judo athletes are selected because they show the
makings of potential Olympic or world championship
competitors.
Hale won a silver medal at the 2006 Junior Olympics and a bronze
medal at the High School National Championships. One of two females
to earn a spot on Team FORCE, Laurell won gold at the 2005 Junior
Olympics and silver at the U.S. Junior Nationals. Stahuljak won a
gold medal at the Dallas Open and took fifth place at the Junior
Olympics.
Under the direction of Team FORCE, the local trio’s honorable
judo performances will grow more frequent. The elite judo program
is run by 2004 U.S. Olympic team leader Buck Wessell and two-time
Olympic medalist Jimmy Pedro and trains throughout the year for
local, national and international tournaments.
“Buck and Jimmy share the same visions that Amy and I do, as far
as not only getting the athletes on the Olympic podium, but helping
them with the future after competition, as well,” Jeff Laurell
said.
Off the mat, Team FORCE athletes take part in monthly leadership
sessions, concentrating on setting goals, discipline, confidence,
communication and visualization. Members also teach these skills to
budding athletes on the mat and volunteer in their
communities.
On the mat, the trio led Suzuran Judo at the Pikes Peak
International Tournament Feb. 24 in Colorado Springs. Hale and
Laurell earned second place in their senior divisions at the event,
while Stahuljak took third. Suzuran athlete Dan Chisholm also
finished first in the 13-14-year-old novice division for
boys.
The tournament served as preparation for the 2007 High School
National Championships March 24-25 in Miami.
“This was a good warm-up for us to try some of the new
techniques we’ve been working on in preparation for the nationals,”
Jeff Laurell said of the local tournament. “It also helps us shake
some of the winter rust and get our competition heads back on and
pick up the intensity level.”
Shawn Stahuljak was unable to compete in the recent tournament.
Instead of taking the judo mat, the younger Stahuljak was grappling
with middle school kids on the wrestling mat, earning first place
in his weight class at a WPMS tournament.
Stahuljak’s judo skills helped push him to the fore of another
sport.
“The junior high school coach was asking Ian how Shawn stays so
focused,” Jeff & Laurell said. “Ian told him that that’s what
we train, that’s what we teach. That’s the message of judo. That’s
what one coach and friend of mine calls judo’s magic
message.”
Contact Ryan Lucas at 719-687-3006 or
rlucas@ccnewspapers.com.