Welcome to Newburn Judo Club

from founder member

Joe Laws

How ya doin’!

My name is Joe Laws and welcome to the world of Newburn Judo Club. I’m affectionately known as Judo Joe for the obvious reasons and I would be delighted to share with you a little information about this wonderful judo club and myself.

Great year and a great future ahead

It is now 2012 and our club will be celebrating 25 Years of Judo at Newburn this Year and I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities for us to celebrate as we progress even further. It has been a wonderful and remarkable achievement for us as a club to have travelled this far on our journey as we are now credited as a Centre of Excellence with our Governing Body and we have achieved the distinction of Silver Club Kite Mark with British Standards 

Wow! What a year 2011was, I thought that 2010 was very good but last year exceeded all of my expectations. From the plans that were set out in the early stages of the year, I believe we achieved everything and more from those objectives and this has given us a solid base and foundation to work from for this year.

My overall highlights of 2011 are the positive developments within the club. The membership of the club has grown through the introduction of the beginner’s session on a Saturday Morning and the restructuring of the training levels within the club are really paying off through our development and recruitment as we are now working with over 200 adults and young people each week. 

The link up with Newcastle United through the Premier League 4 Sport has been a huge coup for the club but more importantly it has provided an excellent  opportunity for us to work with the schools to develop Judo within the community and that really excites me !

The Education department also provided  us an opportunity to work with 9 Primary Schools that feed into Walbottle High School and we worked out an excellent program that enabled us to deliver sessions to over 100 children.

We have also teamed up with an organisation called SPORTED, and they have helped me to analyse the way the club operates and they have given us scope to help shape our future for the better as we have embarked on encouraging growth and development towards helping us educate the young players to form working parties and become young ambassadors, other initiatives looked at how we sell ourselves and communicate within our club and to the outside.

On the Mat

The club members have performed exceptionally well by winning 79 Gold Medals, 51 Silver Medals and 52 Bronze Medals and a total of 479 contest wins.

We have won a Staggering 11 National Medals which is more than any other Club in Great Britain at the British Championships and this is a huge milestone as this really shows me that the club is developing in all areas and we are moving in the right direction. 

While I am thrilled with the medal contribution that we have accomplished, it is the really positive atmosphere that is within the club from members and parents that has giving me the greatest pleasure plus the arrival and impact of Edu and Luis from Spain plus Pavel from Russia have been very influential on the players, parents and coaches as there involvement has given me real optimism for future developments of the club.

There is an abundance of exciting new children in the club from the development initiatives and our efforts to improve our coaching methods are showing great indications that the New Year will be very promising.

So what lies ahead for 2012 for the club?

I really want to concentrate on promoting the positive atmosphere within the club and continue our growth and development strategy within the community. I believe we have an untapped fountain of knowledge and enthusiasm within the volunteers of this club and I want to create as many opportunities as possible for them, through professional training, to help towards maximising their own aspirations and goals. We will be working with outside agencies to develop courses for volunteers to help the development of the club. I believe the volunteers that take up these opportunities will gain  fantastic experiences and greater insight of judo and the club.

Added to this we will be seeking high quality coaching training sessions for all coaches and members through National and International training camps and move the club forward through networking with our close friends in France, Italy, Madeira and Spain to enable us to gain valuable life learning opportunities and experiences for our coaches and players.

It is vital that the younger and new players are guided through a clear pathway of development and we look to fast track those young athletes who show great spirit and potential for the Contest area, and encourage them to work with the clubs performance players.

Fund raising will continue to be high on our Agenda as this provided a financial platform to work from as the funds will create lots of opportunities for competitive and social initiatives.

My Time at Newburn

I can look back with some fond and cherished memories of numerous special occasions that have stood out for me on and off the mat.

My involvement with the club began on the opening day in 1987 with a handful of children from the local community and it steadily began to develop in size and reputation as the years began to pass by. It has been a huge privilege to have guided this club from the starting point, with the assistance of some very special and dedicated people, who have volunteered their time to be where we stand today, as one of the British Judo Associations (BJA) Centre of Excellence and to have obtained a Silver Level British Standards Kite Mark Accreditation is a remarkable achievement. 

Over the years the club has produced some outstanding judo players who have whole-heartedly committed themselves to the welfare of the club, which has built our reputation within the local community and the British Judo Association. (BJA). It has always been my intention to maximise opportunities for personal development of both the players and their parents, as I fully believe in people and treat everyone with the full respect that they deserve, and that it always comes back with positive reactions.

Personal Point of View

On a personal note Newburn Judo Club and judo has become so very special to me. The club and judo has enriched my life in many, many ways. I have gained so many positive personal experiences and I believe that Judo has allowed me to fully contribute to all of the things that are important to me in life as a person. I could not begin to count the amount of friendships that have blossomed through judo - on and off the mat. Judo's ethos of mutual well being to all is an oasis of reassurance in a world of pressure and expectation especially when it is regarding young peoples lives and it has become the glue that bonds us together 

As a parent, I think both of my children have gained many life learning experiences, through the grading tests, competitions and other events they have took part in. These events have also had a significant impact upon my own emotions as I have experienced the most wonderful feelings of satisfaction, accomplishment, achievement, delight and frustration to mention a few.

Coaching Point of View

As a coach, it has always been my philosophy to inspire and become inspired, I have always managed to find myself surrounded by wonderful people at this club and it has become more of an institution, than a judo club. In a world where I believe every child matters, this is also very important to me as a coach and parent. It is not always about producing the next National or World Champion but inclusion and social acceptance is one of the goals that I pursue. Owing to the way the club is managed it fully endorses: Social Interaction, Friendship, Respect, Confidence, Fairness and Pride. These are the things that are special to me.

Conclusion 

As I look at it now, it has been a combination of the thousands of coaching hours in between competitions, travelling together as a club around the country and abroad that has produced the winning formula of togetherness and unity this club prides itself upon. 

The coaching staff are a solid unit who share the same goals and vision for our athletes, it is evident that we have created  harmony that infiltrates through from the clubs management team right through to our amazing parents and the spirited children.

If you are a member of our club you will know how much I value your contribution to our growth and development. If you are thinking about joining a Judo club ? then come along to Newburn and step onto the mat and bring your friends or children along too. 

You will be guaranteed a warm welcome and I hope you too will get to sample some of the meaningful and wonderful things that have been an inspiration to me and many other people associated with this wonderful Judo club.

Our website has helped us attract some wonderful people through our doors, why don't you be the next one!

Yours Sincerely.

Judo Joe