Tournament Overview
The USA Judo Senior National Championships were held May 3rd and 4th at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, Nevada. This year's National Championships had over 620 entries from athletes across the United States. I competed in two divisions--the 48kg Senior Elite Division as well as the 48kg Brown Belt Division. In the Senior Elite Division I ended the day going 3-1, my only loss coming from the #1 seed in the tournament and eventual gold medalist. After the loss, I came back to win the next match and my first ever National Medal, a bronze. This result boosted my overall national ranking to a career high, #5 in the nation. I also competed in the Brown Belt category to get additional fights and experience. I ended up with gold, winning all my matches by ippon (a full point).
My thoughts: the good
Now that I've had some downtime (while traveling back home), I've had a chance to really evaluate my results, the weekend as a whole, and my progress. I'm proud that I've accomplished yet another one of my judo goals: to medal at a USA judo senior national championships. For this being only my 2nd Nationals and my first at 48kg, placing third isn't too shabby. I started to figure out and understand the USA 48kg player's game. It's very different from my own in that it's very quick (some would say spazzy) and a bit sloppy (compared to the way traditional judo is played). This was really my first time experiencing it, so the fact that I performed as well as I did competing against a new style of play is admirable. Another "good" thing about the weekend was that I competed against and beat (for bronze) a girl that's being doing judo since she was 4 and is also a black belt. She has two to three times more experience in the sport, yet I was able to perform well enough to get the win. Last but certainly not least, I moved up in the national rankings to a career high, number 5 and also solidified my spot on Team USA to compete in a World Cup tournament in Miami this fall. This tournament is an A level international tournament and will give me c a chance to earn Olympic qualifying points.
My thoughts: the bad
Now, as some of you may know, I'm rather hard on myself...so with every success, there are definitely things to work on and improve. Though this weekend was rather successful, I have to admit that I was disappointed in a few things--the first being how I performed during the senior elite bracket. I had a chance to really make a statement on the national stage and make sure everyone knew who Ashley Hejlik was and that I was a force to be reckoned with. In some regards I did, however not to the extent that I wanted. I fought against the #1 seed in the tournament and #1 ranked girl in the USA, but went out on the mat timid, hesitant, and questioning my own abilities. "Am I good enough? Do I know enough judo? Have I competed enough? She has two to three times my experience...can I compete? She's fought numerous times on the international stage." These are the thoughts that went through my head and inevitably, was my demise. I questioned myself, my abilities and my confidence. That can't happen. Judo is probably 80% mental and confidence. I basically defeated myself. I had my chance to fight for gold and I let it slip through my fingertips. Confidence in my abilities is definitely a part of my game that needs work.
The other thing that really stands out which I found to be disappointing, is that I didn't play MY judo. I was stiff, timid, didn't commit to my throws, and didn't attack nearly enough. I let my nerves and lack of experience get the better of me. Luckily, halfway through the bronze medal match, I started to find my groove and pulled out the win. I just wish I would have done MY judo throughout the whole tournament. Yet another thing I will have to work on at practice.
The other thing that really stands out which I found to be disappointing, is that I didn't play MY judo. I was stiff, timid, didn't commit to my throws, and didn't attack nearly enough. I let my nerves and lack of experience get the better of me. Luckily, halfway through the bronze medal match, I started to find my groove and pulled out the win. I just wish I would have done MY judo throughout the whole tournament. Yet another thing I will have to work on at practice.
Next steps
Thankfully, with the success I had at nationals, I earned the opportunity to represent USA at more international, Olympic-point-generating tournaments. That means I have A LOT of work to do--on the mat, mentally, and also finding ways to financially take these trips.
I will head right back to practice tomorrow to get working on the holes in my judo game. I have some scouting to do (both for national and international players I could face). I'll be watching videos of their fights on YouTube and I'll analyze their game and come up with a strategy to attack their weaknesses. I have some recovering to do as well. Besides the obvious soreness, I also need to rehab my shoulder (which was injured multiple times and never healed properly). I probably should see my physical therapist as well as my chiropractor to get healed up. I also need to work on my mental game and confidence. I'm hoping to find a sports psychologist I can work with to help me with this aspect of my game.
My next big tournament will be next month inEl Salvador. After that, in the late summer I'll be heading to Miami to compete in another World Cup. To see additional tournaments, check out my competition schedule here. In order to pay for these tournaments, I'll continue to seek out additional sponsorships, partnerships, grants, and donations. If you're interested in helping fund these trips or know someone who might be, please check out myGoFundMe page. If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring me or partnering with me, I'd love to hear from you. Please know, you'd be in good company! I'm currently sponsored by an international health food company as well as a multi-million dollar publishing company! Check out my sponsors here.
I will head right back to practice tomorrow to get working on the holes in my judo game. I have some scouting to do (both for national and international players I could face). I'll be watching videos of their fights on YouTube and I'll analyze their game and come up with a strategy to attack their weaknesses. I have some recovering to do as well. Besides the obvious soreness, I also need to rehab my shoulder (which was injured multiple times and never healed properly). I probably should see my physical therapist as well as my chiropractor to get healed up. I also need to work on my mental game and confidence. I'm hoping to find a sports psychologist I can work with to help me with this aspect of my game.
My next big tournament will be next month inEl Salvador. After that, in the late summer I'll be heading to Miami to compete in another World Cup. To see additional tournaments, check out my competition schedule here. In order to pay for these tournaments, I'll continue to seek out additional sponsorships, partnerships, grants, and donations. If you're interested in helping fund these trips or know someone who might be, please check out myGoFundMe page. If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring me or partnering with me, I'd love to hear from you. Please know, you'd be in good company! I'm currently sponsored by an international health food company as well as a multi-million dollar publishing company! Check out my sponsors here.