🥇Next Gen Toronto Recap: 3 Competitors, 3 Gold Medals, and a Whole Lot of Heart

This weekend, we had the privilege of bringing our competition team to one of the biggest local tournaments of the year — Next Gen Toronto.

For those who don’t know, Next Gen is one of the largest tournaments in Ontario, right behind the Ontario Open and the IBJJF Toronto Open. This year’s edition brought over 1,200 competitors from across Canada to the prestigious and historic Maple Leaf Gardens — marking the first-ever Jiu-Jitsu event held at this iconic venue.

We brought three competitors from our youth team — Noah, Jonathan, and Rocco — to compete in the gi and the results blew us away, but certainly didn't surprise us.

🥋 Noah

Noah earned gold, finishing his first match with a triangle choke in just 35 seconds, and then winning a dominant performance on points in the finals. Calm, focused, and precise — Noah looked sharp all day.

🥋 Jonathan

Jonathan stormed through his gi division, winning his first match with a quick rear naked choke, and showcasing incredible improvement in his wrestling to earn a hard-fought victory in the finals. He wasn’t done — he stepped into the no-gi division, picked up another rear naked choke win, and took silver after a small tactical misstep in the finals — a fix that’s already in the works.

🥋 Rocco

Rocco followed the lead of his teammates with a strong showing. He opened with a slick Ezekiel choke, then controlled the finals from start to finish, earning a 9-0 win and another gold medal for the team. Shout out to Coach Alfie and professor Luigi from Gracie Humaita Tottenham (Rocco's home academy) for all of the hard work and dedication they have put into his development.

💥 Elizar — Leading by Example

On the adult side, Elizar represented with heart and grit, fighting two tough matches against a skilled opponent. He’s a true example of what it means to compete with class — and issued a challenge to the rest of our adult members: "Try one tournament before the end of the year."

Always training hard in both gi and no-gi, Elizar has become a valuable part of our community — not just for his effort, but for his positive energy. We always joke that he trains so hard to stay ahead of his daughter (an incredible competitor in her own right), but in all seriousness — any day with Elizar and his family on the mats is a good day for us. We know you'll get this one back.

🔁 Redemption Season

For me, the theme of this weekend was redemption.

All three of our youth competitors have faced adversity this season. The local Jiu-Jitsu scene continues to evolve — the talent level is rising fast — and our boys had fallen just short of gold in recent events.

I know all three of these young men had questioned themselves and their abilities after some tough losses at the beginning of the year. It's almost impossible to put into words the effort, energy and emotional investment these kids put into their training. As their coach, I understand that these losses are a required ingredient for success, but that's not easy to hear when you fall short on the goal you've been working so hard to accomplish. Instead of dwelling on results they couldn't change, they got back to work and they focused on what they could change - their preparation for the next one. And this weekend, they proved to themselves what I’ve always known: they belong at the top of the podium.

These kids are so dedicated; and so it's only right that I make it my mission to match their dedication with mine — tailoring their game plans, watching footage, scouting opponents, and competing myself when I can to stay sharp and learn how to guide them better, both through the mental and physical battles of competition.

🏆 From Surviving to Winning

Last year, I was trying to prove to myself that we could hang with the top schools and survive.

This year, we’re proving to our students that they have the skill, the work ethic, and the grit to win at the highest level. They just need to believe in themselves.

As proud as I am of these results, I can't take all the credit as I certainly couldn’t do this alone.

Over the past year, we’ve made it a priority to build the strongest possible team around our students — and that decision is paying off in a big way. A huge part of this success goes to:

🧠 Professor Mike, who has stepped up to help elevate our youth competition team, and my own jiu-jitsu to another level.

🔥 Professor Karan, whose no-gi expertise has added sharpness, precision, and strategy to our students’ games.

👊 Coach Tyson, whose work with our students’ wrestling has been instrumental in building confidence on the feet.

👊 Coach Mike & Justin, Who are always willing to step in and take over class when I'm away.

👊 Coach Frank, our in house photographer and motivator. Still undefeated in kids class challenge matches.

Three youth team competitors. Three gold medals.

We couldn’t be more proud of what our team accomplished — and of the way they supported each other every step of the way. They say it takes a village to raise a child — well, it also takes a village to raise a champion. And we couldn’t be more proud of the students and the team of coaches who helped them get there. Thank you to all of our students and coaches who helped the competitors prepare for this, and the parents who sacrificed all of their time to help their children succeed. This win belongs to you as well.

Our next major tournament outing will be September 6th at the GTA Classic. If you are interested in competing, let your coaches know!

Coach Rick