Great performance last night by Jonathan Calestine to win EBI 15 in the featherweight division in his debut performance. Mr Calestine replaced his main teacher, Eddie Cummings on short notice after Mr Cummings came down with flu during the week. Mr Calestine was a regular training partner and apprentice in the squad, but left with Eddie Cummings due to concerns about training next to team mates who either did, or could potentially compete against them in the same weight classes. It's always a tricky thing to deal with this problem. Some athletes, such as Garry Tonon and Gordon Ryan, are fine with the idea of training with people they will compete against, others, such as Eddie Cummings and Jonathan Calestine feel awkward about it. As a coach I respect and understand that. We still think of them as alumni from the same team and carrying the torch of our approach to the game. Mr Calestine's strong leg locking pedigree was very much in evidence last night as he quickly heel hooked his first three opponents in regulation and then won the final against 10th planet stand out Geo Martinez in over time to take a great win. Great to see his success as a student and Mr Cummings success as a mentor. There are a bunch of other athletes emerging in the squad who can do similar things in future EBI's in various weight categories – this should make for great shows as the seniors go in new directions in the future.
