Isaiah Edmond, one of Lloyd Irvin's beasts / Photo: publicity
Team Lloyd Irvin had a gala performance February at the last Pan Kids, with 16 gold medals, six silver and five bronze.
“It was a tournament where the coaches, competitors and referees displayed great posture with the kids; it was all fantastic. We intend to compete at all editions of Pan Kids from now on. Our kids trained super hard for this event, got on the honor roll to be able to compete and they fought their hearts out to win the team title,” Lloyd told GRACIEMAG.com in praise.
Indeed, the team won the junior and teen divisions to win the overall team title.
Any great promise for the future? A new Mike Fowler or “JT” coming up within the ranks?
“It’s hard to point out just one name. I’d say one of the standouts was Isaiah Edmond, our junior 2 orange belt, for submitting both his opponents on his way to winning gold. Then there’s Shane “Jamil” Hill-Taylor, who had a great showing in the most stacked division, the green belt teen 3 one. It’s probably the toughest category in the Pan Kids.
Of course, team Lloyd Irvin’s achievements don’t end there. “The Canadian World Pro trials are worth mentioning: our purple belt De Alonzio “BJ” Jackson won at weight and open weight, like he did at the Euro Open. And our brown belt Jimmy Harbison, a 20-year-old champion of Europe, fought a bunch of black belts in Montreal and won his weight division, earning his way to Abu Dhabi,” adds Irvin.
And what about the Pan in March?
“There the news isn’t that good. We had some recent injuries and some of our best stars won’t be able to compete. But yes, we have a decent batallion going…” Lloyd says in closing.