At 08:15 PM 5/9/2006, you wrote:
Jim,
Here is that e-mail we spoke about over the phone about USA Wrestling.
Take care.
Jim
From: James R. Matthie [mailto:jmatthie@nethere.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 12:13 AM
To: James R. Matthie
Subject: USA Wrestling takes over Judo as NGB
Dear Judo Community,
It is time for hardball.
Thank you for reading and commenting on my email critiques of USJI. My email list is growing daily. I am shocked by a few aggressive and unprofessional responses I have received from USJI management telling me that I have no right to voice my opinion. Do they forget I am a stakeholder in Judo and like a shareholder of a business; it is me/us that ultimately hires and fires management. I find it a complement that the USJI has stepped up its PR in recent weeks about what a great job it is doing. However, when the most important department in an organization is PR, it is in trouble. USJI is in trouble.
I have been working on a market analysis, strategic plan and financial analysis for Judo for sometime. I was going to launch my findings and ideas on a new Website but the By-Laws fiasco changed my timing. The response to my writings has been very positive if you think it is positive that 65% detest USJI ? even USJI members. Due to circumstances, I must now reveal my incomplete strategic plan early.
THE GOAL: Per the new By-Laws the sole purpose of USJI is to 1) win Olympic and World medals, and 2) promote the sport of Judo in the US so in part number one occurs. All other activities that do not lead to this goal should be eliminated.
A very simple market analysis reveals that there are 750,000 competitive wrestlers in the US and maybe 10,000 for Judo. After 26 years of USJI, it is mind boggling that this glaring opportunity has not been aggressively pursued. I have been talking about this obvious ready made market for years (ask Jimmy Pedro Jr., Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, Jesse Jones, Gerald Lafon, Jerry Hayes and Ron Tripp). My initial approach was formulated because I thought I was getting the ED job. Here is what I would have done and what I am doing now without USJI. Let it be known that I do no one else?s bidding.
Remember the goal! This not about emotion, we all love Judo but this is about promoting Judo to win Olympic medals. We still have the USJA and USJF. We all know that not all wrestlers will be good Judo players but what if 10% played Judo (75,000) and 0.01% became Olympic hopefuls (75)? After 26 years of USJI, could no one think of this? Why has not USJI?s new ?professional? CEO weighed in on this ? this is high school marketing. To quote the Russian Judo Coach ?Russia is a very strong wrestling country, so of course our style of Judo will reflect this.? Isn?t wrestling just as strong in the US?
We do not need expensive ad campaigns or the media to introduce Judo to the public, there are already 750,000 athletes competing in wrestling as we speak and Judo is wrestling. Judo needs to direct all its efforts to wrestling (hmm?what if Judo was part of wrestling then the task would be simple?). What has USJI done and what are they going to do attract wrestlers to Judo ? virtually nothing! How much money have they raised for promotion? Tomorrow, Ron Tripp will reveal his big plan for getting the next US Judo Olympic Champion from wrestling. Why is Ron Tripp promoting anything? Per the new By-Laws, I thought President Tripp was now just a figure head and the new ?professional? CEO was the thinker (I look forward to reading about the next Judo Olympic Champion).
HERE IT IS Although the details are not all worked out; here is what needs to happen and what I am in the process of making happen as we speak. USJI needs to shut it doors and be a sport under the umbrella of USA wrestling. USA wrestling runs parallel sports: Freestyle, Greco Roman and now Sombo. Judo needs to be the forth.
What is in it for US Judo: Judo gets promoted to 750,000 active competitors for free, resulting in a tripling of Judo participation and numerous Olympic medals year in year out. Because of reduced overhead due to the elimination of replication, more USOC money goes to Judo (if Judo does this voluntarily it can get the deal it wants but if hostile, it may not be the case). I see most of the same people in USJI running Judo but in a much better environment.
What is in it for wrestling: USOC money and Olympic medals which brings in further USOC money? USA Wrestling will bring in sponsorship money because they know how to do it. It is also just more grappling activity which is good for all related sports. Furthermore, USA Wrestling is now charged with developing and promoting the sport of Sombo. What if they had 10,000 competitive Judo players teaching jacket wrestling to the wrestlers?
What is in it for the USOC: Judo becomes much more popular, virtually overnight and with little expense, and Olympic medals are regularly won in Judo, a major international sport of Judo.
BACKDROP: Title Nine (equal money for woman?s sports) has resulted in many wrestling programs being dropped. Woman?s wrestling is now an Olympic sport. Judo is also an empowering sport for women and somebody worth their salt could sell the leading woman?s organizations that Judo should be taught in the schools and be a competitive sport. This would mean that the wrestling room would get more use and help protect the facilities for wrestling. It is also just more grappling type activity and this is good for all related sports.
If anybody wants to see my scientific or academic publications go to the below link to the NIH National Library of Medicine and search my name ?Matthie J?:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed
I did not intend on analyzing data and writing papers but I needed to get the job done; amazingly, now I have better academic credentials then most professional academics.
Sincerely
Jim Matthie, Doctorate, Educational Administration