The ExCell Midlands pilot will be launched on Wednesday 20th January (amended from the 13th January - due to weather conditions) at the Walsall campus, Wolverhampton University, with Head Coach Patrick Roux leading the first session.

ExCell Midlands is part of a BJA initiative for identifying, nurturing and progressing talented young players in England. The idea is to provide a link and ‘stepping stone’ between clubs, the England Core programme and the British Performance programme. The first Performance Cell, ExCell North West, was successfully launched at Wigan Judo Club on Wednesday 9th December.

The pilot will last for 8-weeks, providing compulsory weekly training for players on the England Talent Development Squad and other England players, who are also welcome to take part. The pilot will then be assessed on its effectiveness before being further rolled out.

The format for the ExCell Midlands sessions will be a technical session from 7.00pm - 8.00pm for England Squad Cadet and Junior players and an open randori from 8.00pm – 10.00pm. These sessions will be led by a coaching team of Bill Kelly, Fitzroy Davis, Dennis Stewart, Dave Elmore and several coaches from around the Midland Area.

Heading towards the New Year, it is planned to set up ExCell’s in the Northern Home Counties, South and London next, whilst discussions continue with other areas about how Performance Cell may work and operate. Any questions should be directed to Matt Divall, matt.divall@britishjudo.org.uk