March 28, 2024

Christian Laverdiere Captures Double Gold

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On Saturday, February 16, Christian Laverdiere of Rehoboth and 3 other members of the Michael DeLuca Brazilian Jiu‐Jitsu Academy of Middleboro, MA competed in the NAGA Championship Grappling Tournament at the Starland Sportsplex in Hanover, MA.

Christian took first place in both the Men’s No‐Gi Intermediate division and Men’s blue belt division at the 150‐159.9 weight limit. The entire DeLuca team had a strong showing and made the podium in their respective divisions.

Coach DeLuca was quite pleased with his students by day’s end. Andre Laverdiere, III (Christian’s older brother), a purple belt and an assistant instructor at the school was quoted as saying, “It was a long, difficult day for “Chrissy", who had to fight 5 hard matches against strong competition across two divisions, as well as dealing with several opponents who were naturally larger than him. Even though Coach DeLuca is riding this emotional high right now, he is as mentally and physically exhausted as our team’s competitors. He puts every ounce of himself into our training in the weeks leading up to a tournament to win and not just show up. Our team and my brother's success is a nod to our slogan of “Position Before Submission”.

“Christian played to the strength of his very well‐developed wrestling game, a heavy base, and relentless top pressure. He won each of his matches convincingly by points, often widening the gap towards the end due to the incredible pace he set, while only having two points scored on him in all 5 of his matches.”

In his last match of the day for his second gold, Christian Laverdiere beat his opponent 11 – 0.

Andre feels 2019 is going to be a promising year for the school, with his brother, Christian on the rise and showing much promise. Next tournaments on their slate are KASAI Elite Grappling Championships in New York City on March 9, and Tap Cancer Out in New Haven, CT on March 30.

Those looking to support Christian and/or make a donation to Tap Cancer Out, please visit instagram.com/christianlaverdiere.

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