By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
When thinking of sports that have been around forever, one’s mind likely shifts to football and basketball. One sport was invented around the same time, yet it doesn’t get the same attention for its history – judo.
Judo is a martial art and combat sport that doesn’t use weapons or tools to take an opponent down. The objective of judo is to either toss the opponent, pinning and immobilizing them or forcing them to tap out through a choke or joint lock. Wrestling is similar to judo; the only major difference is the stances. A judo stance is upright with hands high, while a wrestling stance has the legs bent and hunched over.
Judo was introduced to the United States in 1902, 20 years after its creation, and has been an Olympic event since 1964. This form of martial arts is not a sport at Springfield College, but it has impacted the life of one alum.
Keith Bryant started his first year at Springfield in 1988. He called Alumni Hall home for the next four years. His favorite memories were the bonding that happened with friends who also lived in Alumni, such as going to see the Springfield Thunderbirds or playing pickup basketball at Blake Arena, then eating wings while watching sports. One of his favorites, however, is also one he finds quite embarrassing.
“We used to go on ‘donut runs’ at the Dunkin Donuts on Sumner Avenue,” Bryant said. “We waited in the back and they would throw [donuts] out before they made new ones. We take three, four garbage cans back to Alumni Hall and open them up. Sometimes you have coffee grounds and cigarette butts and throw that bag away – but you might have three huge garbage bags.”
A Sports Management major, Bryant enjoyed his classes with former professors Bob Accorsi and Mimi Murray. Bryant also described his time at Springfield College as developmental.
“Being a guy that played sports throughout my whole life, to be in a community where everybody is of that mindset that sports is a priority in their life, it’s a unique situation that you can’t find in other schools,” Bryant said. “My time was great, it helped me learn, develop some life long friends and really set me on the path for where I am today.”
After graduating from Springfield College in 1992, Bryant became a Special Projects Director for the North Dakota Special Olympics from 1994-1997. In this role he supported 12 area programs across the state in coordinating and implementing local and national fundraising, publicity and special events such as the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Months later, Bryant had received the role of Career Services Department Coordinator for the United States Olympic Committee, a place that he called home for the next 13 years. Bryant moved his way up, receiving new titles, such as Associate Director of Athlete Development Programs Division, where he created the first-ever United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) life skills program.
Bryant reached his final rank as Director of the United States Olympic Committee where he worked from 2010 to 2013. During that time, Bryant worked with several judo athletes. After he was done working with the USOPC, Bryant ran into the Human Resources Director of the USOPC. The HR director was also the recruiter for USA judo, and asked Bryant to “throw his hat in the ring” to become the CEO of USA judo.
Attending the 2024 Paris Olympics as the CEO of USA Judo was Bryant’s eighth time being present at the Olympic Games. On Oct. 8, Bryant was part of a Springfield College Olympic Connections Virtual Panel Discussion, along with nine other alums who were involved with the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 KOBE Para Athletics World Championships. His daily duties included checking on his team in the warm up area of the events and having meetings with various people from other national federations.
“Once you get to a CEO level, it is a lot of networking and meeting, figuring out how to collaborate and what’s coming down in the industry and the sport,” Bryant said. “That was a little different for me versus being at four Olympic Games as a village press officer and living in the village with Team USA, running from seven in the morning to 11 o’clock at night with my hair on fire.”
The hardwork and effort Bryant puts in for USA judo has been worth it, as the sport is growing in the United States. When Bryant first started, there were 9,277 members. The COVID-19 pandemic dropped these numbers to 4,700 due to social distancing, but the sport recovered and now has around 13,500 members. Individual memberships have grown by 46% and judo clubs have grown by 42%, making Bryant confident about the growth of Judo in the U.S.
“This year we’ll be running ten mats, which typically we only run six at a national event,” Bryant said. “The signs are good. It’s still not growing as fast as your mainstream sports but we are seeing good growth.”
Studies that Bryant has done with the USOPC show that judo is one of the best fundamental sports for young people to get into. It trains body awareness, positioning, balance and core strength.
Throughout his journey, Bryant has kept the spirit, mind and body philosophy of Springfield College with him. Bryant is convinced that the humanics mindset of Springfield is fundamental to life.
“A ‘Hi’ and a smile goes a long way, especially if you’re traveling internationally,” Bryant said.
“You got the stars and the stripes on your shirt and trying to break the barriers of what countries may think of Americans, and that humanics philosophy and mindset of serving others has been huge for me throughout my entire life. A lot of it was set at Springfield College and it continues to be the core of who I am.”