NEIL WILLIAMS AND THE WELSH KID’S LEAGUE

Pictures: Dan Minto

Welsh jiu jitsu enthusiasts, Neil Williams and Greg Creel, have been working tirelessly over the past six months creating fantastic opportunities for youngsters to throw themselves into BJJ.

Brown and black belts respectively, Neil and Greg have created the Welsh Kid’s League, which offers youngsters the chance to compete regularly and enjoy all the benefits it offers from an early age.

Though based in Wales, the Kid’s League has seen students travel from all across the UK, with over 150 competitors turning out for the last event.

We caught up with Neil to discuss the Welsh Kid’s League and their thinking behind its conception.

Hi Neil, could you tell us how the Welsh Kid’s League came about?

Well Greg Creel actually approached me with the idea of getting involved and starting the kid’s league up - and I was excited straight away. We’d seen the great things the UKBJJA were doing along the same lines in London, so we thought it was something that would work well down here.

We’ve actually got a pretty big catchment area and lots of different schools and teams have shown their support, so we are really pleased with how it’s going. It just seemed like a really good thing to offer the kids who are keen and into their jiu jitsu.



So has it gone down well with the kids and their parents?

The feedback we’ve had has been absolutely fantastic – more much than I could imagine it would have been actually. The kids all seem to have a terrific time, and the parents have given Greg and myself plenty of positive comments, so I think we are doing pretty well at this stage.

We’ve also had lots of support from Tatami Fightwear and Fokai are looking to get involved as well, so that’s been another great help.

How often do you run the events?

We run the league the first weekend of every month, so it’s nice and regular. We try and keep everything relaxed and as informal as we can really. It’s pretty competitive and the standard is really high, but we try to get the kids more focused on enjoying themselves.

Both yourself and Greg Creel have been involved with jiu jitsu for some time now, so you must feel a great sense of achievement in offering these great opportunities for kids to compete?

Well I started training with Pedro Bessa probably nine years ago and there was nothing like this around for the kids. It’s surprised me a little bit actually because, to be honest, I’d say the kids league is probably one of my highlights in jiu jitsu so far. I’ve been training for a long time, but I absolutely love coaching the kids.

Great stuff Neil, so where can people go to find out more about the kid’s league?  

We’ve got our August event coming up shortly and you can find all the information you need via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/welsh-kids-bjj-league-august-tickets-17647798039

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