Nick Kossor and Kyle Vashkulat had the opportunity to see what the referees see in a judo match.
The two recently-crowned national champions acted as volunteer refs while waiting for their divisions to start at Saturday’s Morris Cup IX at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School.
I just hope I do a good job so no one gets too mad at me, said Kossor between matches.
Kossor and Vashkulat joined their Jason Morris Judo Center teammates as athletes/volunteers during the day-long event. While some worked at the scorer’s tables or made certain athletes got to their respective mats on time, Kossor and Vashkulat — along with Tony Sangimino ` stayed in the thick of the action, acting as side judges for some bouts and as the main referees for others.
`I did it more from an athlete’s perspective, so I got corrected from time to time [by the senior officials],` said Vashkulat. `It’s definitely a little tougher than I thought, especially since there are some high-ranking officials here today. They’re judging you as a referee.`
`It definitely helps to put yourself in the athlete’s shoes because I know what [moves] they’re trying to accomplish,` said Kossor.
Kossor and Vashkulat accomplished a lot one week earlier at the national judo championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Kossor won the 60-kilogram division title, while Vashkulat took the national title at 100kg.
`It was nice to finally win,` said Vashkulat, who earned his first national title in a specific weight class after winning an open division championship in 2008. `It was a tough day and a tough tournament.`
The road to a national title was tougher for Kossor than Vashkulat, considering the fact that the 24-year-old had to overcome two knee surgeries and a wrist injury over the last three years to reach the top of his weight class.
`My coaches, Jason [Morris] and Teri [Takemori] did a great job of keeping my mind positive [through the injuries],` said Kossor. `I just kept telling myself to rehab as hard as I can and get back out there.`
`It means so much more to [Kossor] now,` said Morris. `He’s had to go through that low and come back up again.`
Kossor also had to defeat the nation’s top-ranked judoka in his weight class, Aaron Kunihiro, in the semifinals in order to win his second national title and earn a berth to September’s world championships in Tokyo.
`Fortunately, I know a lot of the people in my division,` said Kossor of heading to his first world championship. `What’s working for me and against me is my green-ness. I’m new to this level so it’s a little nerve wracking, but I have no pressure on me.`
Vashkulat sailed through his weight class at nationals, winning each of his four bouts by ippon (full point).
`Fighting at a higher level calms you down [in big matches],` said Vashkulat, who entered nationals as the No. 1 ranked judoka at 100kg. `You go out there knowing what to expect. With the years, you definitely get a little wiser.`
`He’s established himself as the guy at 100 kilos in our country, but now he has his work cut out for him [at the world championships],` said Morris.
Competing on the world stage might be easier for Kossor and Vashkulat than being a referee, but they both said it was good to be involved in a match from a different perspective.
`In terms of pleasing people, being a referee is harder because if you make a bad call, you’ll upset someone,` said Kossor.“