Welcome From New Leadership

Athletes, Parents, Coaches, & Referees:

 

As you may or may not be aware, last week an election took place where new leadership was chosen to represent AAU Taekwondo.  This was a democratic process that involved the voting of all active districts via electronic voting machines, administered and monitored by the AAU nominations and elections committee.  As a result, the leadership of our organization decided it was time to go in a new direction; we are proud that our team of Bobby Stone as National Sports Chair and Joe Hasan as Vice Chair were selected to lead the organization into the future. 

 

First, we want to thank Master Mike Friello for his past contributions to our organization and to the betterment of the AAU as a whole.  His legacy has forever changed Sport Taekwondo in the United States of America, and we honor him for it.  As legacy is very important in martial arts, our first step to preserve it was to rename our scholarship program the “Michael D Friello Youth Scholarship Award.”

 

I would just like to take a moment to say how truly humbled we are by this opportunity.  We want to assure all that the gravity and enormity of this responsibility is not taken lightly. 

 

Immediately following the election, our team went straight to work with the selection of our executive committee and we are proud to announce the following members: 

Together, we held a seven-hour conference where we began to map out the path to success for our organization in our inaugural year.  This planning session included new ways to work with our NGB - which included many topics - one being our unanimous decision to move our future national event(s) off of USAT dates.  We have also been in contact with the leadership of the USAT and are planning a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible in order to discuss other opportunities and ways we can work together. 

 

The excitement in the room really elevated when the discussion for team travel became the topic.  While details are not yet finalized, we can state with certainty that our teams will have an unforgettable experience that will make them the envy of the taekwondo community! 

 

Additionally, hours of planning and scrutiny went into the selection of our National coaching staff for our team.  Offers have been made, accepted and the process is almost complete.  We are extremely excited and proud of our selections!  As soon as everything is finalized, we will make an official announcement. 

 

We are also proud to announce that we will now have a Chief Referee Committee comprised of three chief referees, one for each discipline:

Collectively, this staff will be in charge of training both referees and clinic administrators, leading them into the future while always maintaining the high standards we have come to expect. 

 

Communication is very important to us and we will strive to make sure that you are aware of everything that’s going on in our organization.  We promise to continue to find new and modern ways to keep in touch so you always feel informed and able to make plans early. 

 

We also realize, since a new change in leadership styles can be scary to some, how important it is to prove both our ability to unite our organization and our desire to move it forward to the next level.  Over the next few weeks, you will receive notifications about coaching staff, team travel, future locations for our national events, new ways to grow our point program, new styles and ways we can improve upon our traditional forms competition, how to continue to grow sport poomsae, and many other exciting ideas that have been in discussion for months. 

 

On another note, we want to be 100% clear on one particular fact: Everyone is welcome and no one was asked to leave by either of us, nor any of our staff.   Furthermore, we want to assure all that neither our hearts, minds, nor our organization will ever be closed to anyone who has a common vision of excellence in youth sports, an “athletes first” mentality, and the growth of Taekwondo. 

 

Winston Churchill said “attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”

 

With that, we close with gratitude and appreciation for those who came before, and excitement and integrity as we move forward. 

 

Once again, we want to thank the leadership of our organization for their bold move in selecting a different path into the future.  We look forward to seeing and working together with each of you over the next several months in an effort to make this organization grow in ways we never thought it could. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Bobby Stone, AAU Taekwondo National Chair

(678) 665-7135 or Taekwondo.AAU@gmail.com 

 

Joe Hasan, AAU Taekwondo National Vice-Chair

(518) 860-8771 or Taekwondo.AAU@gmail.com