A coaches course has taken place at the International Judo Federation Training Center in Mexico City ©IJF

A coaches course has taken place at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Training Center in Mexico City.

The academy level one course is designed to teach coaches to work effectively with youngsters and novice judoka, especially at national level.

Thirty-four coaches from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru and Mexico took part.

They endured six "intense" days of practice and knowledge, under the guidance of IJF Academy instructors Daniel Lascau of Romania, Mark Huizinga of The Netherlands, Pierluigi Comino of Italy, Envic Galea of Malta and Dr. Tibor Kozsla of Hungary.

All of the coaches had to take a theory exam, as well as Tachi-waza, Newaza and Nage no Kata evaluations.

Participants previously had to study the basic themes of judo online, including ethics, history, physiology and nutrition.

This was followed by an online test.

Thirty-four coaches took part from six countries ©IJF
Thirty-four coaches took part from six countries ©IJF

Manuel Larrañaga, the Mexican President of the Pan American Judo Confederation, was present at the course and said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the level of organisation and the hard work of the students.

Nayeli Leon, a coach at the Sonora Institute in Mexico, said: "This academy has greatly improved my knowledge about judo. 

"The instructors are of great quality. 

"This must be frequently done in order for judo to grow."

The Pan American region won two gold medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil in August.

The host nation clinched their first gold medal of the Games in the sport, with Rafaela Silva triumphing in the women's 57 kilograms class.

Argentina's Paula Pareto won in the women's 48kg division. 

Cuba and Colombia also won silver medals in Rio.