Sports

Jamil Abiad Working To Grow Basketball Training Empire

Published

2 years ago

November 1, 2020

Serial entrepreneur Jamil Abiad is continuing to make waves in the booming Canadian basketball scene with a wide array of different programs. He has an impressive portfolio of ex-students under his belt, establishing him as a renowned global basketball coach and trainer who has personally competed in Canada’s college basketball circuit as well as professionally overseas.

Playing professionally in Lebanon, Jamil got the opportunity to train with and learn from some ex- NBA players, and has had the opportunity to learn from other high level trainers. As both a player and a trainer, Jamil learned a great deal from these experiences and has since trained athletes who have gone on to achieve great things.

While overseas playing basketball, Jamil also explored his passion for video production and editing that started when he was creating compilations of his own match highlights as a college player. This eventually led to the creation of ‘Next Level Media’, his very first business that is focused around helping other athletes promote themselves for selection by coaches. This is just one of the several successful enterprises Jamil has founded since he stopped competing professionally.

Two of his other ventures include the U17/U19 boys basketball program Team Believe as well as NL Fitness. Through both of these programs, Jamil passes on the experience and expertise he’s developed to young and aspiring athletes.

During the time that he played at a professional level, Jamil was able to develop and perfect his training system. This training system is based on Jamil’s unique philosophy, and he believes it is the best method for preparing a player’s mind and body for the rigors of competitive play.

Not only does Jamil provide practical training, he mentors and motivates his students too. In fact, the basketball veteran often undertakes speaking engagements where he talks about some of the essential skills that he learned through competition that apply to other aspects of life, such as time management, leadership, self-discipline, and the ability to overcome adversity.

Jamil acknowledges that competing as a professional athlete in any sport requires not only routine training but a strong mental focus. This mental focus needs to be worked on just like any specific skill a player has, and this is something that Jamil talks about and works on with his students.

Since the NBA championship win of the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s interest in basketball has skyrocketed. A new generation of young Canadians is now exploring basketball both for recreation and for competitive play.

Jamil was already a successful basketball trainer by the time the Raptors won and has been lucky to be at the heart of this new surge in player interest. Junior and senior basketball athletes can benefit greatly from Jamil’s expertise.

Overall, Jamil is on-track to complete his goal of helping young athletes develop confidence in their abilities and become highly competitive basketball athletes. Only time will tell what the next big move for Jamil Abiad will be.

Sports

The Soccer Master Who Became MMA Legend – Pawel Kozlowski

Published

2 months ago

January 14, 2023

Jonathan Grilli

Pawel Kozlowski was born in 1992, in Gniezno, Poland. The footballer-turned-MMA fighter was born to rule the ring. He was destined to achieve greatness, and he did that in style. Early in his life, at 17, he played soccer to mesmerize the world with his natural talent, but his love and passion for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) never faded. His life took a significant turn during a break from soccer training, triggering an unrelenting interest in MMA. Taking advantage of his football break, he enrolled in a club with facilities for boxing, Thai boxing, wrestling, and Jiu Jitsu. It was a decisive moment in his life. After playing soccer for nine years, he decided to make a professional career in MMA.

The Shift – Training For MMA

When preparing for a professional MMA fight, Pawel takes a strategic approach, planning all the tactics eight weeks ahead of the event. Usually, he trains 2-3 times a day and maintains a balanced and nutritious diet for this purpose. Before going into the ring, he follows a special diet to maintain weight.

The MMA Early Days – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

In 2010, Pawel Kozlowski started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After a year of toil and hard work, he finally tasted success at the Austrian National Championship. Since then, he has never looked back, winning the World Pro Jiu Jitsu Trials and the European Championship. In 2016, Paweł Kozłowski became the national champion of Poland and Austria in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. At the WKF World Championships in Italy, he won the runners-up medal in the Sanda category and a Bronze Medal in the MMA category. He also won the Qualification for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championship, which took place in Abu Dhabi. BJJ Fanatics website lists Pawel among the three best BJJ players from Poland for 2016. In 2014, he joined the Vienna edition of the charity action “You will not keep the Master – Sportsmen for Children.” In July 2016, he established the Alpha Jiu-Jitsu Academy to train aspirant individuals.

Greatest Achievements

Pawel’s most significant career moments came at the WKF World Championship, where he won Silver in Sanda and Bronze in MMA. He is a multiple Austrian and Polish National Champion and has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam twice. In MMA, he has 5 professional bouts, all of which he won in the first round and all by Submission. Pawel has also defeated the 2012 European champion twice.

The Pride Of His Parents

Pawel’s father always wanted him to become a soccer player, and he was not very happy with him not playing football anymore. Still, he continued to make a name for himself in MMA, making his parents proud of his unprecedented achievements.

Fighting with an injured knee

The most challenging fight for Pawel was the fight in the final of the Open Championship, held in Croatia in 2012. It was his first fight after sustaining a knee injury, and he only had 10 days to prepare for it. In the final, he was leading his opponent with a 2:0 score line. Unfortunately, his stamina was running out, and the opponent took full advantage and won back-to-back points to lead with a 2: 6 score line. However, he got two more points and eventually won the fight with a 7:6 score line, with only 10 seconds to go for the final whistle.

Pawel Kozlowski – The Legend

At pro-MMA, Pawel Kozlowski is unbeaten with a record of 5-0-0, securing all his wins in the first round. He is also a six-time European Championship medalist in Jiu Jitsu, having won over 400 matches with another 500 Jiu Jitsu fights worldwide. He has won three European titles and the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, the most prestigious tournament in this sport. Pawel released an instructional DVD about a technique he has developed called the “GremlinLock,” thus becoming a legend of the sport.