PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 8, 2019
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Teacher turns passion into after school club
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Eduardo Rodriguez devel-
oped a passion for Brazilian
jiu-jitsu when he was a student
at Western Oregon University
in 2010.
Nearly a decade later, he has
gotten the chance to share that
passion with a group of stu-
dents at Weddle Elementary.
Rodriguez, who’s a fi fth-
grade teacher at Weddle, start-
ed an after school jiu-jitsu club
in the gym that takes place
Mondays and Fridays from
3:45-5 p.m.
“I noticed that we didn’t
have very many after school
programs,” Rodriguez said. “I
knew that I had always want-
ed to teach (jiu-jitsu) and I
thought this was the perfect
way to do something extra for
the kids.”
“It’s just something fun to
do after school.”
Rodriguez got the desire
to start the club during the
2017-18 school year. After get-
ting the go-ahead from Weddle
principal Stacey Lund, he was
able to raise $1,500 through
the jiu-jitsu apparel brand
Want vs. Need.
With the money, Rodri-
guez bought a 20x20 rollout
mat, and the club was offi cially
formed in January 2018.
Anywhere from 20-45
third, fourth and fi fth-grade
students can be found at a typi-
cal jiu-jitsu club at Weddle, and
you would be hard pressed to
fi nd a student without a smile
on their face.
“It’s really fun learning
new things and it’s just fun to
be with friends after school
because not a lot of people
get clubs,” said fourth-grader
Draven Harris.
Rodriguez still competes
in jiu-jitsu tournaments and
even teaches classes to adults
through Impact Jiu-Jitsu at
Courthouse Athletic Club.
Over the course of the last
nine years, Rodriguez has seen
the sport he loves have a large
impact on his life, and he be-
lieves that it’s already having an
impact on his kids at Weddle.
“I used to have very little
focus on what I wanted to
do,” Rodriguez said. “With
jiu-jitsu, I had to focus all of
my attention on one thing. So
I wanted to give that to these
kids.”
Rodriguez acknowledged
that he several kids in his class
that suffer with ADHD and/or
behavioral issues and that the
art of jiu-jitsu has helped them
Confl uence chorus
celebrates freedom
The Confl uence Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus will pres-
ent their Finding Freedom performance on Friday, March 15.
Audiences will hear music fi lled with inspirational songs of
hope and will be energized by the power of human survival,
perseverance, and joy.
The concert will be held at the First Congregational United
Church, 700 Marion Street NE, and begin at 7:30 p.m.
Senior and student tickets can be purchased online for $12
and regular tickets can be purchased for $15. Tickets can be pur-
chased at the door for $18 or $15 for seniors and students.
They will also be performing in Portland on Saturday, March
16 and Sunday March, 17 in Corvallis.
To get your tickets or to get more information visit confl u-
encechorus.org.
Casino
night at
Avamere
Avamere Court at Keiz-
er will hold a casino night to
raise funds for the Alzheimer’s
Association on Friday, March
15. Games begin at 5 p.m. at
Independent Living Com-
munity Building 3, 510 River
Road N.
Door charges are $10 per
person and will give partici-
pants $25 in “funny money”
to gamble with, as well as a
chance to win the door prize
drawing.
RSVP by calling (503)
393-3624, ext. 340 or email
Sue Horn at shorn@avamere.
com.
“This was
the perfect
way to do
something
extra for the
kids.”
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
LEFT: Jennedy Garcia Cortez practices kicks in an after school
jiu-jitsu program at Weddle Elementary School. RIGHT: Josue
Acosta Jimenez grapples with teacher Eduardo Rodriguez.
— Eduardo Rodriguez
Weddle teacher
moves and techniques.
“They’re no lions in here.
Kids get humbled pretty
quickly when there are moves
that they can’t do,” Rodriguez
said.
However, it is a thrilling
moment for kids when they
do master a new move.
“I really like getting to learn
new moves,” fourth-grader
Savannah Dulay said. “I some-
times will get them wrong at
fi rst, but Mr. Rodriguez will
always help us.”
Third-grader Karrson Har-
ris also added: “It’s kind of
amazing when you learn the
move, and then you just know
how to do it without thinking
about it.”
While the club is already
pretty popular, Rodriguez en-
courages any student that is
interested to come and join.
“You don’t have to be super
athletic to do it. If you follow
step for step and don’t deviate,
it will land just perfect,” Ro-
driguez said.
Chamber hosts
State of City
The Keizer Chamber of
Commerce will host Keizer
Mayor Cathy Clark’s annual
State of the City address Tues-
day, March 12.
Clark will discuss the ac-
complishments of the past
year, current projects and the
direction of the city over the
coming year.
The speech will take place
at the Keizer Quality Inn &
Suites, 5188 Wittenberg Lane
N.E., at 11:30 a.m.
better manage their problems.
“There are some kids that
show some explosive behav-
iors when they’re in class. But
in here, I never see that,” Ro-
driguez said. “Teachers have
told me that some of the kids
are now walking around with
more confi dence in them-
selves because they know how
to protect themselves now.”
While there’s no one-on-
one combat in the class, Ro-
driguez prides himself on
challenging his kids by teach-
ing them different kinds of
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