Case Study: How High Rollers Canberra is using Koka Kids to give kids ownerships of their progress in judo.
"It’s shifted them from passively turning up to actively caring about their judo."
In this post, we’re spotlighting High Rollers Canberra, a leading dojo that is shaping a bright future for kids - especially for young girls.
Under the leadership of club owner Sally Soei, alongside head coach Tomomi Etani, High Rollers Canberra is setting a gold standard in Australian judo.
Through their innovative use of Koka Kids resources (more of which later!), the club has created a system that engages and empowers children to take ownership of their progress in judo.
Sal told me: “The biggest difference we’ve seen is ownership. When kids are running around clutching their laminated grading sheets or flipping open their books between rounds, they’re not just “doing a class” – they’re taking charge of their progress.
They ask more questions, they check which techniques they still need to polish, and they actually practice specific movements before and after class without being prompted. It’s shifted them from passively turning up to actively caring about their judo.”
I asked Sal for her advice on clubs looking to implement similar systems, and also how High Rollers supports female participation through initiatives like J-Girls ACT, and builds an environment where every young judoka can grow confidently.
Here is our conversation. I hope Sal’s answers trigger ideas and inspiration on how you might use the Koka Kids resources to engage children at your own dojo.
Interview with Sensei Sally Soei
High Rollers Canberra, Australia
1. High Rollers Canberra has something quite special - a trifecta of female leadership with Sally Soei as club owner, Tomomi Etani as head judo coach, and a female national champion leading kids jiu-jitsu. How is this shaping your club, particularly for young girls coming into judo?
Having women in key leadership and coaching roles has genuinely changed the feel of the club, especially for our girls. They see strong, skilled women on the mat every day – owning the room, coaching, and competing – and it quietly resets what they believe is possible for themselves.
For young girls, it normalises being powerful and technical, rather than worrying about taking up space or looking “too strong”. They see that it’s okay to throw, to grapple with boys, to sweat, to fail, and then get up and try again. We’ve noticed more girls joining, sticking with training longer, and being much more willing to step up for randori, competition, and leadership roles in class.
One of the nicest changes is the friendships forming between the girls themselves. They come in, see other girls in gis, and instantly feel less alone – and those friendships help them stay in the sport and keep pushing to better themselves. Of course they train and mix with the boys too, but having that core of other girls around them gives them the confidence to be brave, tackle challenges, and grow together.
It’s also been really positive for the boys. They’re growing up in an environment where having female coaches and training partners who are strong, technical and in charge feels completely normal. They roll with girls, get thrown by girls, and see women leading classes – and that helps build a natural respect for women as equals on the mat, which is something we’re really proud of.
We talk openly about effort, resilience and courage, not “being perfect”, and that’s helped both girls and boys become more confident in their bodies, more comfortable with contact, and more willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Our hope is that the kids coming through our program grow into adults who are confident, physically capable, and unafraid to lead – on and off the mat.
2. Congratulations on being selected to host and run J-Girls for the ACT! Can you tell us about this Judo Australia initiative and what it means for girls’ participation in judo across your state?
Thanks - J‑Girls is a Judo Australia initiative focused on creating more opportunities, visibility and support for girls in judo – both in participation and in leadership. Its purpose is to build a stronger pathway for girls by offering girl‑focused training sessions, events, and community, with female role models front and centre.
For the ACT, being selected to host J‑Girls means we can create regular events, training sessions and community around girls’ judo, instead of them feeling like the minority in mixed classes. It gives girls a reason to start, but more importantly, a reason to stay. They get to train together, see other girls at different levels, and realise there’s a pathway for them in the sport – whether that’s recreational, competitive, or even coaching one day.
The benefits of judo for girls are huge: confidence, physical literacy, balance, coordination, problem‑solving under pressure, respect, and the ability to set boundaries and hold their ground. J‑Girls helps us package all of that into a program that speaks directly to them and their parents, and we’re really excited about what it will do for girls’ participation across the territory.
3. You’ve recently introduced the Koka Kids Grading Sheets and books into your program. Can you walk us through how you’re using them with your young judoka - what does it look like on the mat?
We’ve integrated the Koka Kids grading sheets and books hand in hand across our program. Each child has their own laminated grading sheet that maps to specific techniques and levels, and those techniques correspond to pages in the Koka Kids books.
On the mat, coaches use the grading sheets to structure the class: we highlight which throws, holds or transitions we’re focusing on, and kids can see exactly where those techniques sit in their progression. The sheets act as a clear summary of what they’re expected to know and learn at each stage. At the same time, we regularly reference the books – pointing judoka (young and older) to the exact page so they can see the finer details and illustrations for each move.
This combination means they have a quick, at‑a‑glance roadmap (the sheets) plus a deeper technical resource (the books). It also gives kids a non‑digital way to engage with judo outside of class – instead of disappearing into their devices, they can flip through their books, trace the movements, and connect what they see on the page to what they feel on the mat.
4. What impact have you noticed this having on the children’s engagement and understanding of judo?
The biggest difference we’ve seen is ownership. When kids are running around clutching their laminated grading sheets or flipping open their books between rounds, they’re not just “doing a class” – they’re taking charge of their progress.
They ask more questions, they check which techniques they still need to polish, and they actually practice specific movements before and after class without being prompted. It’s shifted them from passively turning up to actively caring about their judo. Their understanding of the vocabulary of judo – names of throws, positions, transitions – has also improved, because they’re seeing and revisiting it on the page as well as in practice.
5. The grading sheets link directly to specific pages in the Koka Kids books for each technique. How are the judoka using the books
The kids use the Koka Kids books in a few different ways:
Before class, some of them sit on the side and flick to “today’s” technique to remind themselves of the key steps.
After class, they use the books to review what they learned and match it against their grading sheet, almost like a checklist.
At home, parents tell us their kids are reenacting throws from the illustrations and explaining them to siblings – which is a great sign that the concepts are sticking.
Because the illustrations are so engaging and accessible, the books feel more like a comic or story than a textbook. That makes it much easier for younger judoka to keep revisiting the material without it feeling like homework.
6. How does the fact you could tailor the grading sheet with specific techniques to suit your programme and club syllabus help coaches deliver classes, and keep training structured as you like it?
Being able to tailor the grading sheet to our own club syllabus was a game‑changer. It meant we didn’t have to choose between “our way” and a structured resource – we could blend them. We kept the techniques and progressions that are important to High Rollers, then mapped them onto the Koka Kids framework.
For coaches, this makes class planning much simpler. Everyone is literally on the same page: they can see exactly which techniques are expected at each level, how they link to the books, and what to prioritise in a given block of classes. It keeps sessions structured, avoids random technique selection, and makes handover between coaches smoother because the syllabus is visible and standardised.
7. For coaches and club owners reading this who might be considering implementing a similar system, what advice would you give them? What’s been the key to making these resources work effectively at High Rollers?
Start simple and make it visible. Pick a small group or belt level first, roll out the grading sheet and books with them, and get feedback from both kids and parents before scaling up.
Make sure your coaching team is fully on board and understands how the syllabus links to what they’re teaching each week. The system only works if coaches refer to the cards and books consistently – for example: “Today we’re working on this throw, you can find it on page X in your book.” That repetition is what turns the resources into part of the culture, rather than just extra admin.
Finally, present it to families as a positive pathway: “This is how your child can see their progress, know what they’re working on, and feel proud when they tick things off.” When kids feel like they’re on a clear journey – not just doing random classes – their engagement and retention go up.
8. What’s on the horizon for 2026? Anything else we should know about?
For 2026, we’re looking at expanding our competition and development squads, across the board, with a particular emphasis on giving our judoka more chances to test themselves at comps and grow from that experience. A big part of this is building stronger synergies between our judo and BJJ programs, so athletes can borrow the best of both worlds in terms of grips, transitions and ground work.
We’re also focused on deepening our kids’ judo pathway and building even more opportunities for girls. That includes growing the J‑Girls ACT program, running more events where girls can train together, build friendships, and see strong female role models on the mat. We want more girls starting judo, but just as importantly, more girls staying in judo and developing real technical capability.
A huge asset for us is Tomomi Sensei’s depth of experience and knowledge from Japan. We’re planning to lean into that even more – using her background to refine our technical standards, shape our competition strategy, and help our competitors develop a more complete, internationally informed style of judo.
Overall, our goal is to keep High Rollers a place where all our members, kids and adults, feel safe, challenged and excited to train – and where they can see that judo is absolutely a sport and community for them, with real pathways to grow as athletes and leaders.
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For bespoke Grading Sheets and wholesale club rates on the Koka Kids books (like High Rollers’ set up) then please get in touch directly with Nik Fairbrother.
Muy interesante
JUST spectacular!