He’s not just Leandro Lo’s coach; Cicero Costha is also the head of an outreach project that helps numerous underprivileged people in the city of São Paulo, producing plenty of up-and-coming Jiu-Jitsu talent. Speaking to GRACIEMAG.com, Costha broke down the stellar year his team had: “To me the year was truly great, with lots of solid results. The team was dedicated, pursued our objective as did I, and everything worked out. I’m very pleased, and everyone else who pulled their weight is too,” he said in assessment.
Queried as to whether there’s another Leandro Lo arising amidst his group of kids, Cicero curbed his enthusiasm.
“It’s hard to say, but we do have other promising athletes. I feel we’ve got a few other good guys here but he’s hard to match. Nevertheless, I’m rooting for everything to go well and another great athlete to come up from our ranks—at the very least so I can do another interview like this one with GRACIEMAG,” quipped the coach.
With 2012 nigh, Costha’s expectations are that the coming year’s calendar will be another stellar one for his team. “In 2012, I expect the group to be even stronger and more united. I’ll do my all for the group to take as many medals as possible. The goal is for the coming year to be even better than this one,” he declared, already sorting his lineup to take to the upcoming European Championship, in Lisbon, Portugal. “The Miyao brothers will be there, since they earned tickets in Rio, and black belt Augusto Ferrari is going too.” (Check out João Miyao in action at the 2011 São Paulo Championship below.)
Anyone interested in helping or finding out about Cicero’s Lutando Pelo Bem outreach project can visit his website at www.cicerocostha.com.
The European Championship will go down from the 26th to the 29th of January in Portugal. Test your technique and mettle; sign up for the Euros here.
