Rok Draksic head coach of Finland

Slovenian Rok Draksic is the new head coach of the Finnish Judo Association. The Slovenian former number one in the world ranking list, six-time European medallist Rok Draksic is looking forward to his new job: “My goal is to bring Finnish judokas“ back to the game ”.

Draksic, who previously served as head coach of Bezigrad, Slovenia’s largest club, for two seasons completes the top-of-the-line strategy toward Paris 2024.

“Since last autumn, we have been applying for a rhythm change in national team coaching and concentrating resources in Helsinki. Through the bends, the head coach contract is now finally in place. Getting Rok to Finland is a great thing for the whole Finnish judo. He has a desire to take on the challenge and I believe that together with him, athletes will be able to take the required step to the next level. The aim is to create credible daily training conditions in Helsinki that meet international standards, ”says Jaana Jokinen, Coaching Manager of the Finnish Judo Association, about the background of the selection.

In his sports career, Rok Draksic won the European title in 2013 in Budapest and five other European Championship medals in the 2010s. At top level tournaments Draksic took medals at the Masters, Grand Slam and Grand Prix tournaments. He represented his country three times at the Olympic Games and the World Championships resulted twice in a fifth place.

After his sports career, Rok Draksic has moved on to train as a coach in the coach training program offered by the Slovenian Olympic Committee. In addition to his studies, Draksic began his coaching career with Bezigrad in 2017. The athletes coached by Draksic have achieved several medals at the highest IJF tournament level. In the spring of 2018, Adrian Gomboc won the European Championship under his guidance. Draksic is currently completing a Bachelor’s degree in coaching at the University of Maribor.

For his internationally successful judoka career, Draksic struggled from the small town of Celje, with a population of 50,000, whose local judo club has done an astonishingly good result in international judo. Urska Zolnir, from the same club grabbed the 2012 Olympic gold from London, being the first women’s Olympic champion in Slovenian sports history. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Tina Trstenjak of the same club rose to the highest podium. Celje's club has reached the level of an Olympic medal since the Athens Games. Rok Draksic has grown to be a top athlete in conditions where both the number of enthusiasts and the resources have been very limited.

“The Judo Federation has set the goal of restoring Finnish judo to the prize pool. The top group that is now being formed has the potential to do this, and we believe that, according to Rok Draksic, the entry will bring the knowledge and attitude that will help achieve the goal. Draksic certainly has the knowledge of what is required to succeed in judo today, ”says Marko Laaksonen, President of the Finnish Judo Association, about the background to his choice.