MILLERSVILLE, Md. — Every Christmas Gabriel Silva’s family has a tradition. They talk about the year that has passed and share their wishes for the year ahead.
Last December Gabriel’s hopes and dreams involved his love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
"I want to win these tournaments. I want to go to these places. Hopefully that’s how it works well and luckily it did," he said recalling what he told his parents last year.
The 12-year old, along with 15-year-old teammate Bain Hughes, won gold in their respective divisions at the prestigious International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Kids Pans tournament over the summer in Florida. Then earlier this month they took first place at the Kids European Championships in Dublin, Ireland.
"It felt amazing, obviously," said Silva. "It’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world. It felt great."
"The Pans win, that was my first big win. That was my first IBJJF win," said Hughes. "It was super emotional. It was really great."
Gabriel and Bain train under Gabriel’s father, Vicente Da Silva Jr., at Conquest Gym in Millersville.
"It’s a very proud coach moment because you’ve been working several months and years with those kids and you see them walk out the mats with a huge smile," said Da Silva Jr.
They walk out with a huge smile and lessons learned that will last a lifetime.
"Sometimes I’ll have the medals in a corner of my room to the point where I can see them from my bed or desk. I’ll just be like, 'Wow. I actually was able to do this'," said Silva.
"If you work hard you can really achieve anything," added Hughes. "If you put enough time and effort in and you are doing your best then no matter [your] skill or where you started you can end up wherever you want."
With Christmas upon us once again what do Gabriel's plans and wishes include for 2023?
"Hopefully maybe win the same tournaments again, win more of the bigger tournaments if I’m able to be there," he said.
And give all of his opponents large lumps of coal all year long.
Also winning at the Pans tournament over the summer was 14-year-old Elijah Brinegar (gold) and 11-year-old Gemma Fiorenza (silver).
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
