The coach of the legendary Teddy Riner returned to New Caledonia, after the Paris 2024 Olympics which saw his protégé triumph on the tatamis. This Tuesday, September 17, Laurent Calleja landed on the Tontouta air base 186, the time to discuss with the military on a subject that is common to them: the management of teams under pressure.
How to manage a team that is experiencing high tensions? The answer interests the personnel of the 186 air base, in the North of Païta. It is also at the heart of the job of Laurent Calleja, the coach of the judoka Teddy Riner. After a triumphant Olympic sequence in Paris, the Caledonian coach returned to the Rock for a few months among his own, before looking towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This Tuesday, September 17, he visited the air force soldiers in Tontouta, for a conference.
The physical aspect is the easiest. The biggest difficulty, for me, is the psychological aspect of the events.
Laurent Calleja, trainer of multiple champion Teddy Riner
“Everyone’s life is a balance”said Magenta’s child.That’s good, because judo is a sport of balance. I think that in life, if you’re not balanced, you fall.” For Laurent Calleja, stress determines 90% of performance, once the techniques and training have been assimilated. Enough to find comparisons between very high-level sport and air missions.
Our Olympic Games are our daily missions.
Staff Sergeant Marion, military physical education teacher at the air base
Soldiers, like great athletes, are often far from their families. They also have to deal with the unexpected on a daily basis. The coach of the greatest contemporary judoka answered their questions.
Recent events have shown that tensions can rise very suddenly, and that one must always be prepared as a military man.
Colonel Alban Genre-Grandpierre, commander of the air base
A report by Yvan Avril and Cédric Michaut.
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