In 2013, Joe Stokes initiated a USBF training program for Juniors with international aspirations. Joe is now the Coordinator of the Program. Thanks to help from many USBF members who are serving as mentors, over 80 Juniors now have the opportunity to practice on BBO each week on Sunday and/or Moinday. The Juniors are mostly organized in groups of 4, and each group works with one or two regular mentors. The groups sometimes play against other groups, so all of the players are exposed to a mentor other than their regular one. After the playing sessions, the groups and the mentor who watched their table discuss the hands, both online in BBO chat rooms and Google Hangouts and by email.
To join the USBF Junior Training Program, click here.
This program couldn't have happened without the support of our mentors. Our mentors wouldn't have happened without the support of Debbie Rosenberg, Michael Rosenberg and Barry Goren. Currently, Michael is the sole organizer of the Training Program. The role of an organizer is not only to recruit mentors, but also each week to organize the players into groups and match them with mentors. USBF and our Juniors owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Barry, Debbie & Michael for their enthusiasm and efforts, as well as to all of the other mentors. In addition to regular mentors, Barry & Michael recruited some USBF expert members who play with and against the Juniors, both for when they need an additional player for a regular session and at other times when they want to practice on BBO. We all appreciate the generosity of our expert members who are willing to devote some of their time to helping Juniors advance.
As of March 2018, Regular Online Training Mentors are:
| Iftikhar Baqai | Lewis Gamerman | Mike Kopera | Alan Schwartz |
| Craig Biddle | Mike Gill | Ai-Tai-Lo | Sylvia Shi |
| Dave Caprera | Adam Grossack | Kent Mignocchi | Michael Shuster |
| Mitch Dunitz | Geoff Hampson | Jim Munday | Stan Subeck |
| Will Ehlers | Alex Kolesnik | Michael Rosenberg |
USBF Members who have volunteered to help or to play with and against Juniors online, providing wonderful feedback to our developing players:
|
Jeff Aker Karen Allison Kevin Bathurst Steve Bloom Bart Bramley Migry zur Campanile Tom Carmichael Drew Casen Larry Cohen Gary Cohler Lynn Deas Nik Demirev Bob Hamman |
Kevin Fay Steve Garner Fred Gitelman Robb Gordon Christal Henner Yul Inn Dale Johannesen Lynn Johannesen Ralph Katz John Kranyak Roger Lee Geoff Hampson Jill Levin |
Chip Martel Karen McCallum Alan Miller Brad Moss Jack Oest Beth Palmer Rich Pavlicek Jr. Sue Picus Jennifer Richter Barry Rigal Kathy Rolfe Debbie Rosenberg Aviv Shahaf |
Barnet Shenkin Ron Smith JoAnna Stansby Cenk Tuncok Howard Weinstein Roy Welland Adam Wildavsky Kevin Wilson Sheri Winestock Dan Wolkowitz Kit Woolsey Joel Wooldridge Jeff Meckstroth |
Many generous USBF members also volunteered their time and talent to serve as partnership coaches for the players who are representing USBF in the 2018 World Junior Championship in China in August, 2018. They are:
|
Geoff Hampson |
Chris Willenken | Ish Delmonte | Brian Platnick |
|
Ralph Katz |
Ai-Tai-Lo | Jim Munday | David Berkowitz |
|
Mike Passell |
Allan Graves |
Adam Grossack | Sylvia Shi |
|
Migry zur Campanile |
Debbie Rosenberg |
Daniel Korbel |
Thank you all for your time, effort & enthusiasm with this project! And of course, as always, a HUGE thank you to BBO for providing an environment where players from around the country can play together and help aspiring players improve. And also a major THANK YOU to USBF Junior Coordinator, Joe Stokes, without whose energy and enthusiasm this project would never have gotten off the ground.