Believe And Achieve: The Art Of Jiu-Jitsu Hit Squad

While there may be no lack of accolades for the Mendes Brothers, their biggest legacy in the sport of jiu-jitsu may be their competition team of juveniles and young adults.

May 31, 2017 by Heather Raftery

Believe And Achieve: The Art Of Jiu-Jitsu Hit Squad

While there may be no lack of accolades for the Mendes Brothers, their biggest legacy in the sport of jiu-jitsu may be their competition team of juveniles and young adults.

This time last year, Atos took home the juvenile team trophy, amassing a 12-point lead over Alliance, (63 points to 51). This was largely thanks to AOJ's impressive squad of young medal-chasing athletes, including the addition of world-class recruits through the brother's Believe & Achieve program.

Now in its second year, the Believe & Achieve Program emerged from Gui and Rafael Mendes' desire to give back to the community, having themselves been fortunate enough to receive the support of RVCA founder Pat Tenore early in their own careers.

Without that, the brothers may not have become who they are today… and there would be no AOJ Academy.

Paying that good fortune forward, they created a program that would provide chosen juvenile athletes - aged 15 to 17 - full room and board, assistance with event registration and travel, and the opportunity to train with one of the world's top competitive teams.

Essentially, the program would give a select few athletes a shot at jiu-jitsu greatness.

The program didn't disappoint.

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Of the nearly 1,000 applicants following the announcement of the program in 2015, the brothers selected the first two official 2016 Believe & Achieve athletes: Caio Antonini from Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Johnatha Alves from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Antonini and Alves hit the ground running, both amassing impressive wins at the Europeans, Pans, and Worlds. Both won double gold at the Europeans and Pans, and Alves clinched a third double gold win at Worlds.

That first intake of Believe and Achieve athletes has now graduated into the adult division - along with AOJ's star female juvenile athlete Sophia Flores - but they set the bar high for this year's juvenile team, which includes two new additions to the Believe & Achieve program: Jhonathan Marques and Lucas Carvalho, both from Brazil.

The 2017 World Championships are just around the corner and there's no shortage of talent in the AOJ squad. Nearly every single one of their athletes boasts a major championship win under his or her belt, which has only added to the academy's widespread notoriety.

Check out some of the Art of Jiu-Jitsu squad here:

Lucas Rodrigues

Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil)
Division: Adult / Purple

Recent Achievements:
2016 IBJJF No-Gi World Champion

Daniel Amorim

Hometown: Rio De Janero, Brazil
Division: Adult / Purple

Recent Achievements:
2015 IBJJF World Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2015 IBJJF Pan Champion

Johnatha Alves

Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Division: Adult / Blue

Recent Achievements:
2015 IBJJF Worlds Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2016 IBJJF Worlds Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2016 IBJJF Pan Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2016 IBJJF European Champion (Weight & Absolute)

Liam Moss

Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Division: Adult / Blue

Recent Achievements:
2016 IBJJF Pan Champion
2016 IBJJF No-Gi Pan Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2015 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds Champion
2015 IBJJF No-Gi Pan Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2015 IBJJF World Champion
2015 UAEJJF World Pro Champion
2014 UAEJJF World Pro Champion

Caio Antonini

Hometown: Varginha, Brazil
Division: Adult Blue belt

Recent Achievements:
2016 IBJJF World Champion
2015 IBJJF World Champion
2016 IBJJF Pan Champion (Weight & Absolute)
2016 IBJJF European Champion (Weight & Absolute)

Tainan Dalpra

Hometown: Florianopolis, Brazil
Division: Juvenile 2, Blue Belt

Recent Achievements:
2017 IBJJF Pan Champion (weight and absolute)
2016 IBJJF World Champion
2016 Pan Champion (weight and absolute)
2016 IBJJF No-Gi World Champion (weight and absolute)
2016 IBJJF No-Gi Pan Champion (weight and absolute)

Mateus Rodrigues

Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Division: Juvenile 2, Blue Belt

Recent Achievements:
2017 UAEJJF World Pro Champion
2017 IBJJF Pan Champion
2017 IBJJF European Champion
2016 IBJJF World Champion

Milli McCourt

Hometown: Byron Bay, Australia
Division: Juvenile 2, Blue Belt

Recent Achievements:
2016 IBJJF World Champion

Luana Dias

Hometown: Kameyama, Japan
Division: Juvenile 2 / Blue

Recent Achievements:
2017 IBJJF Pan Champion (Weight & Absolute)

Lucas Carvalho

Hometown: Manaus, Brazil
Division: Juvenile 1, Blue Belt

Recent Achievements:
2017 IBJJF Pan Champion (weight and absolute)

Jhonathan Marques

Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Division: Juvenile 1, Blue Belt

Recent Achievements:
2017 IBJJF Europeans Champion
2017 IBJJF Pan Champion (weight and absolute)