For six decades, Dale Lehman and his judo club have been a fixture of the Boys and Girls Club of the Permian Basin and Odessa.
The sound of shoes hitting the pavement during runs. Resounding ‘thuds’ as students hit the mat while practicing throws. Time with Lehman, an eighth degree Black Belt, is considered tough but fair; you get the most out of the time you put into training.
Because of this, students from Lehman’s program are disciplined and feared, making their way across the country while participating in state and national tournaments.
“We had a reputation throughout the country that if you fought a guy from Odessa Boys and Girls Club, one of Dale Lehman’s kids, you were in for a battle,” said Fort Worth Judo Club Head Coach Tommy Dyer, who started studying judo under Lehman in 1971.
He can’t tell you how many students he’s had — thousands, Lehman guesses — but between global travels, championships and renown across the judo world, being able to share a sport he loves, at no cost and on a volunteer basis, has been one of his greatest accomplishments.
“You get some of these kids coming in when they’re 6 and they’re still around at 16 years old … and it’s an enjoyable thing,” Lehman said.
A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, Lehman excelled at wrestling in high school and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduation.
While stationed at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico, Lehman was introduced to judo as part of the ground-training program.
During that time, Lehman won several Air Force Judo Championships and was the New Mexico State Amateur Athletics Union Judo champion for three consecutive years between 1961 and 1963.
“I did okay,” Lehman joked.
After leaving the military, he moved to Odessa with his wife. A conversation with Earl Rodman Jr., about teaching his children judo gave Lehman the idea to form a club.
Starting in 1963, the judo program moved to the Odessa Boys Club in 1964.
Michael McCleery, head coach of the Odessa Boys and Girls Club judo and a seventh degree Black Belt, joined the program in 1965 at the encouragement of Dowling Elementary coach Max Ford.
Since then, McCleery has trained with the United States Olympic Training Center and placed in numerous state, national and international tournaments.
Part of the appeal of the sport for McCleery was match outcomes relied on individual skills.
“It’s not one of those sports, where you can say, ‘If you would have caught that pass, we would have won,’” McCleery said. “If I lose, I have to train harder. If I want to win, only I can do that.”
Lehman’s lessons and his nonprofit model for the judo center has inspired one of his students to follow in his footsteps.
Dyer, a seventh degree Black Belt and head coach of the Fort Worth judo club, called the training he received in Odessa “old school,” and said Lehman was ahead of his time when it came to practices.
At times those trainings could be difficult, but it didn’t make them any less fun. Growing up, Dyer knew, for example, sparing against McCleery would be tough, but he was going to walk away stronger.
Having won numerous competitions himself, Dyer’s accomplishments include training in Japan for more than two years and he was the USA Judo Olympic Team coach in 2004.
He gives a lot of his success’s credit to Lehman’s coaching.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Dyer said. “It was a concept I grew up in and it was an environment that we all got better from.”
