Register for the Online Training Program Here

 

Online Training Program (OTP)

In 2013 Joe Stokes revitalized the USBF Junior Program, after which Michael Rosenberg, Barry Goren, and Debbie Rosenberg started the USBF Junior Online Training Program (OTP).  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. currently organize and run the OTP. Within the OTP, Sriram Ganesan helps organize the U31 training group.

The OTP matches a group of young players with an experienced mentor. The juniors play weekly in a group of 4-8 on a variety of platforms (such as BBO, Swan Games, RealBridge, or Shark Bridge), followed by a discussion of the deals, either over a live call or via email. The OTP currently has ~130 active players and ~40 volunteer mentors.

Any junior eligible to represent the US at the WYBTC can sign up for the program using the link above. The program is free for young players to join; all organization and mentorship work is volunteer-driven. While the program is open to all juniors, participation in the program ~6 months in advance is a requirement for juniors entered to participate in both the Junior US Bridge Championships (JUSBC) and World Youth Teams Championships (WYBTC) every two years who receive USBF support.

Eligibility

Eligibility for the OTP requires players to be eligible to represent the US in the next WYBTC. OTP participants must already be familiar with bridge basics, be of age ~9 to 31, and have US citizenship or significant residency (~6+ months of the year) in the US. You do not need to be a USBF member to participate in the OTP or JUSBC (although USBF registration is highly encouraged). If you are unsure of your eligibility, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Mentors

The training program couldn’t happen without the hard work and persistent dedication of our mentors.  We are very grateful for their help with the juniors.

If you are interested in joining the program as a mentor, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We are always looking for both regular mentors and those willing to play in an occasional online or in-person game with a junior.

 

2023 Online Training Program mentors and partnership coaches include:

Craig Allen

Julie Arbit

Ifti Baqai

Franco Baseggio

Leo Bell

David Berkowitz

Craig Biddle

Bart Bramley

Dave Caprera

Tom Carmichael

Amy Casanova

Li-Chung Chen

Phil Clayton

Stephannie Culbertson

Cornelius Duffie

Mitch Dunitz

John Fout

Louis Glasthal

Barry Goren

Bernie Greenspan

Zach Grossack

Christian Jolly

Geoff Hampson

Adam Kaplan

Hemant Lall

Roger Lee

Amber Lin

Kent Mignocchi

Jim Munday

Adam Parrish

Brady Richter

Debbie Rosenberg

Kevin Rosenberg

Josh Sher

Michael Shuster

Aaron Silverstein

Ron Smith

Danny Sprung

Stella Wan

Will Watson

Kit Woolsey

Brent Xiao

Bohan (Bruce) Zhu

 

We are also very thankful to USBF Members who have helped mentor juniors as former Online Training Program regular mentors, partnership coaches, or have generally made themselves available to help answer questions from Juniors and play with or against them online or in-person. They have provided wonderful feedback to our developing players and are essential to the growth of the US Junior Program.

Jeff Aker

Karen Allison

Mark Aquino

Kevin Bathurst

Steve Bloom

Bart Bramley

Migry zur Campanile

Tom Carmichael

Drew Casen

Neil Chambers

Chris Chung

Larry Cohen

Gary Cohler

Mel Colchamiro

*Lynn Deas

Ishmael Del'Monte

Nik Demirev

Joshua Donn

Patricia Dovell

Will Ehlers

Bob Etter

Kevin Fay

Mark Feldman

Lew Gamerman

Steve Garner

Mike Gill

Fred Gitelman

Michael Golden

Robb Gordon

Adam Grossack

Bob Hamman

Geoff Hampson

Christal Henner

Shan Huang

Michael Huston

Yul Inn

Dale Johannesen

Lynn Johannesen

Aaron Jones

Peg Kaplan

Ralph Katz

Alex Kolesnik

Emma Kolesnik

Mike Kopera

John Kranyak

Corey Krantz

Dan Korbel

Roger Lee

Howard Liu

Jill Levin

Ai-Tai Lo

Chip Martel

Cheryl Mandala

Karen McCallum

Jeff Meckstroth

Glenn Milgram

Alan Miller

John Mohan

Jacob Morgan

Brad Moss

Radu Nistor

Jack Oest

*Beth Palmer

Mike Passell

Rich Pavlicek Jr.

Brian Platnick

*Sue Picus

Michael Polowan

John Ramos

*Richard Reisig

Jennifer Richter

Barry Rigal

Kathy Rolfe

Jeff Roman

Debbie Rosenberg

Michael Rosenberg

Kerri Sanborn

John Schermer

Alan Schwartz

Aviv Shahaf

Barnet Shenkin

Sylvia Shi

Ron Smith

JoAnna Stansby

Gary Soules

*Stan Subeck

Cenk Tuncok

Dan Zagorin

Karen Walker

Howard Weinstein

Roy Welland

Adam Wildavsky

Chris Willenken

Kevin Wilson

Sheri Winestock

Dan Wolkowitz

Gavin Wolpert

Kit Woolsey

Joel Wooldridge

 *Deceased

 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts
Anti-Harassment Guidelines

The "Anti-Harrassment Guidelines" for juniors and mentors were first written in 2020 by juniors in the program (Amber Lin, Cynthia Huang, & Emma Kolesnik) and updated in 2023. They cover sexual harassment, bullying, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. All juniors and mentors must read the guidelines before joining the program.

Anti-Harassment Guidelines for Juniors

Anti-Harassment Guidelines for Mentors

 

Efforts to Support Junior Women

The Online Training Program is actively recruiting more female juniors and mentors. In the Fall 2023 Cycle, there are a record number of female juniors (~25%) and female mentors (~15%). One-third of the new juniors who signed up in 2023 are female.

In Fall 2023, four junior female pairs are participating in an inaugural "U26 Women's Intensive Program" within the Online Training Program which involves a combination of lessons, group training, partnership coaching, and live play. This program was created by mentors Amber Lin and Kevin Rosenberg in an effort to close the gender gap among competitive junior bridge players, and they plan to expand the program to more junior players in future years. This program is sponsored by Shark Bridge and supported by materials from Wolpert Bridge and Debbie Rosenberg.

 

THANK YOU

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.