Thought about going to a local club Old School Martial Arts, with instructor Mateo Gonzalez. Just looking to get into some Judo cross training, I'm already a BJJ student for years so just thought I'd put some feelers out for the quality of the school, my other option is in Bartow under Brian Germain, which I know is a quality instructor. But Auburndale is a little closer for me.
I do not know Sensei MAteo Gonzalez but one of the best ways to pick a club is to visit and watch the class and watch the skill level of the students. Do they have a good base of white/green/blue/brown/black belts in their adult student base? Do they are a good copmetitive group of juniors? Do they nurture beginners or are highly competitive? Germaine like you said is well known. Cleaned house at the Nationals this year. You can always start out at a good local club to learn the basics and develope. If you are high level BJJ who picks up fast and is more competition focused then look for a club later on that has higher skilled brown/blackbelts/Sensei who focuses more on competition fighting to develpoe your judo skills comparable to your BJJ skills.
^^Good post. I see no reason not to start out at the local club and see how it feels, how you like it, how your body holds up. If after a while you'r ragdolling guys move on to a more competitive school/dojo.