Presently, I coach the University of North Florida boxing club. The plan is to go to some of the high schools and start boxing clubs. It's not hard to do and it does not take a lot of funding. I would start off with schools that are big time rivals, and which are located in close proximity. Once we have a few interested guys AND girls, all we have to do is register them under USA Boxing; that alone would take care of a lot of expense and liability. Even in these bad economic times, there are still grants given out to a number of entities, especially the ones that benefit kids. That money can take care of the basic boxing equipment and a stipend for a coach, the same as they pay part-time football coaches. Whether these athletes come from football, basketball or track and field, they can use the boxing regimen to prepare for their sport out of season, possibly getting into competitions in between time, etc.... Ultimately, by just being competitors, I guarantee there will be enough who eventually go into competition. This goes back to the rival high schools. Chances are, the high schools don't like each other in any sport; what better way to show supremacy than the manly art? And the neighborhood would come out to watch! It'll be good for the neighborhood, and the school coffers! If it's anything like it is in the high schools here, I can see an easy 2000 spectators paying from $7-$10, at a monthly event routinely (about 4 times a year). Finally, what are the chances of everyone getting a college scholarship for their sport? Not likely. Not only will participants have an option to continue in competition, but they may even end up at Marquette University on a boxing scholarship. These clubs can turnout to be the starting grounds for future pros. What do you all think? I helped UNF go from a damn near country club, to a respected and very competitive, well run club. This is doable
GREAT Idea...Especially your RIVALRY Angle... Hopefully the High Schools Allow U to ADVERTISE as Well...An Aaron Pryor Quote Always Stuck w/REED, Explaining WHY he Turned to Boxing...(Paraphrasing) "I was Toooo SMALL For Football, Tooooo SHORT for Basketball & I Couldn't Hit a Baseball...But for Boxing, I was JUST RIGHT"... Advertise Boxing on the Strength of Being Something that even "Undersized" Kids Could Get Involved In...Emphasize the INDIVIDUALITY of Boxing, Cause let's Face It, Every AIN'T Built for Team Sports....Also, Sell it as a Stress RELIEVER... & Keep Us Posted on how your Idea is Progressing... REED:hammert:
Good luck with this!:cheer: I've always found it odd that the NCAA wouldn't do this as well. It's the same principle as wrestling, except for the knockouts of course.
Look into and possibly contact these people.... http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2839266 http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3433444 L.A. kids won't throw in the towel on their lives By Kieran Mulvaney Special to ESPN.com Nancy Cabral was involved in her first drive-by shooting when she was 10. By the time she was 17, she had been shot twice, and had been shanked while serving four years in juvenile hall. Finally, Cabral, now 18, decided she had had enough. "I used to be in the streets, gangbanging with my people, and I decided I didn't want to do that anymore," she said. "I didn't want to be a lowlife. I didn't want to do what I'd been doing in the past no more." Less than a year after electing to turn her life around, Cabral is a straight-A student with designs on becoming a probation officer. The key to her turnaround? She has replaced gangbanging with boxing as one of the charter members of the fledgling KO High Boxing League -- an attempt to provide purpose and direction for high school students in Greater Los Angeles and ultimately, its founders hope, across the country. The first seeds were planted about two years ago by Mark Pierce, dean of students at Taft High School in the Woodland Hills area of L.A. "I was trying to find a way to have kids who are at risk, who are not motivated to come to school, find some way to get them to connect with school," Pierce said. "If they make connections with school that are positive, then you can transcend that to other areas of your life. But, how to do that, that's the thing." As a former fighter in both the amateur and professional ranks himself, Pierce contemplated the notion of using a boxing program as a way to attract at-risk students not only to come to school, but also to develop themselves physically and emotionally. "I knew the kind of discipline it meant to me, and how it changed me, mentally and physically -- the respect that was given to you, just for having participated in that," he said. "Not everyone can climb between those ropes. And I know that it can affect kids positively." After initial inquiries revealed interest from several students, Pierce scrounged some equipment and began working out some kids at a local Police Athletic League gym. But as participation rose, transportation became an issue, as did the ability to provide a growing number of students with the requisite degree of time and attention. That's where Marvin Columbus came in. If Pierce breathed initial life into the program, Columbus -- almost certainly the only amateur boxing coach on the planet who also has been a screenwriter, dancer and professional bull rider -- has become its heart and soul, the students' mentor and father figure, as well as their coach. He volunteered to become involved, he said, when he heard about the program and immediately identified with its goals, having himself used boxing as a release when, at age 15, he was homeless in Cincinnati, Ohio. "I would go to a place like a boxing gym and hit the bags, spar, jump rope," he recalled. "At the end of my training, I was tired. I was relaxed. I would release stress. Even though I was living in my car, I felt like I had a bigger goal to go for. Boxing gave me self-confidence. It gave me self-esteem. I thought I could do anything. And I thought, I know if I can do this, other kids can do this. Boxing is the hardest sport to train for. If you get in the ring and box, then win or lose, you've got something special. If you can do that, you know, hey, I can be a firefighter, I can be a policeman." The program's participants must adhere to a strict dress code at school: shirt and tie for the boys, pantsuit or skirt below the knee for girls. When school ends for the day, there is a mandatory supervised and tutored hour of homework, followed by between an hour and a half to two hours of training. By the time the students get home in the evening, said Columbus, "They're too tired to get in any trouble." "It's great because it keeps me out of trouble and keeps me on top of my schoolwork," said Duevone Broomfield, 15, whose father was killed when he was three and who has now gone from prowling the streets to being on the verge of trying out for the Golden Gloves and Junior Olympics. And, Broomfield added, "My grades have come up a lot since I've been training." Kiarash Ahankoob, 16, agreed. Before becoming involved in the program, he said, "I wasn't really doing anything. I was just going home after school, and now with boxing, I get better grades, because I have to get my grades up. So, it helps out a lot." Students must maintain at least a 2.50 grade point average to participate, but Columbus points out that although they are encouraged to strive for higher marks, those who struggle academically are not turned away, but nurtured and tutored until they reach the required standard. "I had a kid named Raymond. He had straight F's. And he came to tell me, and I said, 'Raymond, what's going on?' And I saw he had tears in his eyes, and I said, 'It's OK, we're going to fix this problem. We're going to fix this, me and you.' And he looked at me and I asked, 'You got help?' And he said, 'Nope.' And I said, 'You have now, buddy.' He was afraid to ask for help, and you know why? Because he was embarrassed. It was a pride thing. "One of his teammates, Ivan, he's got a 4.2 GPA, he's good at math and English, and I said, 'OK, every day you're going to work with him on math and English.' And then it's, 'OK, who's good at reading? Who can help with reading?' The team came together, and his teacher actually came to the gym one day, and said, 'Raymond has been incredible in class. His grades have gone up, he's an improved student, he's a pleasure to have in class.' I go, 'Wow, Raymond, you're doing it.' And he got this smile on his face, and on March 9, he came in, his grades were up, he had a fight, and he won. He won. And he now is on Cloud 9. I see him at school, books in his hand. I see him now focusing, because he knows he can do it. He just needed someone to believe in him, and to keep pushing him." And therein, asserted Columbus, lies the fundamental value of the program. "One thing these kids look for is someone really being there," he said. "You got to be hands-on with these kids. These kids need to be reassured you're going to be there for them. If you say, 'Oh, yeah, I'm going to be there, I'm going to do this or that' and you don't even show up, these kids lose interest quick." Such is the success of the program that what began with a couple of kids from Taft working out at a PAL gym and has grown to become an L.A.-wide league, currently involving about six schools, all of them instructed by USA Boxing-certified coaches. Several other schools in the area -- and even from as far away as Pennsylvania and Ohio -- have expressed interest. In a city where gangs of at-risk kids face each other across racial dividing lines, the multicultural aspect of the boxing team -- with African-Americans, Hispanics, and, in the case of Ahankoob, one Iranian-American -- attracts particular notice. "In L.A. there's this big racial issue right now, the Latinos and blacks, and the gangbanging we have, and this can be a way they can get involved in an after-school program and stay out of trouble," asserted Columbus. "Just the other week, at a school in Inglewood, two black kids stabbed a Mexican kid, [and] he died. … And Monday come around, some Latino kids retaliated. I was there Tuesday morning, meeting with staff over there to set the program up over there." On March 9, an enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowd at Taft Hall cheered on the first interschool event of the KO High Boxing League -- between Taft and Crespi Carmelite High School of Encino. On April 20, Crespi hosted a rematch. At every event in the league, bouts that end in a draw are resolved in favor of the boxer with the higher GPA. Participants receive medals and trophies. And all the events are overseen by USA Boxing doctors and officials. Columbus has been joined in the venture by Rachel Charles, a former publicist for Goossen Tutor Promotions who's now with Star Boxing, who sought out Columbus when she heard about the program through the boxing grapevine. "Marvin's spirit and enthusiasm is so contagious," said Charles, "that the moment I met him I wanted to volunteer my services. I hope we can get enough muster under this league and take it from state to state. There's a real need for this." Her boss when she was at Goossen Tutor, promoter Dan Goossen, has provided monetary support for the league, and Charles has been able to secure funding from, among others, Skyline Financial Group, to help purchase new gear, something Charles said the kids desperately needed. "The kids have worked so hard, and take so much pride in what they have accomplished so far, they deserve the best we can get them," she said. Those accomplishments, and the pride the students justifiably feel in them, are perhaps best exemplified by Nancy Cabral. Although she still lives in the same neighborhood where she was shot and involved in gangs, she said, "I don't even go out anymore. I concentrate on doing my work to keep my grades up and stay in the boxing team." Nonetheless, danger continues to lurk around every corner, and even as Cabral turns her life around, friends and relatives continue to fall victim to random, gang-related, and sometimes deadly, violence. Only a few weeks ago, Cabral's cousin was shot dead in front of her.
And yet, despite the trauma and horror of the incident -- or, perhaps more accurately, precisely because of it and the innumerable other examples of violence and despair that infect her neighborhood -- Cabral is determined to remain focused on her new lease on life and the opportunities it has presented. "Right now I feel so good about myself, that I'm actually off the streets, and I'm in a good sport that can help me out and can teach other people," she said. "It just helped me a lot being in boxing. I never had a straight-A report card before, but if I want to be in the boxing team, I got to have good grades. That's something I never imagined I would have, or thinking about college, nothing like that. "I have gone to the college office a couple of times, which is something I never imagined doing, but I've been getting information about a couple of places, and Marvin, he's been helping me, and trying to get me in a four-year college so I can be what I want to be. "If I can do it, anybody else can."
Boxing coach helps teens fight their way out of trouble By Robert Morales Special to ESPN.com Mike Gonzaga lost his father before his senior year at Crespi High School in Encino, Calif. He recently recalled that a coach there helped him through the ordeal. It therefore wasn't surprising to see the emotion on Gonzaga's face when he described the Celt Boxing Club, a team he coaches made up of high school-age amateur boxers. Most of the team are from Crespi -- they're known as the Celts -- but it isn't mandatory to attend that particular school, as high school boxing is not sanctioned by the California Interscholastic Federation, the state's governing body for high school sports. Several Los Angeles-area high school boxing clubs have popped up over the past few years. Their events are sanctioned by USA Boxing. On Friday, Celt Boxing Club will play host to an event called "Celt Fight Night" involving six clubs at L.A. Pierce College in nearby Woodland Hills. Although it is not a prerequisite, Celt has its share of kids who have had social problems with drugs, alcohol and gangs. Of its 23-boxer roster, several fit into that realm. Gonzaga, 34, has a brother who was a "big-time" gang member, so he knows whereof he speaks. And because Gonzaga had help dealing with the aftermath of losing his father, he wants to help those high school students in need of guidance. "My group is very diverse," said Gonzaga, a 1993 graduate of Crespi. "A lot of them were at-risk kids. I've [had] a kid who had drug problems. I've had kids that wanted to kill themselves. I've got kids who still, in the middle of practice, have to leave early because they gotta go see a psychologist. I got a kid whose father was out of his life for 12 years." Gonzaga tells his team that being a professional football player or a prize-fighter is not going to last forever. "But you are going to be a man the rest of your life," Gonzaga said. "One day you're going to be a great father, one day you're going to be a good husband. That's the kind of stuff that I want to teach them to … to teach them how to be a man. That's what makes me keep coming back, is seeing these kids change for the better." Gonzaga has a background in mixed martial arts -- kickboxing and stick-fighting, in particular. But he looked good working the pads with one young boxer last week at the sprawling 360 Gym in Reseda, Calif. He has seen his team progress since its 2006 inception, but he's most proud of what they are becoming outside the ring. "Just seeing these kids succeed in life, that's what's priceless for me," said Gonzaga, who's also an assistant football coach at Crespi. One day you're going to be a great father, one day you're going to be a good husband. That's the kind of stuff that I want to teach them to … to teach them how to be a man. That's what makes me keep coming back, is seeing these kids change for the better. -- Mike Gonzaga, on how he motivates the high school-age amateur boxers at Celt Boxing Club The change in the life of Jibreel King has been evident. Only recently, King was a victim of a surprise attack at his high school in the Antelope Valley, more than 50 miles from the 360 Gym. King, just 15, said he had been hanging out with a group of youths who belonged to a gang. Unbeknownst to him, they had enemies -- who King referred to as quasi members of a rival gang -- at their high school. He was sitting down in the "lunch quad" and he was approached. "I remember that one guy came up to me asking me where was I from, or asked me did I say something about his gang," King said. "Before I could respond, he hit me." King said he was on medication that day and wasn't fully himself before the attack. "I started standing up slow to take my backpack off to defend myself," King said. "And somebody else hit me in the back. When I was aware that somebody else hit me, they both ran." King had a mild concussion. Once he got the cobwebs out, he said he wasn't mad. He realized why the incident went down. "If I wasn't hanging out with these people, then they wouldn't have asked me where I was from and that wouldn't have happened," King said. King's mother, Tasha Day, had previously met Gonzaga at an amateur card. After her son, who is 6-0 as an amateur, was attacked, she contacted Gonzaga. Thanks in large part to Gonzaga often driving an hour to pick him up, King makes it to the 360 Gym at least three times a week. He still trains in the Antelope Valley, but his heart is with the Celts. "Everybody around there is calm and friendly, and it's like a new type of crowd that I need to expose myself to instead of just hanging out with the same people -- the same people I know that's going to get me in trouble," King said. "Obviously Mr. Gonzaga, he's been giving me his hand. He has been helping me out a lot. He's been doing a lot for me, things that I would never think that a coach would do." King said he is hopeful of soon transferring to Crespi high school. Another newcomer to Celt Boxing is DueVone Broomfield. He has been raised by his mother, Latishe Anderson, as his father, a former gang member, was killed by a rival in a car-jacking when Broomfield was just 2. Broomfield is 3-3 in the ring as an amateur. He started more than two years ago with another high school club and recently joined Gonzaga at Celt. "I noticed that he is more positive now," said Anderson, who said her son was hanging out with gang members. "[Now], he believes in himself." Broomfield, 16, admits that he likes to fight. Now he is doing it in the ring instead of the streets. "Basically, I was always getting in trouble and I got tired of it," he said. "I thought I might as well fight and not get in trouble for it. It's [Celt that's] keeping me out of trouble because if I'm in trouble, my mom won't let me box." Then fighters such as former champion James Toney, who trains at 360 Gym and at times helps Gonzaga train the kids, wouldn't be able to see him box Friday. Neither would the likes of heavyweight contender Chris Arreola and former champion Shane Mosley, both of whom are scheduled to attend. Gonzaga is footing much of the bill for this club, but he pointed out that former champion Wayne McCullough and Crespi alum Jeff Suppan of the Milwaukee Brewers have contributed to the cause. Suppan won't be on hand Friday, but former Crespi and Cal football star Russell White will be. Gonzaga said he is hopeful that boxing will eventually become a sport sanctioned by the California Interscholastic Federation. For now, he will work his magic on the club level. Based on some of the aforementioned results, he has been waving that wand well.
I think this a great idea. Honestly, Boxing made me far less violent. I actually think it boxing has a pacifying effect on participants. It is one of things where people hate boxing because it is violent and at its essence it is a man beating the shit out of another for sport. It is like making prostitution of drugs illegal, their heart is in the right place, but ultimately you have to be realistic. Young man are violent and risk takers, especially with the increase of bastards even in the White community where young men grow up fatherless. Boxing creates a good discipline and teaches you to control your emotions.
You really need to post somewhere else, faggot. Fightbeat will be a lot better without the likes of your puny ass around. You are a chickenshit coward that has never been in a fight in your life, you need to go away from here, and I hope the new owner takes note of your racist contribution to this thread.
What racist contribution to the thread? I hate white people? I can see why you are the third stringer at the titty bar, you can't read either. Don't hate me because I still have a head full of flowing chestnut hair and I am a foot taller than you are ::::
Stinger why do you hate Ike so much? I'm sure you've got enough in the tank to smash stiff's like JCC Jnr, but do you really think you could beat up a normal person who isn't old and bald like yourself?
This is a great idea. It could help revitalize the pro ranks too since I view the loss of these types of programs as the main reason boxing has lost so much talent.
I know it's going to take some doing, but it's something that can be done. I remember the time and effort it took to get things straight with UNF. In the beginning, they did not even want us to put the school name on our posters when we did our first show in Aug. '05. After the publicity and success of the show, they were more in favor. Later, they claimed the fire marshals weren't going to let us use the area we were using, so we had to take up our floor ring and work without it. Eventually, after a lot of b.s. from the school, they realized how serious we were, they gave their unconditional blessing; even so much, they bought equipment for us and gave us a travel budget for whenever we decide to use it. So, it's all about the perseverance. Although I plan on moving away from Jacksonville next August, I hope to have enough of the plan enacted so the people I know in the boxing community here can pick up from there. And, when I move, I'm going to cookie cut this same endeavor- Gotta keep it going! I'm fine tuning the business plan right now, so I can initiate it when I first, write to the athletic directors of the first two schools, and then meet with them in person. By the way, I appreciate the support and respect of this board. I have been a member since Dec. '02. I don't post as much as I should, but I did post more than the tally says. I guess my old posts were deleted when they changed the board a while back.
