Thursday, June 05, 2008

Surprise, There's A Girl

Know how I know that I love boxing? I can have fun in the gym even when I'm not training.

Earlier this afternoon, I stopped into the gym. The kids and teens are in the gym on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Barry asked me to stop by sometimes when they are there. Normally, Barry doesn't have many adults hanging around when the kids are in the gym. The adults aren't allowed to work out with the kids (except for Nate Sr., who held pads for Nate Jr. today). It can be a distraction.

Some of the kids I knew and/or recognized like Man-Man, Nate Jr., and Kenny. There were a few other kids there that I hadn't seen before. I was surprised to see a girl working out. She looked no older than eight or nine years old. The girl was keeping up with the boys, and she was the only female in attendance. It reminded me of all the times when I was usually the only woman in the gym. There have been a few girls in the youth program, usually teens, but they didn't seem to hang around for long. Today was the first time I have seen a little girl in the gym.

Barry is very good with the kids and teens. He keeps his eye on everything that goes on. He had the younger kids going through circuit training, where they switched between equipment and various exercises. The kids under 12 finished training by 5:00 PM, and then it was time to work with the teenagers. Kenny, Man-Man, and a kid named Steve sparred (Nate Sr. stepped in at one point to spar with Man-Man).

I learned that a former Loyola boxer named Turan had his first pro fight recently. He has another coming up soon in California. Barry was going to check the stats later to see how he did.

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