A Coach's Job

The picture above was taken a short time after Jake and I sparred.  Take a good look at the photo.  See how much taller he is than I?  I came in low like I usually do when my sparring partner towers over me, and ran into a right that Jake threw.  Stunned, I stepped back.  "Are you okay?" Jake asked.  "I'm fine," I said, as I shook my head to make it clear.  "That was a good one!"

Afterwards, Jake said, "I thought you were going to duck as I threw that punch, but you came right in."  "Hillari always goes in with her head down," Alan commented, and he was right.  Too many times, I don't see the punches coming at me as I'm rushing in.  There are also too many times when my eyes are closed as punches come in, and I'm answering them in the dark. 

I heard Igor asking Alan about sparring.  "Here we go again," I thought to myself.  Alan suggested that he spar with me.  "I'd be glad to," I said, a little too gleefully.  But I knew that Igor wasn't going to spar with me or anyone else Wednesday evening.  Later, Igor asked Alan about entering the Golden Gloves.  I rolled my eyes.  The finals are happening next week, so Igor's a little late inquiring about signing up.  Alan pointed out that Igor was too old to compete in the Gloves; the Chicago version doesn't include a Masters' Boxing division.  That's something that both myself and Steve, the former coach, had told Igor a thousand and one times in the past. 

Matthieu came in with a friend of his named Steve.  Matthieu's ankle is better, but he hasn't been cleared yet for exercise by his doctor.  He kept his workout short, and so did Steve.  But before Steve left, I did show him some basic punches and moves. 

Paul, Alan's boss, impressed me by how he used the wheel, an exercise device that helps flatten the stomach.  Paul stretched out on the canvas, pushing the wheel in front of him, but when he pulled the wheel back, he got all the way up on his feet.  I have a wheel at home, but it's rare that I use it. Alan uses the wheel each time he's in the gym, but he couldn't raise back up on his feet.  I have to admit it appears that one has to have strong back muscles to pull that off. 

Earlier today, I was returning home from the grocery store, when I saw Barry at the end of the block.  He was out with the truck, on duty with Streets and Sanitation.  "I've got an interview with the park district next week for a boxing coach's job at Simons Park," I announced to him.  "That's great!  If you get that job, you and I will be partners in crime!" Barry smiled.

I told Alan about it the night before.  "Good!  Now if you get that job, you can't walk in that gym and be intimidated," he told me.  "I know how to yell.  You know if I know how to sing, I know how to scream," I laughed, using a phrase that my mother used to say.  "You have to tell people, 'there's only one boss in the gym, and that's me'", Alan said.  I asked Alan what the interview process for him was like when he became a boxing coach over thirty years ago.  "I had been training at the gym for awhile.  The coach who was there left to do something else.  I was asked if I wanted the job, and I said yeah.  It was different back then.  I didn't have to go through a background check," he told me. 

I told Paulette about the upcoming interview earlier on Wednesday.  "Where is that gym located?"  She asked.  "It's near Humboldt Park," I answered.  She gasped.  "I'd like for you to get the job, but that's a rough side of town!" Paulette exclaimed.  Aaron, who was standing in my office told her, "What are you worried about?  She'll knock somebody out if they try something!"

I grew up in some rough areas on west side of Chicago (Rockwell Gardens, Garfield Park, K-Town, South Austin, South Lawndale), so I can handle Humboldt Park.  It won't be a hassle to get there on public transportation.  Location aside, it would be great to to get that job.  On my side, I've been boxing for eleven years (one at Degerberg Martial Arts Academy, ten at Loyola Park). I've been an official volunteer with the boxing program at Loyola Park for six years, first acting as an assistant coach to Steve, and now Alan.  I have four amateur fights under my belt, and I've worked fighter's corners at park district bouts, show fights, and at the Golden Gloves.  I have a USA Boxing Level 1 coach's license. 

But as I began to daydream about how I would run a gym, I had to remind myself to be prepared for stray punches that may come up during the interview.  Boxing is still predominately a boys' club, despite the fact that there are women who fight, judge matches, act as referees, and manage/promote fighters, and yes, do coaching.  I'll have to make a strong case that a 5 foot 1 woman can be in a gym that will probably be mostly populated with males and command respect on top of being able to teach boxing techniques. 

There's also the fact that my participation in boxing will do a shift.  I remember when I first started assisting Steve in the gym.  It was the first day of the Winter session.  There were several guys in the gym, including J.J., who were training for the Golden Gloves.  Steve was working hard to get them ready, but a lot of new people had come in.  He asked me to show them technique, so he could focus on the contenders.  At the end of the evening, I said, "I was so busy that I didn't get a workout in."  "That's one of the downsides of being a coach.  There's a lot of times when you won't get to do that," he told me.  I never forgot that.  That means I'll have to work harder to carve out other times to exercise.

Competing will be out for me as well, which I know will make a lot of people happy, like my stepmother, and most of the people at church, for example.  Sparring may still happen; Steve sparred occasionally, and Alan spars often. 

Another adjustment if I get the position - and it's a major one - is that I won't be at Loyola Park's boxing gym anymore.  That will be the hardest change to deal with since I've been there for so long.  But I'll have to cross that bridge if and when I come to it.