Look Who Decided To Show Up

A mom walked into the gym with her very husky twelve-year-old son.  She wanted him to be in boxing, but the kid wasn't so sure.  I told the both of them that her son would be put into the teen class as opposed to the kids' class because of his size.

The other day, I told a couple that their eight-year-old could sign up, but their seven-year-old would have to wait a year.  If the younger kid's eighth birthday was coming up during the next three months, I would have green lighted his being in the class.  However, his birthday is not until late next summer.

The kids and teens' classes are separated largely because of ages, sizes, and weights. But even among kids in approximately the same age group, there can be wide variations, especially where size is concerned.  I also have to consider safety, especially in terms of sparring purposes.  I don't often like having to tell parents that all of their kids can't be in the same class, but rules have to be followed.

However, I do have some parents who have decided that their young kids are going to be in the teen class even though they aren't old enough and are small in size.  "My kid can't come to the earlier class because they don't get out of school until later," is the most common excuse given to me.  But it presents a problem where sparring is concerned.  I want to avoid mismatches as well as injuries whenever possible.

Near the end of the teen class, De-Fetrick decides to show up.  After the teens left, I asked him, "Where is the athletic cup I lent to you when we were at Simons Park?"  "I think it's at my grandmother's house," he answered.  What  in the eff is it doing over there? was on the tip of my tongue.  What actually came out of my mouth was, "It has to come back here.  That's park district property."

The security guard for the building and a staff member came down to the gym to check on me.  They had heard about De-Fetrick's antics at the boxing show, and pulled me to the side.  "Everything cool?" they asked, giving De-Fetrick suspicious looks.  "Everything's cool.  De-Fetrick can continue to train.  Just can't box in any of the boxing shows anymore," I explained.

De-Fetrick didn't apologize for snapping on me the night of the show. He just did his workout, and as usual, didn't seek out any feedback.  Remember, this is the guy who told me, "I learned how to box from watching TV."  Watching TV didn't get him a win that night.  As much as I have demanded apologies from people, especially from those who still owe me ones from things done years ago, I don't care about receiving an apology in this case.  Tommy is the one to whom De-Fetrick owes a major apology, as Tommy was extremely disrespected that night.  If De-Fetrick ever hopes to fight again in a Chicago Park District boxing show, he's going to have to talk to Tommy.

I'm not going to plead his case to Tommy, either.  According to the state of Illinois, De-Fetrick is legally grown at age nineteen.  Grown folks need to take care of their own business.