Pulling A Bolander

It's bad enough when parents and guardians are pulling Bolanders (doing annoying, irritating, dumb, etc. things)  to upset the balance in the boxing program at the park district.  Boxing coaches are also frustrated by things that are done by management as well, especially coming from the field house supervisors.

The main issue that gets on coaches' nerves is when they find out that the field house supervisor is not supportive of their program.  Okay, everyone doesn't care for every sport.  However, regardless of my personal preferences, if I'm the one running the field house, I'm going to give equal time to every sports program that is there.  I remember sitting in a boxing coaches' meeting a few years ago where several of the coaches complained about not being able to get the resources they need.  One coach grumbled that every time they asked for anything, their supervisor just flat out turned down the request without much of an explanation.  According to that coach, the other sports programs at their field house had no problems getting what they needed. 

Another issue is the lack of promotion.  A monthly email newsletter is distributed by the park district that highlights various programs and activities.  The boxing program is not given much press, not even during the annual City-Wide Boxing Tournament nor during the weekly boxing shows that go on during the second half of the year.  Once again, depending on a supervisor's personal feelings, the program may not be advertised much at the field house.  The boxing coaches are part-timers, and most have other obligations when they aren't at the gym, so the time they have to promote the program is limited.

In a city as big as Chicago, the boxing program should exist in more than 23 field houses.  I understand that at one time in the past, it did.  I was told that Clarendon Park, whose boxing program was cut ten years ago, was the crown jewel of the program.  The park district is always talking about offering positive programs especially to keep youths off of the streets.  It would do well to shore up and build up the boxing program more.