When There Isn't A Win

When Andre won the super heavyweight trophy in this year's Chicago Golden Gloves, I was very happy.  It always feels good to be in the winner's corner.  But what if the decision has been given to the other fighter?
Like Barry once said, "It's hard to know what to say to the fighter who lost."

A lot of what can and should be said will depend on the mood of the fighter.  If they say something along the lines of, "Eh, I should have did this or that, I should have been more focused.  I messed up.  I'll have to work on my skills in the gym," then some gentle constructive criticism may be offered.  It will be heard.

But if a fighter is angry, different approaches have to be done.  The fighter could be justified about their feelings if the decision was clearly a bad call by the referee, the judges, or both.  Assurances should be made that the fighter did their best in the ring, but also emphasis the importance of not leaving the outcome entirely in the judges and officials' hands.  If the loss because of a fighter having not trained enough, not given their all, etc., immediately after the fight may not be the time to point those facts out.  Let them cool off.  But the very next time they come into the gym, go over what went wrong, and work with them to correct those things.

Recently, Alan was telling someone, Geniece, I think, about what happens at the Chicago Park District boxing shows.  He told her that the referees are quick to stop fights at any sign of trouble.  I told her how Alan had stopped a fight between Meg and I a few years ago.  "She never lets me forget that," Alan said.  I was angry when that happened, but over time I realized that Alan was right in what he did.  I was taking too many punches from Meg and not answering them.  However, it can be a touchy situation when the coach stops a fight.  There may be some frost going on between the fighter and the coach afterwards for awhile.  But the lines of communication have to kept open so the situation can be worked through and resolved so they can be a team again.

Above all, the main message should be that there will be another time to fight.

Re-Certification On A Sunday

I had to get re-certified as a coach again today.  Yeah, I just did that back in January of this year, but USA Boxing's new rules will go into effect on January 1, 2014.  The notice I saw on Facebook stated that all coaches must either be re-certified, or be certified if they are new to the game, before September 1st of this year or else not be able to work the corners at upcoming matches.  The coach's seminar took place at Sam Colonna's gym on the south side.  The photo above shows a row of heavy bags in his gym.

Unfortunately, another meeting to be held concerning an issue at church was scheduled on the same day.  It was done very last minute, and I told the chairperson of the board there was probably no way I was going to make it back to church from the coach's seminar for that meeting.  Seeing how I have to be included in the church meeting, it will simply have to be scheduled on another day when I'm available. Coach's seminars and clinics tend to run long.  There was a lot of information that Carlos and Joe had to give people in regards to the new rules on the books.

The day started off on a frazzled note for me.  My phone rang around 4:00 AM.  I was not feeling well, nor had I slept well all night.  I did not answer the phone.  Three hours later, I got up, having barely slept and tried to function.  Colonel was going to give me a ride up to the gym, but I realized too late the night before that I didn't have his cell number.  I had called Alan the night before, not knowing that the coach had gone out and left his cell phone at home.  I took public transportation out to the south side, and rolled up in Sam's gym about twenty minutes late.  Carlos was already going over the rules when I got there.

There were a lot of familiar faces.  Colonel had got there ahead of me, of course, and he asked, "What happened?"  "It's my fault.  I should have double checked if I had your number the last time we saw each other," I explained.  Rico was there, as was Metzger, Barry, Chupa, and George.  "Girl, what are you doing up here with those hot pants on?" he laughed as he hugged me.  As usual, the T-shirt I was wearing was covering the short shorts I had on.  Well, it's very hot today.

I found it curious that the certification test that was handed out was the same one that I took earlier this year.  It was also the same one I had taken a few years ago when I first was certified as a Level 1 coach.  Joe explained there hadn't been time to update the test to reflect some of the rule changes.  I think I missed about five questions on the test, trying to remember the difference between the old rules and the new ones.

Before everyone took the test, Joe went over some specifics involving the new rules.  One guy got up and basically complained that if his fighter had did well during the first two rounds of a three round bout, but lost the third round due to running out of gas, that fighter should have won the match.  Joe tried to explain the 10 point rule system, but the guy asking the question just kept wanting to argue the issues.  I could hear some sighs and groans around the room.  I was rolling my eyes.  Had that guy ever seen matches where one fighter had won all eleven rounds, but got knocked the hell out in the twelfth round?  Here's a better example:  a fight where both boxers were standing on their feet at the end of the last round, and both were throwing banging punches the entire time.  The judges have to base their decision on who was more aggressive, who was using better technique, etc.

Metzger is the guy in the red shirt in this photo.  This was taken near the end of the seminar.  Everyone had to turn in their tests, and have their coach's licenses signed by Carlos to show they had attended the seminar.

This is the front counter and office at Sam's gym.  Willie, the guy with his back to the camera, asked me had I been in that gym before.  He saw me taking pictures, so maybe he assumed I hadn't been there before.  There were two women on the premises, but they appeared to be working there.  I was the only woman sitting out with the other coaches during the seminar.

Barry (in the middle with the glasses on) compares notes with other coaches after the seminar was over.  "Wow, it seems that people are getting strict!" he commented during the seminar.  Illinois is now under Wisconsin's jurisdiction in terms of amateur boxing.

Joe (the guy in the light shirt with the stripes down the arm) talks with Metzger and another guy at the end of the seminar.  Carlos, in the foreground, was busy signing every one's coach's licenses.

It was near 2:00 PM when Colonel and I finally got into his very sharp new car.  The seminar had began at 10:00 AM.  Alan wasn't at the seminar; I had told him and Colonel about it when I first learned about it.  From how Carlos and Joe were talking about the urgency of getting everything up to date before the beginning of next month, anyone who wasn't at the seminar may not have another chance before the end of the year to be certified or re-certified.  That means people may have to wait until February right before the Golden Gloves takes place to get that done.   But Joe did tell everyone not to wait that late, especially where the boxers were concerned.  He told the coaches their boxers should register in December instead of waiting until mid-February.