Me Vexed

This wasn't a good week.  The last thing I wanted was to have my blood pressure raised again when I arrived at the gym.  Unfortunately, Caiden and his cousins Keith and Keon did just that.  As usual, the boys showed up late to the gym.  Another 15 minutes of playing around took place further cutting down on the time available for sparring.

Keith put a pair of sparring gloves on then announced, "I'm not sparring today."  "This is just like at Hamlin Park, waiting until the last minute to say, 'I don't want to fight'," I told Keith sarcastically.  Keon and Caiden sparred but in the middle of the first round, Caiden dropped to the canvas and rolled out of the ring.  "I quit," Caiden grumbled.  "Why?" I demanded.  I wasn't given a coherent answer.

No such drama happens with Jazzmyne and her brother Elijah, who showed up for the next class.  It helps greatly that their parents are totally on board with their kids learning the sport properly and participating in it.  Both Jazzmyne and Elijah soak up everything Rick and I show them, and they are hungry to learn more.

Rick believes Caiden and his cousins can learn to be disciplined in the sport.  However, my patience has long disappeared.  When Caiden and his cousins aren't playing around, they're constantly sniping at each other.  Not much in the way of training happens during the hour. 

Distracted and Unfocused Training

It wasn't really a surprise when David announced that he was not going to compete in LaFollette Park's boxing show that takes place next month.  He told Sahia that his dad doesn't want him to box  Then why did David re-register to be in the class?  "Did he have a fight the last time he was registered for the class?" Sahia asked me.  "No. David was also taking swimming classes at the same time, just like now," I replied.

So far, David's cousin Esteban is still planning to fight, but I'm not betting on that.  The family is going out of town right after the boxing show.  Esteban might come up with an excuse as to why he can't compete, either.  Sahia had planned to ask some teens from another gym if they would like to come in and give David and Esteban some sparring.  It doesn't seem to be worth the effort to arrange that now.

Both Sahia and I were shaking our heads at the listless manner of Jaylen, Aria, and Aylia.  I have to keep telling the kids they need to act like they want to be there.  Aylia is twelve years old, yet acted like she didn't know the difference between her left and right feet in terms of staying in her stance.  Aria kept dropping her hands.  Jaylen was constantly plopping down to sit between rounds as well as poking around during rounds.  Sahia caught Jaylen running with his cell phone in his shorts pocket.  "What do you need the cell phone for?" she asked.  I ordered Jaylen to put it in his backpack which took him several moments.  I snapped, "It's not brain science to put the phone up!"

I'm ticked at Jaylen because he distracted me with a useless question about Arai and Aylia's whereabouts the other day.  I lost my mp3 player; I must have dropped it at some point while Jaylen was questioning me as I arrived at work.  I didn't notice it was gone until it was time for me to get off work.  Of course, I snapped on him about causing me to misplace it when I saw him again.  Jaylen has missed days in the gym, so I fail to understand why he was concerned about someone else's attendance.

The summer class for the eight to 12-year-olds is nearly full.  Kayla, who had been in the class when Damaris and Anayah were attending, re-registered. However, teen and adult classes have no participants.  Anyone who signs up for those classes will register late and barely attend if they show up at all.  Few people want to be in a hot gym during the short time there's nice weather in the city.

Whining and Sparring Don't Mix

Henry and David had to spar with each other yesterday -- again -- because as usual, other kids don't often show up to the gym on Saturday.  I steeled myself for David's usual whining.  His brother Henry is always up and ready for a sparring session.  David dawdles around, and once the action starts, the complaints start.  However, David starts most of the confusion in the ring holding Henry's arms, pushing his brother, etc.

Henry often returns the favor in reaction to his younger brother's antics.  Even their father gets on the both of them about it, as well.  I found myself commanding, "Break!", "Stop holding!", and "Step back!" once too often.  "I shouldn't have to say anything more than once!  If a referee has to keep repeating commands, the fight could end with a disqualification," I warned both of the brothers.  Yet, the wrestling kept continuing.  After sparring, David kept complaining about Henry hitting him.  I told David -- in front of his dad -- that I had no interest in hearing the whining again.  I repeated to both boys that they had to watch their actions in the ring.

For pain relief, check this out.

I was glad that they had a chance to spar, however.  Damaris, who had been MIA for a while, returned to the gym.  But she was not prepared to spar.  Usually, she spars with Henry, as I was not comfortable with putting her with the girls who were smaller than she.  Damaris has grown in height and lost some weight since the last time I saw her. 

Ariel re-registered and promised to come in on Friday, but she wasn't there on that day nor on Saturday.  She's been gone for too long for me to be able to put her in Loyola Park or Simons Park's boxing shows next month.  Maybe if she starts showing up regularly I might be able to put her in Hamlin Park's boxing show.

However, time is running out for Malik who continues not to come in and train.  I'm ticked because he knows the rules about training and participation in the boxing shows.  It won't be a surprise if he doesn't show up at Loyola Park despite the fact that I wrote out the information and gave it to him.  Malik missed out on last year's City-Wide Boxing Tournament because of engaging in his usual habits.  If Malik bails out on Loyola Park, I'm not going to be open to putting him in at Simons Park nor Hamlin Park.

One of the attendants was overly concerned about a complaint about the cleanliness of the gym.  I've been disappointed about that, but I hadn't said anything to my boss nor the attendants about it.  On Saturday there were construction workers in the gym.  As long as that is going on, the gym is not going to be clean for a while.  I've basically thrown my hands up in the air about that.  But later, I found out that a parent did complain about how dusty the floor was.  My boss told me to send the parent to them if they have any questions.   In the meantime, everyone is going to have to deal with the gym as it is. 

Sparring In A Damaged Gym

The gym opened back up a few days ago, but I'm wondering why the construction company thought the program can work with what has been going on.  The walls and ceilings were really hit by the rains around Labor Day.  I kept thinking to myself, "Looks like there will be another paint job done, and that will take at least two months for maintenance to finish."  The construction company still hasn't replaced any of the windows in the equipment room nor in the washrooms.  The fans had been left on in the gym probably to cut down on the smell from the water damage.  The floor is blanched and looks bad. 

Only Henry, his brother David, Malik, and a new kid -- Lancom, I think? -- have shown up this week.  The new kid came in yesterday with fifteen minutes left on the clock, then told me he wouldn't be in today.  Malik is already doing his usual habit of showing up a few days during the week but disappearing on Saturdays.  The other three teens signed for the class haven't shown yet.  Malik was concerned about not being able to spar because others wouldn't be there, so I suspect that is why I didn't see him today. 

I gave my usual one courtesy call to the others but they haven't been in yet.  Loyola Park, Simons Park, and Hamlin Park are the last three shows I have scheduled to attend this year.  Those all take place in October.  We missed Portage Park and Davis Square Park's shows due to the gym not opening on time for the fall session.  I can't shake the feeling that the gym may be shut again before we get too far along into October.  If that happens, the gym might as well be shut until January.  There is no way people are going to be able to train to do well in the remaining shows in that case.

Henry and David sparred today but they were pushing and holding way too much.  Both I and their father kept admonishing the boys to break and step back from each other.  David still has the bad habit of keeping his hands down, and Henry tagged him each time.  David also gave his brother a low blow by lifting his knee.  Afterward, David kept whining about how Henry was hitting him.  I was going to get on him, but I let his father handle the situation. 

I've been leaving the doors leading to the hallway outside the gym as well as the doors right before the main gym door open.  Coach James' seasonal sports equipment is stored in an area off the boxing gym.  I got tired of the kids expecting me to open the doors so they can get to their stuff after I was through for the day.  I've long been tired of those kids tromping through my gym and goofing around with the boxing equipment.  Now I lock the door leading directly into the gym.  Unfortunately, I still walk in most days to find the gym has been left wide open for anyone to roam inside.  I often wish I was working at a field house with a smaller boxing gym with only one way in and out.  It would keep my blood pressure from going up.

Henry Shows His Skills

Seward Park's boxing show is coming up this week.  I expect Damaris to do what she usually does -- back out of it at the last minute.  I have high hopes for Henry and his brother David, however.  They have been working hard.  I think the both of them will be able to get fights at Seward.

Sahia keeps asking about Lael and Arrav's chances at getting fights.  The reality is, they don't have any.  I'm not backing down on the "train five days a week or no fights" rule.  Lael is only good for showing up one to three days out of the week.  Recently, I found out the boy shouldn't have been allowed in the class due to his age. I overheard him tell someone, "I'm seven years old."  The youngest participants are supposed to be eight years old.  Lael's mom signed him up online.  If had signed him up in person, Lael would have had to wait until the fall when his birthday takes place to be in the class.  That is another reason why parents and guardians are supposed to talk to me before registering their kids.

Arrav told me he couldn't come to class two days of the week, and he actually ended up missing three days.  Usually, the boy only shows up at the gym once a week.  I understand Arrav is signed up for several other activities going on at the same time.  Youths who are picking and choosing what days they can come to the gym will never train enough to my satisfaction to be allowed to get fights.

Henry sparred with Damaris.  Her father insisted that she wear a chest protector before sparring.  I didn't think she really needed it, but it brought out for her to wear.  Henry did hit her in the chest a few times.  Damaris kept pawing at him, something both Sahia and I have told her to get out of the habit of doing for a few months now.  She also had her hands down.  Each time Henry punched her in the face, I pointed it out to her.  Henry tagged her five times. 

At the end of class, Sahia and I presented Henry with a certificate and trophy for outstanding sparring.  Henry's dad, Julio, was extremely happy and proud of his son.  Sahia and I felt good about being able to acknowledge Henry's hard work. 

Questions That Make Me Shake My Head

1.  Do people hit each other for real?
People who ask me this question when inquiring about signing up for the boxing class are usually people whom I do NOT want in the class.  It indicates an extreme misunderstanding of the sport in general.  Even those who aren't major fans of the sport have a basic idea of what goes on in it and have probably seen clips of boxing matches.  I know people have heard of fighters being injured, so I don't get why anyone would believe the punches thrown aren't real. 

2.  Are we sparring today?
It's a legitimate question only if there are several others on the premises.  The question doesn't sound intelligent when asked by someone who happens to be the only person who showed up that day. 

3.  Is it okay if I or my kid can't make it to the gym every day? 
Yes, but people aren't going to be allowed to participate in boxing competitions if they don't train every day the gym is open.  Please, I might not allow people to spar depending on their attendance. 

4.  Can I just come in and hit the bags and get in the ring?
No.  I make some exceptions for those who I know are training at other park district gyms and professional boxers that come through from time to time.  Otherwise, both youths and adults need to be officially signed up for the class.

5.  I have one kid in the class, but could you show my other kid(s) who aren't in the class a few moves?
No.  The main reason I get asked that is because the siblings, cousins, whoever of the kid who is already in the class are too young to register for the boxing class.  The second reason is that the parent or guardian has babysitting issues.  They figure since the other kids are there, why not let them join in? 

6.  Do the times of the boxing classes change each session?
 It's not a college course that is offered at different times each quarter or semester.  The youth boxing classes, like other youth activities at the park district, are designed to catch youths as they are coming out of school.  And no, the days and times the class meets is not going to change during summer just because school is out. 

7.  Can I or my kid come in and work out during an earlier or later class?
No.  The classes are divided by ages for a reason.  An eight-year-old can't spar with a 15-year-old.  I'm not putting a 15-year-old in the ring to spar with a 35-year-old adult.  I don't want to deal with parents who are upset because teenagers and/or adults are in the gym with their grade-school age kids.  Most adults don't want kids underfoot while they're trying to exercise.

8.  Can I or my kid sign up even though physical and/or mental issues are present?
Depends on what those issues are.  But common sense should have dictated that a check-up should have been done long before showing up to register for the class.  Even if I'm not told about those issues and people sign up anyway, I will eventually figure out what's up.  When I do, depending on the situation, I may take people out of the class. 

9.  I've got a couple of youths who are arguing with each other.  Can they put on the gloves, get in the ring, and duke it out?
No, no, and no.  Usually, the youths in question aren't signed up for the program.  The youths should be shown there are other ways to solve their differences than putting their hands on each other.  If they are determined to fight anyway, they'll do it elsewhere but not in my gym.  The equipment in the gym is NOT to be used for purposes other than what is intended.  I'm not about to risk losing my job because of allowing any and everybody to walk up in the gym and do whatever they want. 

10.  Can I just pay you so you can let me train in the gym?
This is asked of me by adults who don't want to officially register for whatever reason, and who don't want to pay the full fee for the class.  I get a check from the park district every two weeks for my services.  I can't accept money under the table from people who don't want to follow rules and procedures.  The park district does not run open gyms nor accepts day fees. 

11.  Can I bring my friends here to train?
Another question that comes mostly from adults looking to give their buddies a hookup.  Yeah, their friends are welcomed -- as long as they understand they have to pay for the class.  And even though the youth classes are free, everyone in those classes has to be accounted for on my attendance rosters.

12.  Seriously -- you're the boxing coach?
Yeah, women do box, act as judges, referee, and coach.  If people have a problem with me because of my gender, they are free to go to other gyms.  I don't have time to deal with sexism. 

"It's An Easy Money Fight!"

The photo above is of Marty (on the right), the coach at Simons Park, and one of his fighters who was successful in winning a trophy at the Garfield Park boxing show.

George, the coach at Garfield, has been there for 28 years. I heard George tell one of his fighters in-between rounds, "It's an easy money fight!  Just keep going for his head and body!"  George was telling him right.  The kid's opponent was easy pickings.

I was judging the fights.  For the first time in my memory, all of the fighters I had listed on the cards to win did..  There were nine fights, and they went rather quickly.  One fight looked in danger of being stopped when one of the fighters, who was from Humboldt Park, told the referee that it felt like his shoulder had come out of the socket.  The EMT people on hand checked it out, and it was fine.  The fight continued, and the guy from Humboldt won.

Damaris showed up and so did Anayah but neither of them opted to fight.  Damaris' mother told me yesterday that her daughter "wasn't sure" if she wanted to fight.  Damaris didn't bother to tell me anything this time, after having already backed out of fighting at the Humboldt and LaFollette shows.  A week or so ago, Damaris had told Sahia that she wanted to be "worked harder" in the gym in order to be prepared for the Garfield Park show.  But once again, that girl's words didn't match her actions.  While driving home last night, I noticed that I hadn't packed my coach's bag for today's show.  It was just as well.

All of the girls in the youth class appear to have no further interest in competing.  I'll have to pin my hopes on Henry and his brother David.  Their father inquired about them participating in Garfield's show, but the boys had signed up for the class less than two weeks before.  They will be better prepared for the Seward Park show which takes place in early August.  I might consider Aarav for that show, too, despite the fact that Aarav only comes to class once a week.  Aarav was looking sharp when I put him in to spar last week against David.

Summer rolls along.

Saturday Is Better

When I initially floated the idea to some of the parents about moving sparring from Friday to Saturday, I was met with approval.  The parents wanted to watch their kids spar, but admitted that it was not easy to arrange their schedules to be in the boxing gym on a weekday.  Based on that information, when I change the sparring day around, that will be a permanent schedule change instead of just making that for summer only.

Sparring used to be on Saturdays when I first started working for the park district.  The intent was to have it on a day when school and perhaps other activities were not a factor.  But then most youths, and the adult participants as well, were not showing up on Saturdays.  I switched sparring back to weekdays thinking it was easier to draw people into the gym, especially youths coming out of school for the day.

Now I realize that I've been accommodating and compromising with people for way too long.  The boxing gym hours are what they are.  I should have never been doing constant adjustments in a futile attempt to work with every one's personal schedules.  Either youths and adults deal with the days, times, and training schedule of the boxing program or they don't.

In addition to Saturday being an easier day for busy parents to come in and see their kids' progress, it works better with the park district's boxing show schedule.  The City-Wide Boxing Tournament, as well as the weekly boxing shows that take place between June and February take place on weekdays. If someone had a hard fight on a Thursday, the day weekly boxing shows currently take place, it wouldn't do to have them sparring back at the gym on a Friday.  This is especially true if fighters were injured.  I could let them skip the gym on Friday to rest and give them the option of sparring on Saturday, if they felt up to it.  They could also skip Saturday, depending on what happened at a Thursday fight and start again the following week.

Everyone would have four solid days of training, instead of having that broken up by sparring on Friday, and then returning on Saturday for a regular training day.  I could further keep track of who is just showing up to spar, cutting down on some participants' willingness to fight but not train.

No matter what I do in terms of scheduling, however, there is always going to be some who aren't going to attend the class regularly, and those who will show up but won't train.  I don't doubt that there will be people -- the youths, mostly -- who will complain about the change of sparring day.  But running that program efficiently is more important to me.

The Show That Wasn't

I knew before I left my apartment yesterday that the Fosco Park show wasn't going to go well.  My feelings were confirmed when I arrived and noticed a majority of the gyms did not show up.  I counted five coaches there including myself.  Those coaches did not have many fighters with them.  From my gym:  Anayah had told me she wanted to fight.  However, she did not appear until the show began.  Jamarion was supposed to participate but he didn't show up.

Because the turnout was so low, Thomas, the boxing program coordinator, announced that all of the fights that evening would be sparring matches.  When Sahia heard this, she wondered if Mikaela and Noel could get in the ring.  But they also were not there in time for the weigh-in.  Thomas had already put the scale away.  He could not and would not delay a show already in progress to add another fight.  There were only four fights instead of the usual ten or twelve.  The evening ended early.

There will be another show today at Fosco Park for open fighters and adults who want matches.  Seeing how I don't have open fighters nor adults who have trained enough to have fights, I won't be going.  Probably, the number of fighters and spectators will be no higher than yesterday.  Maybe it just wasn't good timing to have a boxing show in May.  As far as I know, that had not been done before.  I would not be surprised if Thomas sends an email around asking why the coaches didn't show more support for the Fosco show.

My Right To Replace

Recently, I was told, "Hillari, you can't prevent people from signing up for the boxing class."  Excuse me?

I don't deny people the opportunity to sign up for the class.  Have I come across youths and adults who I knew from the jump weren't going to be a good fit for the class?  Many times.  But I allowed them to register knowing that they probably would not finish the session nor sign up for the class again.  Most mess themselves out of it when they don't keep up with registration dates nor the days and times the class meets and wait too long to get online or show up in person.  That is especially true of those who were in the class during a previous session.  Once the class reaches capacity, I'm not going to make room, regardless of the fact that I have Sahia (and soon, hopefully, Mikaela and Noel) as an official volunteer.  Every youth and adult signed up for the class is entitled to equal attention.  That can't be done if the class is overcrowded.

Miss Hillari does have the right, however, to eject people from the class.  The rules of the gym are posted all over the walls.  People can't break one or more of the rules and claim, "I didn't know," because I've already told them from day one that I'm holding everyone responsible for knowing the rules.  The main things that will gain people a one-way ticket out of my gym are:

1.  Behavior/discipline problems.  There was a saying when I was a kid.  Adults would say of kids who displayed no manners anywhere, "Those kids have no home training."  I've had more than a few who fell under that category.  Yeah, there may be situations going on at home or at school.  But I keep pointing out that I'm not a social worker, a psychologist, nor a psychiatrist.  I may have some concern about what is going on in people's lives outside of the gym.  But it is not my place nor in my area of expertise to get that deep into any one's personal situations.  I can't have one or more youths or adults' issues disrupting me running the gym nor upsetting the other participants.

2.  Non-attendance.  This does not affect the adults.  If they don't show up to class, the penalty is the money they paid is lost.  It does bother me when I come across youths who would really like to take the class, but my attendance list is filled with names of those who haven't been in the gym for days and weeks.  If youths don't show up for ten days -- two weeks -- and I don't receive a valid reason why that's happening, they're gone.  Ninety-five percent of my time needs to spent coaching, not calling homes every day asking, "Where are y'all at?"  It is usually easy for me to replace people with those who don't show up, and I do.

3.  A clear case of non-interest in the sport.  This sometimes is tied in with the behavior/discipline and attendance issues.  It's just as much of a chore for me to try to teach people who could care less about the sweet science as it is for people with that attitude to be a part of the class.  If a youth is involved, I will strongly suggest to the parents/guardians that they register them for another activity.  If an adult participant is involved, well. . .they won't be able to get a refund.  But I will suggest they investigate thoroughly whether or not an activity suits them before they lay out money the next time.

Hanging At The Old Gym

I went to Loyola Park's boxing gym yesterday, and I realized how much I miss the place.  I kept thinking how I wish the adult boxing class at LaFollette ran like the adult class at Loyola.  But there are so many issues with the class (and the boxing program at LaFollette in general), the main one being attendance.  The adult class at LaFollette has also been predominately female.  Don't get me wrong; I believe in promoting the sport to women.  But I would like to have an equal number of males in the classes, too.  I'm very tired of teenage and adult males at LaFollette acting interested about joining the boxing classes, but not following through.

There were a lot of familiar faces at Loyola last night like Ben, Matt, Rojah, Michael, Kevin, Erica, and William, and a few new faces I didn't recognize.  A good amount of sparring went on.  Ben and Alan sparred at the end of the evening with Matt giving instructions to Alan.  Erica was calling out instructions to Rojah when he sparred with William.  I told Erica that she would make a good coach.  She told me that she does coach boxing during the summer at a nearby community center.

I didn't do a workout.  My lower back continues to bother me, and it seems that I'm walking slower and slower each day.  My left shoulder was bothering me, too.  I've been exercising several times a week, utilizing gentle (read: senior) workouts at home that I've found on YouTube.  What I need is a chiropractor, but there are no funds to pay for one at the moment.  This morning, I woke up with a headache and neck pain, so the workout I planned to do will have to wait until later.

Alan only has two guys -- Professor and Rojah -- in the Golden Gloves this year.  Everyone else begged off from competing for various reasons.  I plan to attend the Gloves, but I'll probably wait until the finals.

This is the last week of the winter session.  I'm hoping that it goes by fast.  I need a break.

No Messages and No-Shows

Sahia, Rachey, Mikaela, and Noel returned to boxing class yesterday, and I was glad to see them.  They arrived as the teen class began, and that class was hopping.  A new guy who is 6 foot 2, Kalib, joined the class.  He's had a little training in the past, but I still had to go over most of the basics with him.  Mikaela, Noel, Ceasar, Richard, and Melissa went through their workout fine.  I noticed that Jahnaja strolled in late, but I didn't comment on it.

Iz and Abrahant did their usual habit of consistently showing up a half-hour late to the kids' class, too.  I had to get on Iz about him and his brother disappearing for two days last week with no notice.  This week is only the second week of the winter session and already I have had to deal with unexplained absences and no-shows.  "I was feeling a little sick last week," Iz said, an explanation that covered the first day he was out, but not the second day.  I should have received a phone call on the second day.  And why is it every time one of the brothers is sick, the other one decides they're not going to attend class?  It was the second time I had told them about the new attendance policy.  That was the last time I'm going to warn Iz and Abrahant about the consequences.

There are also a few in the kids' class who haven't made it in yet.  I gave a courtesy call last week to the home of one kid named Abshoun.  "I forgot that class has started," his mother told me.  Well, her memory was really faulty because her kid wasn't there all that week.  Looks like her kid ain't gonna be in this week, either.  Another girl, Jayda, signed up, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of her.  That two more "kicked out of class due to lack of attendance" letters I'll probably have to write.  

Unfortunately, Malik is getting dangerously close to missing out on competing in the Chicago City-Wide Tournament.  He's still not registered for the teen class.  I called his grandfather twice after Thanksgiving last year to give a reminder about the sign-up dates.  I didn't get a response.  I also told Malik several times during the holiday season to remind his grandfather to take care of that.  "I can't remember the park district's website," Malik told me as he stood before me on his cell phone yesterday.  What, kids don't know how to Google?  I'm in my late fifties, and it seems I know how to navigate technology better than most young people.  

The website wouldn't load probably due to connection issues because we were technically in the basement of the building.  Sahia pointed out that people may no longer be able to sign up for boxing online which made sense.  Only so many online slots are open before the in-person registration begins.  "Your grandfather has to come in here and sign you up," I repeated to Malik for the umpteenth time.  There's not a lot of openings left in the teen class.  If his grandfather keeps hesitating, I'm not going to be able to make room in a full class for Malik.  If Malik is not able to re-join the class until the spring session, that will seriously cut down on his training time for the Chicago City-Wide Tournament.

Sahia couldn't stay for the adult class because she had an appointment elsewhere.  However, I was glad that she was able to connect with Donesha, Tony's mom before she left.  Alexis didn't show up again for the adult class, so Donesha was by herself.  But she got a good solid hour of work in.  She also does exercises outside of the gym, and that is very helpful.

Someone called the field house looking for me.  One of the teen girls was sent downstairs by Tina, the gymnastics and dance instructor (and summer camp coordinator) to tell me I had a phone call.  The staff knows that I don't leave the gym during the kids' and teen classes to come upstairs for any reason.   I've ceased making it my problem that they keep forgetting that. "Tell her to take a message," I told the girl.  The girl did not return with the phone message.  Neither did I find a message when I came up to the front desk at the end of my shift.  I have to assume that either the caller didn't want to leave a message or the person who answered the phone didn't bother to take one. Unfortunately, the latter scenario is the probable one.  It's happened before.   

Already Kicked Out Of Class

Most everything I needed to get done in the boxing gym at LaFollette Park is done.  This week will be quiet until the winter session begins next week. 

I've already written the withdrawal letter to send to Jahnaja's mother.  I spoke to her mother in mid-December.  "She's busy with stuff because she'll be graduating from high school next year," her mother told me.  I was also told that Jahnaja would call me to confirm whether or not she'll be attending the boxing class.  This is the third time she's signed up for it and not completed it.  She didn't even bother to show up at all the last time she registered.  The new attendance policy states that people can't miss two weeks of class without an explanation.  But based on Jahnaja's track record, I don't have the patience to wait and see what she's going to do.  As far as I'm concerned, she's already kicked out of the teen class.  If she doesn't show up the first day, the letter will be dropped in the mail.  I'm done dealing with no-shows to the class.

My patience has also been low with parents and guardians who won't get it in gear to sign their kids up.  I've told Malik a few times that he needs to send his grandfather in to re-register him for the teen class.  I've left voice messages for his grandfather.  Malik's name has not shown up on the attendance roster yet.  Chasing people to re-sign up for the class is something I seldom did in the past.  This is the year that I stop doing that completely.  I'm also done with frustrating myself about other people's lack of motivation and being proactive.  I'm not interested in excuses as to why people don't do what they need to do at this moment.  

When I last checked the class registrations, numbers of the youth and teen classes were low.  No one has signed up for the adult class at all.  So much for a rush of people signing up as part of New Year's resolutions.  

Looks like I can forget about having anyone in the Chicago Golden Gloves this year.  Mikaela and Noel want to get more park district fights.  Other than the City-Wide Tournament which doesn't take place until early spring, there won't be any other park district fights until late June.  I'm not going to encourage any of the new teens who have signed up for the winter class to compete in the Golden Gloves because they won't have enough time to train for it.  Anyone planning to participate in that should have been training at least three months in advance of the registration dates which are in mid-February.  I've heard people grumbling that the park district bouts are little more than glorified sparring sessions.  But that is not the case at the Golden Gloves where people fight as if their lives depended on it.  

I don't know if I mentioned that two staff members are gone.  Both Leonard and Pam were transferred to other field houses late in December.  I miss them.  Their departures did little to cut down on the constant gossip and backbiting, unfortunately, something both Leonard and I were always irritated about.   At least I can hide down in the gym and have some peace from the whispers as most of the staff seldom come downstairs.  

James' Surprise Punch

For the first time in a while, there was blood on the canvas during a sparring match on Wednesday.  James took some rough face shots from both Iz and Abrahant during sparring.  But James caught Abrahant a few times and bloodied up his nose.  I was surprised because James' punches often don't land where they should.  I'm always reminding him to stay in his stance and focus on where he wants the punches to go.

Today, I announced to those in the gym that next Friday a group picture will be taken.  Sahia (Mikaela, Noel, and Shay's mom) and I are planning a fundraiser in order to buy some needed extra equipment for the gym.  The group picture will be featured on a flier in order to help create interest in the fundraiser.  I also need to make new fliers for the class in general.  It's too late this year to have the event because the fall session is ending, and most have already stopped showing up to class.  But it needs to take place as early as possible in January to set the tone for next year.  Coach James was also very helpful in giving Sahia and myself ideas for the fundraiser.

Ariel stopped in the gym, and she looked very well.  I wish she could come back to the class.  But she's busy with high school (an A student, by the way), and she has a part-time job.  

Another major focus for next year is getting more adults interested in the class. The park district's emphasis has always been on kids, but the adults should get some attention, too.  

A Sticky Sparring Situation

Yesterday was a sparring day.  Four boys in the 12-years and under class were suited up and ready to go.  All were paired up evenly until Tony's parent pulled me aside and quietly announced that she didn't want her son sparring with Iz.

Iz and Tony were best matched up for each other.  I had put James with Abraham.  The intent was to have each pair do two rounds.  Some quick thinking had to be done. Iz really wanted to take on Tony.  He kept asking me why he couldn't spar with him.  Fortunately, Tony had taken off his gear after doing a couple of rounds with Abraham.  I told Iz that since Tony had done that, and there wasn't a whole lot of time left in the class, that was all the sparring Tony was going to do that day.  Unfortunately, James ended up having to spar multiple times with Iz and Abraham.  Abraham will not spar with his brother Iz because that is not an even match, and he's right.  James and Iz are not an even match, either.

Later, Tony's mom explained that she was concerned that Iz was so eager to spar with her son.  "I don't want my son in the ring with someone who hasn't been coming here regularly," she said.  Iz and Abraham hadn't been in the gym for two weeks.  Iz told me, "I wasn't feeling well," but that didn't explain his brother's absence.  The brothers had missed a few opportunities to participate in boxing shows, and that concerned me.

I could understand Tony's mom wanting to protect her son.  Boxing gyms are full of both youths and adults who always want to throw hands at others, but don't want to train properly.  But Iz and Abraham don't give me the impression they fall into that category.  Normally, they are good about showing up to the gym consistently and getting the work in.  I was in a bad spot because I did not want to let on about how Tony's mom felt to Iz, Abraham, nor their dad who was also on the premises.  

Tony's mom wants her son to get more training in and build up strength and stamina as opposed to sparring weekly and competing.  That is perfectly fine.  But when she talked about perhaps allowing Tony to compete after the beginning of next year, I thought, "I hope she read the boxing show schedule."  There are no park district boxing competitions during the first half of the year, other than the City-Wide Tournament.  Tony will not go to Hamlin Park's boxing show, which is today.  Humboldt Park is usually the last show I plan for my fighters to attend, as the shows at Carver, Brooks, and Scottsdale have proven to be too far for most of them to go.  If Tony doesn't fight at Humboldt, he'll have to wait until next June when the park district shows start up again.

Yesterday's situation made me wonder: what if a parent doesn't want their kid to get in the ring with other kid with whom they've been matched up with at a boxing show?  Turning down a sparring session may be allowed, but turning down a fight is another matter.  I'm in charge, but parents do have a say-so in some matters because it's a city-run gym.  But they can't make demands during a competition; believe me, it's been tried before.  Their kid just will have to forfeit a fight.  If they kept forfeiting fights because a parent or guardian wants to pick and choose opponents, the kid won't fight anywhere.

Diappearing Acts and Usual Issues

Halloween is still a way off, but attendance in the gym is down.  When November rolls in, I expect most people to pull disappearing acts because the holidays become uppermost in their minds.  I appreciate those like Mikaela, Noel, Shay, and their mom, who give me a heads up in advance when they will not be in the gym.  But most don't give me any warning.

I see Brandon and his mom walking around the field house often.  They're pleasant when greeting me.  But Brandon has only been in boxing class once since his mom registered him.  Anwar has been missing a lot of days for someone who hasn't been long in the class.  Another boy, David, whom I pulled from the wait list, acted as if he was so eager when I told him he could be in the class.  David hasn't been there yet.  Eric is another one whose face I don't know because I haven't seen him.

Gael surprised me this past Friday by showing up, but his sister Jennifer wasn't with him.  Their mother gave me no explanation for the girl's absence.  I allowed Gael to spar with James.  They only did a couple of rounds because James didn't want to do a third one.  "Are we going to spar again today?" Gael asked.  There were no other kids in the 12-years-and-under class other than those two, as none of the other kids came in.  Gael asked about the next sparring day, not bothering to read the bulletin board as usual.  I informed him and his mother -- again -- that sparring takes place only on Wednesday and Friday.

I had to stop myself from making a sarcastic crack when Gael had the nerve to me ask about getting a match at the Hamlin Park show which is coming up this week.  That Friday was the first time the boy had ever sparred.  Apparently, Gael thought that qualified him for a fight.  "Gael, you're not ready for that," I told him in front of his mom. Jennifer and Gael hardly show up to the gym the three days their mom told me they could attend.  None of the three days they can attend include the sparring days.  Based on the days already missed and what I see in terms of training habits, Gael is never going to be ready for a match.

There have been a lot of inquiries from parents and kids alike about the boxing class lately.  I get the impression that most who've heard about the class don't investigate the basics, like when the class actually began and the days and times it meets.  People display a lot of disappointed looks when they realize the youth classes are full and that they have to wait for the January class.  I become disappointed too because I know most will forget to sign up in December, despite me having given them that information.  Even if they register early, most likely I won't find out they can't attend all five days during the week until after they're already in the class.  The others will show up in February expecting to get into classes that are already full.  

Guns At The Field House

Noel asked if I wanted a snow cone.  He and his sister Mikaela have been buying me snow cones from a woman who runs a little concession stand in the park.  "Sure! Get me the orange flavor," I smiled.  Their class was over, and their mother and older sister were beginning the adult class.

About ten to fifteen minutes later, Mikaela and Noel came running into the gym, holding the snow cones.  "There was shooting outside, and Noel almost got hit!" Mikaela said.  Their mother and I froze.  "They shooting outside again?" I asked.  "The bullet hit the ground near my foot, and the woman selling the snow cones saw it coming and pushed me out of the way.  I was going to give her five dollars, but she wouldn't take it.  She told us to get to safety and worry about giving her the money another time," Noel explained.  The bullets did hit someone else; an ambulance showed up.  I also learned that the football players had vacated the field when the shots rang out.  The siblings and their mom rushed upstairs to let whoever may have been at the front desk know what was going on.  I went to secure a crash door that leads to the parking lot and Shay, the siblings oldest sister followed me.

As soon as we got to that door, a couple of cops coming in told us we had to evacuate the premises.  More police cars showed up.  The cops said the shooter had run inside the field house.  A search was done for nearly an hour, but the person was not found.  A police helicopter flew back and forth.

Finally, the all-clear was sounded and the staff was allowed back into the building.  On the drive home, I kept thinking about how horrible I would have felt if Noel and/or Mikaela would have been hurt.  Every few days at the field house I keep hearing about shootings that took place three blocks away, two blocks away, one block away. . .I'm tired of that.  Why is it that the go-to solution for a conflict these days is always a gun?

Welcome Faces

Today was the first day of the fall session down at Loyola Park.  As usual, it was packed.  I counted 13 new people in addition to those who re-registered again.  Alan told me he has over 30 people in total.

I was extremely happy to see two faces I hadn't seen in a long time:  John G., who has been teaching in South Korea, and Sebastian, Gabe's younger brother.  John and his wife have an adorable baby girl named Lucy.  John had pictures of her on his cell phone.  He told me he doesn't get a chance to work out much overseas as he did before the baby came along.  Sebastian is still going to school with a while to go.  He was also sporting a head of hair (usually Sebastian kept his head shaved) and a full beard.  He told me that Gabe would be back at the gym soon.

John G. and I were doing a lot of talking, and we were helping the new people out.  Most of the women seemed to enjoy the class.  I was holding the pads for Cris; she wanted to make sure she was keeping her hands up while throwing punches.  John held the heavy bags for several of the other women.

I probably did about 20 minutes of a workout because I was stiff.  It had been a few weeks since I had been to Loyola Park.  Quickly, I figured out how rusty I was.  There was a need for me to get back up to speed since I'm welcoming a lot of new faces down at LaFollette tomorrow.

Sparring Tales

During today's sparring session, Jamire sparred twice -- once with Rosemary, and once with Abraham.  Jamire was plodding around and dropping his hands, but then Rosemary kept turning her back and pawing at him (and she did the same when she sparred later with her brother Giovanny).  Abraham had sparred with Giovanny the first time around, so he went in again with Jamire.

Abraham kept dashing in on Jamire who kept backing up into the corners and ropes despite my repeating constantly not to do that.  Halfway into the second round, Jamire was on the ropes again whining about "I can't breathe!"  He spit his mouthpiece out and started crying.  I stopped the round and took his headgear off.  Jamire is always looking to be babied and coddled, and I am never in the mood to do that.  "Jamire, you are too young to be tired like this so fast.  You need to build your stamina up," I told him.  Iz also pointed out that Jamire's stamina needs shoring up.  I doubt that my words were listened to because for the rest of the session, Jamire walked around just as he did when he first arrived -- like some tired old man.

I had to put Giovanny in check for hitting his sister too hard.  I should have known there was something suspicious about his eagerness to get into the ring with her.  But I had to drop some knowledge on Rosemary as well.  "Keep in mind that whatever girl you may have a real fight with is not going to take it easy on you so don't expect these boys to take it easy," I informed her.

Too many of the kids wanted to spar with Anthony.  Anthony wasn't feeling up to it, so he didn't spar.  I suspect the kids wanted to spar with him because Anthony is currently the smallest kid in the gym.  Just because someone is small doesn't mean it is going to be easy to take them on.

David and Iz sparred, and I've noticed that David has some bad habits.  David rushes in to throw punches, and he keeps his head down too much.  Iz just waits on David to make those mistakes so he can take advantage of them.

No sign of Maurice.  His mother wasn't at work, and when she's not there, her son doesn't show up to the gym.

Ariel came in to work out, and she promised to come in tomorrow when Noel and his sister are scheduled to come in.  I hope she does because Ariel seriously needs the sparring time.  In fact, everyone needs to step their game up, because Seward Park's boxing show is next week.

Wednesday Is For Sparring

Five kids -- David, Iz, Abraham, Jamire, and Maurice -- sparred yesterday.  David and Iz made for a good match as they were suited for each other.  Maurice took a hit from Iz later and was sobbing for a bit.  But he got back in with Abraham.  Jamire was done after a couple of rounds.

The gym was busy.  This time, it was me that overbooked the class.  There are currently 13 kids on the roster.  Eight of them showed up yesterday.  All of the boys, with the exception of Jamire, appear to be interested in boxing.  The two girls, Jayda and Rosemary, aren't.  Jayda didn't show up yesterday, but Rosemary did.  I didn't have to deal with the girls constantly huddling together to talk instead of working out.  However, Rosemary doesn't follow instructions nor listen well.  I had to use one of my late mother's expressions to wake her up.  "Stop standing there looking and move," I told her.

Jamire showed me there was a bit of blood on his mouthpiece.  I believe he had sparred with Abraham.  I was already irritated because Jamire was running his mouth to me while the other kids were sparring.  "I can't have people talking to me while I need to pay attention to this," I told the kid.  When I saw the mouthpiece, I told Jamire, "Just go into the washroom and wash it off.  It can't be that hard to do!"  I always get the feeling that Jamire is used to being babied, but I won't do that, especially in a boxing gym.

I asked Uriah's parent why he hasn't shown up to the teen class yet.  "Oh, he decided he doesn't want to do it," she told me.  Luckily, that class is not full, because if anyone was on the wait list, Uriah would be dropped from the class.  His mother told me she'll try to convince him to attend, but that falls under the "don't do me any favors" file.  The kid signed up in the middle of the session and is already skipping class?  No thank you.

It appears the new signs I put up in the gym telling people not to use the boxing ring as a kitchen table are working.  Last week, I found an open carton of apple juice and other food left on the apron of the gym.  No doubt that one of the summer camp wonders did that, and no surprise that Tina and the camp counselors didn't do anything to stop it from happening.  Lately, the ring's canvas has been devoid of food crumbs.  I hope that continues the rest of the weeks the disruption, uh, summer camp, continues.