Popping The "Roger"

Alan holds the bag for Alicia as she throws a punch in this photo.  He said to me, "Hasn't she improved?"  "Each time Alicia is here she improves more and more.  She works hard," I replied.

The reason Alan had his jacket on was because it was a bit nippy inside the gym.  The temperatures outside weren't too bad today, but it wasn't warm on the inside.  Also, Alan forgot to bring his gear, so he couldn't work out.  But he was giving a lot of help to Alicia, Sam, and Jason.

Jason and I threw a medicine ball back and forth again.  I had worked up a sweat by the time we did two rounds.  We did one more round after that.  I had forgotten how much work is involved in tossing a medicine ball around.  My left leg felt a lot of the impact of catching the ball.  Jason stood face forward to me, but I was in a modified boxing stance, thinking it would give me a little more leverage.  I dropped the ball a few times, and caught it directly in my stomach at other times.

Sam returned after being out of town on business for awhile.  In this shot, Professor holds the punch mitts for him.  Sam told Alan and I that Lindsey had signed up for a yoga class.  "She didn't like boxing, so she decided to do something else," Sam explained.  "She didn't give it chance," Alan smiled, and I agreed with him.  Lindsey was complaining from day one, and I figured she wasn't going to continue.  Some people take to the sport, and some don't.

Professor noticed that Igor had used spit bucket near the ring, but missed the mark.  I shook my head, but I didn't say anything.  The incident wasn't worth me raising my blood pressure.  Igor returned to the gym after being out for two weeks.  Alicia said last week that Igor was probably staying at home to watch the 2014 Winter Olympics, which took place in Sochi, a town in Russia (Igor is Russian).  Alan and I said she was probably right.  However, when Igor came in, I overheard him tell Alan something about having been sick.

"You were hitting the bag like the 'old' Hillari," Alan told me later on.  I was popping the "Roger" bag very hard with a lot of hooks and overhand rights.  Alan asked if it bothered my leg; he had noticed me limping earlier, especially when I went to use the speed bag.  I told him that sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it doesn't.  I'm hoping that means that some further improvement is taking place.  I just wish the improvements would go faster than they have been.

An Easy Night

The body snatcher bag  is really showing wear and tear these days.  This was one of the new bags the gym received back in 2007 when the International Boxing competition was in town. This piece of equipment has really taken a beating over time.

Alan had to attend a meeting for his day job, so I opened the gym.  I hoped for a quiet, easy night, and it was.  The only people who came in were Alicia, Leo, Renee, and later in the evening, Josh.  Renee was laughing about a woman whom a cab driver attempted to drop off in front of the field house.  Seems that she wanted to go to Loyola University to watch a basketball game.  The cab driver told her that the game was being played at the field house.  "They don't play those games here!" Renee heard the woman tell the cab driver.  I wondered how in the heck the driver could have missed Loyola University, which is several blocks south of the field house.  There are signs all over pointing to it.

I held pads for Renee in the ring for three rounds.  I'm a little rusty on holding pads, but we did fine. My left leg was a little unsteady, so I was glad that Josh didn't ask for pad work when he arrived.

Leo admitted that he had trained in a private gym in his home country of Mexico.  "I had to train there because the municipal gym stayed crowded," he said.  The coach at the private gym took a liking to Leo and let him train for free.

My lower back is bothering me.  The temperatures are a little higher (it's about 38 degrees), but there's huge puddles of water on the ground due to melting snow as well as a lot of slippery spots.  I nearly fell on the way to and from the gym.  I caught myself both times, but I jerked my body into odd configurations to keep from hitting the ground.  That's probably why my back feels like it does right now.  Ah, such is middle-aged life.  I'll just pull out the heating pad and Mineral Ice and deal with it.

Back To The Workout

When I arrived at the gym, only Alan was there.  Minutes later, Alicia came in, and that was it for the night.  Some more snow fell on the city.  Also, it was Presidents' Day, and as usual, a lot of people probably thought the gym was closed.

My left leg felt good all day.  Then I had to leave the house to walk to the gym down sidewalks and streets that had not been shoveled nor plowed.  I was limping by the time I got to the field house.  But the ointments that Alicia had given me last week have been working.  My leg is not nearly as painful or stiff as it has been. I brought my gear with me, and I was able to do a workout without much difficulty.

Alan told me he cleaned his house for 12 hours the other day from top to bottom.  I wish had that much motivation to do housework as I do to show up to the gym.  But seriously . ..who am I kidding?  What I really wish is that I had a maid.  I've been wishing for a maid since I was five years old.

This is a photo of my niece's fiance, my niece Jalissa, and my stepmother.  We had lunch over the weekend, and it was first time I met my niece's fiance.  My niece had told Gerard that I box some time ago.  I was telling him about the two times I knocked people out during sparring, and the time Alan bloodied my nose with an uppercut.  Gerard was surprised.  "See, I told you that she boxes," my niece said.  He laughed when my niece told him how my other niece -- her older sister -- got on Alan about giving me that uppercut last summer.  "I was just playing with Aunt Hillari's coach about being mad, but Erica was serious!" Jalissa laughed.

Alan took this picture of me.  When more people show up next week, I might be ready for some sparring.

Trying To Avoid Stroger

The weather temperatures were not that bad, but still, most of the nineteen people who signed up for the winter session did not show up.  In the photo above, Shane, Sean, and Jason warm up.

"The sooner you go to Stroger to see what's going on with your leg, the sooner you can get back to this," Alan told me.  It was the second day I did no workout.  Earlier, Alan was walking behind me as I made my way down the hall to the gym.  "Don't you want to sit home and watch TV?" I heard him ask.  "There's nothing on except for the Winter Olympics, and they rerun the events again after the 10:00 PM news," I replied.  I seldom leave the house these days other than to go grocery shopping, run miscellaneous errands, and going to the very occasional and rare job interview.  Going to the gym, even though I can't do much of a workout these days, has become the highlight of my week.   Alan shook his head and grinned.  "I know what I'm telling you is falling on deaf ears," he said.  Truth be told, I was thinking of bringing my gear in next week and resuming working out, regardless of what is going on with my leg.

Sean and Shane sparred with each other, and in this photo, Alan gives them instruction.  They got some good hits on each other.  Alan kept joking that the guys must not like each other.

A guy named Thomas came in, and said he used to train with Barry.  Thomas wanted some information about joining the adult program.  His concern was being able to get sparring in with someone who was his height and weight.  The closest person I could think of at that moment was Andres, but Andres hasn't been able to train at the gym on a regular basis.  Sam might had also been a good partner, too, but neither he nor Lindsey have been in the gym for weeks.

Alan was impressed with how Alicia is improving.  I also hear praises about her from Carl, I guy I know around the neighborhood.  Carl keeps saying he's going to try the gym out.  "I have to lose some more weight," Carl always tells me.  I often hear women say that, but it's rare to hear a guy make that statement.  But isn't one of the purposes of the gym to lose weight?  So why wait to drop pounds before going there?

Keith came in a little later, and he and Alan sparred.  They took it at an even pace the first couple of rounds, but then they opened up on each other during the third round.  I was standing on the apron the ring, ready with a water bottle and a bucket.

Alan popped Keith with a right hook that appeared to stun the younger man.  Then Alan got Keith with a jab.  Keith sent Alan back into the ropes a lot, and they were holding enough times for me to have to call "Break!" several times.  I was watching closely, hoping as usual that the brawl wouldn't end with someone being seriously hurt.  Yet they did have a good sparring session.

Martin, Keith, and Jason did a burn out near the end of the evening, beating on the "Roger" bag.  Keith's form was very good.  Martin is slowly getting back into training, and Jason appears to just be starting out.

I got my tax refund back -- in time to pay rent for March -- and there may be a little extra to buy a kettlebell training DVD especially for Baby Boomers such as myself.  I'm thinking that strength training may be the key to overcome the mobility problems I'm experiencing with my left leg.  Alicia was kind enough to give me some ointment samples that may be useful in cutting down on some leg discomfort I've been having.  I have to keep working on doctoring myself; anything to keep from sitting around Stroger Hospital all day.

The No Workout Time

I hadn't been outside all day long, so I had no idea how low the temperatures had dropped again.  As usual, I limped to the gym, but I did not bring my gear.  This is the week that Alan suggested that I don't work out because of the ongoing problems with my leg.  It was odd to be at the gym and not do a workout.  But I made myself useful by assisting with coaching the few who arrived at the gym.

Matthew sparred with Andres.  Andres wants to fight in the Golden Gloves; he already has his license.  It was the first time that Andres had been in the gym in awhile.

Here, Alan monitors the action between Matthew and Andres.

Alicia hits one of the heavy bags, while Jason watches Matthew and Andres sparring.  Jason asked Alan to show him how to jump rope.  "I used to be able to jump for a long time, but I think my knees can't take it much anymore," Alan told me.  I also showed Jason how to jump rope, but my knees wouldn't let me do that for too long, either.  As for Alicia, I showed her how to hold her hands better, and how to throw hooks properly.  I also noticed that Brandon was shuffling his feet to reset himself back into his stance after throwing punches.  If someone notices him doing that during sparring or during a fight, they'll use that moment to get a punch in.  Alan agreed with me.  "Don't always throw the same punches and move the same way each time so the other person can't predict what is coming next," the coach said.

I learned that Jason lives way out in the southern suburbs.  That's dedication to come all the way up to the far north side of the city to train, especially in this weather.  The weather has been affecting attendance big time this session.  I have to appreciate all who continue to make their way to the gym despite of that.

Banned For My Own Good

Alan watches as Edward does his homework.  Edward had to solve a series of math problems involving fractions.  I shuddered when I saw his assignment.  It reminded me of how I struggled with math when I was in grade and high school.  Yet Edward didn't appear to be very intimidated by the numbers.

Leo and Keith were the only two who sparred.  It appeared that Leo was taking a lot of shots from Keith because Leo wasn't keeping his hands up, especially during the first round.

Professor might have had to work, and most likely, so did Jamil, which probably explains why they were not in the gym.  Alan and I saw Ben when we walked into the field house, but Ben didn't come to the gym.  We were a little puzzled about that.  Igor didn't show, which is always a good thing.  But as for some of the others who weren't there. . . .I have a feeling they may not return.  The weather is a factor, I know.  I used to love snow.  But slogging through it to get anywhere this winter -- and it snowed again last night -- has officially become irritating.  I slipped and fell the other day, too, and yep, I fell right on the leg that has been bothering me since before Christmas.

Brandon works the heavy bag in this photo.

Alan told me I was going to be banned from the gym  "Banned?  Why?" I asked.  "Hillari, you were walking fine when you first got here.  But now I see limping again.  You should lay off of training, at least for a week," he answered.  Alan then told me I can come to the gym next week, but I should just sit down when I'm there.  Martin suggested, as Alan had previously, that I should go to Stroger Hospital to find out what is going on with my left leg.  But I'm not a fan of free clinics and charity hospitals.  One reason is that the medical staff have no respect for any one's time, let alone the fact that people are seeking medical attention.  I have to spend the bulk of my days looking for a job, and spending eight hours or more in a waiting room hoping that I'll be seen at some point is not a good use of my time. But I'm now beginning to wonder if what I'm experiencing is more than just a possible torn or sprained muscle.  I'm perplexed -- sometimes it seems to be healing, albeit slowly, then the next minute, I'm in pain again, struggling to keep my balance.

It will be hard just sitting and standing around in the gym, but that will give me a chance to work on my coaching skills by observing others do in the gym while they work out and spar.

Advice Regarding The Golden Gloves

The Chicago Golden Gloves boxing tournament begins next month.  Registration for the tournament takes place this month.  Fighters in gyms around the city are gearing up to prepare for the event.  I've often thought about what I would tell those who want to compete if I was the main coach in a gym. . . .

1)  Take it seriously because others will.

Several years ago, I was in attendance at a Chicago Park District boxing show.  During one fight, I heard one person yelling instructions from the crowd to one of the fighters.  When the fight ended, I heard the same person in the crowd say, "Don't worry about it. . . .it's just a sparring session anyway."  However, no fighter can afford to think like that at the Gloves.  The Gloves are a stepping stone to those who are a) planning to go on to the National Golden Gloves as well as other sanctioned tournaments to try for a spot at the Summer Olympics, or b) planning to go straight on into professional boxing.  People will bring their A game to the ring, and punch through opponents in order to win the championship.

2)  Last minute training ain't gonna get it.  

The best time to start training for the Gloves is a few months before the tournament, not a couple of weeks before.  I've seen some exceptions here and there, where some show up at the eleventh hour, enter the tournament, and win.  But that is not the norm.

3)  Sparring is not the only training method.

Yes, sparring is an important part of the training process, but other things have to be done, too.  Roadwork, bag and pad work, eating right and losing weight, cardio exercises, and getting proper rest are part of it, as well.

4) Stick with a team.

In the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, the author putting emphasis on putting together a team of people to assist in reaching success.   The same thing should be done in preparation for success at the Gloves.  There's the coach, others at the gym whose opinions one trusts, supportive family and friends, etc.

Reygie Makes A Return

Reygie, who's shadow boxing in the above photo, came in the gym.  He hadn't been there in about a year.  Reygie is a personal trainer at a fitness center out in the north suburbs.  It was very good to see him.  He has about 25 to 30 clients that he works with at his job.  Each client has different fitness goals they want to reach.  Reygie does an assessment with them first before mapping out a fitness plan for them.  

There were extra people in the gym, including Ozzie (in this photo shadow boxing), Nate, and Jason.  No one wanted to spar, however.  Matthew said that he lost his mouthpiece, and that he has to buy a new one.  My left leg is still not 100%, although if Brenda had been in the gym, I would have been up for some light sparring.

Alan suggested that I go to Stroger Hospital (the replacement for the old Cook County Hospital) to have a doctor look at my leg.  "I know you might have to sit there all day, but at least someone will check it out," he said.  A good suggestion, but I don't have the time to sit around at Stroger.  I have bad memories of doing the same at the old Cook County Hospital, and it wasn't even for me.  The last time I was at the County, I was with my younger sister.  Neither one of us knew it at the time that the symptoms she was experiencing were due to cancer.  My sister hadn't investigated whether or not she had insurance via her job. The County, just like Stroger does now, took care of people who had no insurance.  We didn't get out of there until after 2:00 AM.  I grumbled to my sister that I found it impossible to believe that she had absolutely no insurance.  "I'm not coming up to the County again," I snapped.  Later, my sister went to the human resources department, learned she did have insurance, and she went to a better hospital.  That was back in the year 2000; I never set foot in the County again, and it closed a few years later.

Alicia was working hard again, as usual.  Even Reygie noticed that and complimented her on it.  She asked me how to wrap her hands.  I didn't notice that she didn't have hand wraps before.  I showed her the quick way that I wrap my hands.  Alan had wrapped Nate's hands, drawing the wrap in-between his fingers.  Nate was trying to duplicate what the coach had done on one hand on his other hand.  I tried to help him with wrapping in-between his fingers, but I wasn't telling Nate the right thing.  I watched as Alan wrapped Nate's other hand, and learned how to do that.  

Nate and Brandon share a workout on "Roger", the big red heavy bag.

Jason works the other heavy bag.  

Reygie snapped this picture.  Alan looks as if he was aware of the photo being taken, but I was clueless.  It's a nice shot.  It had to had been taken near closing time, because I'm putting on my winter boots.  I almost didn't come to the gym because I couldn't shake the foul mood I had been in since the day before.  It was a cummulation of just being tired of being frustrated by everything that has gone on since late summer of last year.  But I'm glad I pushed myself out of the house, because I was in a much better mood after I arrived there.  

Watching the Coach Fight

Alan said that it looked as if I was limping more than I was the other day.  I was, and I was slogging through the workout.  It was one of the few times in the gym where I did not touch any of the equipment.  It was all shadow boxing.

Igor said nothing to me, which was fine with me. I ignored Igor the whole time.  I talked to everyone else who showed up, including Martin, who had hoped that Graubien could come in.  But Graubien hadn't returned Martin's phone call.  "I've forgotten everything," Martin smiled.  Alan worked with him on the basics.

Alan sparred with Leo first.  My leg was bothering me, so I put off working out for awhile to stand on the apron of the ring and give water to the guys as needed.  Leo got caught a few times because his hands were down, and his feet were together.  "Relax," Alan kept telling him, because Leo was a little stiff.  After Leo, Alan sparred with Keith (in the photo above).  I don't give very many instructions when I'm observing the sparring sessions.  If Alan is the other fighter in the ring, he will usually give instructions in-between the punches.  I will wait until after the session is over to point out what I saw.

Alan fell against the ropes during one of the rounds.  I'm not sure if it was because Keith caught Alan with a punch, or if Alan slipped.  I worried that the coach had gotten hurt, but Alan recovered quickly, and the session resumed.  I noticed that Keith kept his form most of the time.

Keith rests after the sparring session.

Later, Keith held the pads for Brenda.  I would have liked to do some light sparring with Brenda, but my leg wouldn't allow me to do that.  Hopefully next week, I'll be able to spar with Brenda, Alicia, and Liliana (Sam's wife hasn't been to the gym in awhile, and she didn't want to spar).  Alan teased Liliana by saying that Alicia wanted to take her on.  Liliana laughed when she told me, "Sparring?  Maybe next year!"

Liliana asked Alan if he had any fights in the past.  "Back in the dinosaur era. . . .", Alan began.  "Dinosaur?"  Liliana asked.  "You know what those are, right?" Alan said.  "Alan is one," I laughed.

"Not Today, Igor!"

The weekend wasn't that good.  The annual business meeting at church ended with me making the decision to find another church to attend.  The most pleasant incident all weekend was running into Charlene, who used to attend the gym back in 2010.  We had a nice talk, and she told me she plans to return to the gym this spring.

But when I got to the gym today, the bad mood I'd been in that escalated even more after the church meeting was still present.  Igor decided to show up now that it's about a month into the winter session.  I was talking to Alan, and Igor interrupted.  The phrase "excuse me" is a foreign one to Igor.  "Don't you see me talking?" I snapped.  Igor looked at me for a second, then continued to ask Alan another usually inane questions.  Then I channeled my late father.  "Did you hear me talking?" I said in a even louder voice.  Igor deliberately ignored me, and kept pestering Alan. In another second, I was going to get in his face.  "Boy, I am tired of you," I growled.

Sometime later, Igor got the stupid thought in his mind to come to me and ask a question that he already knows the answer to:  how much is the gym fee. Igor was quite aware that it's the middle of the session and the fee needs to be paid. "Shut up talking to me, Igor!  Not today," I warned.  He directed his question to Alan.  About ten minutes to fifteen minutes later, it finally occurred to Igor that an apology was in order.  It was then he remembered to say "excuse me".  "What?  What is it?" I snapped, using Dad's voice. "I sorry," he said.  "I should have been told that awhile ago.  It's a little late for that," I barked, and Igor backed off.  A little while later, Igor left, and I ignored Igor when he said good-bye.

I apologized to Alan, who tolerates Igor way better than I do.  "I'm sorry I let my temper get out of hand," I told him.  "I know you have a temper, Hillari, and I know how Igor is," he answered.  I also had to explain to Alicia, the only other person in the gym, about Igor's irritating ways and his long history in the gym.

Four twenty-something young men stopped in the gym, and Alan and I gave them the basics the program. One of the young men said, "I would like to take boxing, but I'm afraid my temper would go out of control if I went into the ring."  "I'll tell you a secret.  I have a bad temper.  But boxing helps keep it down," I told the young man.  Well, most of the time anyway.

Back To Sparring

As I walked up to the field house -- yes, I walked despite the fact that it is three degrees outside -- I noticed the lights in the gym were on.  "Alan beat me here," I thought.  When I got inside the gym, Jilberto was there with two guys, one of whom looked vaguely familiar.  It was Martin, who hadn't been in the gym since Steve was the coach.  The other fellow was Martin's, 18 year old son, Richard.  Richard was interested in signing up, but Martin wanted to come back as well.  "I'd like to get Graubien back in here.  He used to work with me when I came in here before," Martin said.  I remember Graubien as well.  It's been at least seven or eight years since I've seen him.  Martin and Richard hung around for awhile to watch the sparring.  Richard promised to come back on Monday.

Martin was concerned about whether or not his son would be allowed to take up boxing.  Richard has diabetes.  "So do I," I told his father.  I explained that I'm careful to monitor myself when I'm in the gym, and I keep glucose tablets nearby.  If I don't feel up to sparring, or doing a full on workout, I don't.  I think Richard will be fine.

Edward came in with his mother, Liliana.  In this photo, he's making a bracelet.  He gave one that he promised to me today, and it's nice.  "Are you making one for your mom?" I asked.  "No, this is for Alicia," he told me.

Another new person, Rick, showed up today.  Rick would have been in class the first day, but Rick suffered an injury that kept him out for awhile.  Rick wanted to know what level the class was at, and I assured him that it was a mix of beginners and people with experience.  In addition to Rick, Nate, a guy that Alan has worked with, came in.  Alan was talking to Nate about sparring, but Nate said, "Nah, man.  I've got to look pretty!"  "Man, please. . .what's this about pretty," Alan grinned.  "Come on, Alan.  If the man has to stand in front of people, he doesn't want to be all bruised and banged up," I chuckled.  Nate looked at me and said,  "Exactly!  Thank you!"

Ben's right eye is still red.  But as you can see in the photo above, Ben (in the gray shirt) sparred with Keith. Their session got cut short, however.  I saw Ben bent over, and Keith talking to him.  At first I thought Ben had taken a bad hit.  Turns out that Ben has asthma.  Colonel let Ben use his inhaler.

Alan's still getting use to having to stand on the apron while people are sparring.  Here, he watches Ben sparring with Leo.  "How is your leg?  Are you going to work today?" Alan asked me.  "I think I can go one round," I told him.

Brenda, seen here on "Roger" the red bag, and I sparred very, very lightly for two rounds.  It was my first time sparring in the new ring.  My left leg held up very well; indeed, I was walking better on it while making my way to to the gym.  Neither Brenda or I were wearing headgear.  I put in my mouthpiece just in case.  My objective was to let Brenda throw a lot of punches and move around a lot.  I was covering up my mid-section like a turtle at one point, and Brenda asked me what that was.  "That's in anticipation of any punches that may aim at my chest or stomach," I explained.  Afterwards, Brenda commented, "Boxing is really a workout."

Alicia beats on the bag in this photo.  She reminds me of my Aunt Mary, who's about the same height and build.  Alicia has really been working hard to get the punches down.

Since my leg is definitely improving now, maybe it will be a good time to do exercises at home again.  I was thinking about starting out with kettlebells or maybe Marlen Esparza's boxing DVD, but with modifications to the exercises of course.  I don't need to be re-injured.

Boxing For A Job

I had to hustle up to Garfield Park for an interview that was scheduled for today.  Luckily, I didn't have anything else planned, so I took a ride out to the wild, wild, west side of Chicago.  Once again, the weather was bone cold, and public transportation wasn't moving as fast as it should.  But amazingly, I made it on time.

As I walked up to the Garfield Park field house, I flash backed to one of my earliest memories of being in that building.  I was going to be in Kindergarten that particular year, and all kids have to have immunizations.  Immunizations were being offered for grade school kids at that field house, so my mother took me up there. We lived in the area back then. I don't know if she had to pay for them, and I don't know if I had a fit when I received the shots, but I do remember walking through the building.  When I got there today, a few workmen were standing in the lobby discussing some construction that had to be done on the inside.  I looked around and thought the building hasn't changed very much over the years.

Waiting for a few minutes to be seen gave me a chance to warm my hands up.  I seldom wear gloves, no matter how cold it gets.  But I didn't want to offer the interviews a frozen hand if we had to exchange handshakes.

Tommy, the current head of the park district's boxing program, was one of the interviewers.  I didn't want to give the impression that I expected any special consideration because he knows who I am.  Two women, Ms. Garcia and Ms. Walton, were also in the room.  The interview for the boxing coach position open at Seward Park was very brief.  They had a specific set of questions that they needed to ask.

For a minute, I thought the interview was going to end quickly.  You see, I have more than the educational requirements needed.  The minimum is an AA degree; I have a bachelor's degree.  But I don't have any significant coursework in physical education or similar fields such as health.  The one swimming class I took when I was a college freshman wasn't going to count.  Fortunately, Ms. Walton said, "Let's see what other experience she has."  So I talked -- a think a little too long -- about having taken boxing classes for the past thirteen years, twelve of those within the Chicago Park District, my becoming a volunteer assistant coach at Loyola Park, and having had six fights.  I also mentioned that I had worked the corners as a second at numerous fights.

I cringed a little inside when I was asked if I had ever organized a boxing tournament. That's something I would like to do at some point.   Unfortunately, I've been on the periphery, but never one of the people who were on the inside.  Near the end of the interview, I put heavy emphasis on my passion for the sport, and  encouraging people, especially youths and women, who want to put on the gloves.  "I would emphasize that boxing is fun, and also point out the health benefits", I told the interviewing panel.

I'm not sure how I did.  There was an interview ahead of me and one behind me, and I'm assuming we were the only three who had been called in.  As I walked back to the Conservatory 'L station, I kicked myself for not mentioning that I do have an amateur coach's license.  It was on the resume, but I still should have said something.  I'd like to get that job, but with the economy and competition for jobs being the way they are, I have to be cautious about getting my hopes up too high.