Busy Start To 2016

In the above photo, Alan stands in the middle of the ring at Loyola Park with the new people who signed up for boxing.  This week begins the winter session at the Chicago Park District.

Alan, David, and Connor were already in the gym when I arrived.  A couple of new people showed up, and I thought, "Wow, that's all?"  "Alan, what do you need me to do to help?" I asked.  "It depends on how many people come in," he answered.  Then a whole lot of people started streaming in.  Of the people who came in, there were two who hadn't been in the gym for awhile:  Deb and St. Louis.  In fact, I had seen St. Louis at Colonel's funeral, and initially didn't recognize him there.

I got in some licks on the heavy bag before Alan turned the newbies loose on the equipment.  After that, I alternated between answering questions from the new people and helping the guys who sparred get suited up.  One of the new guys decided he wanted to spar his first day there.  Alan allowed him to get into the ring with Connor.  Another new guy, a second guy in the place named David, also sparred.  I learned that David was Alan's third cousin.

Rochelle, another new person, wanted to see some women's boxing matches.  "Where can I go to see them?" she asked.  "It's hard to find them, because women fighters are not often featured in boxing shows, not even on the under cards," I explained.  But I did tell her about the Chicago Park District boxing shows, and the private boxing shows.  I also directed her to places on the Internet to get notices about upcoming fights in the area.  Next time I see her, I'll remember to tell her about the matches she can see on YouTube.

St. Louis wanted me to throw punches at him while he practiced defense.  We were in the ring for two rounds.  I had to push myself to keep up with him because he was really moving around.

Tomorrow, I will face my own set of newbies at LaFollette.  I hope them and the returning kids all show up so we can get things started off right.

The Last Of The Year

Yesterday, it looked as if only Alan and I were going to be using the gym at Loyola Park.  But then Ben came in and later, Professor (shown in the photo above).  "Leon is outside trying to park his truck," Professor told us.  Leon never came in, however, so we assumed that he gave up trying to find a spot.  I wanted to tell him that Emmanuel may stop in the gym, now that he knows that Leon has taken up training again.

Kenny had told Alan and I that he will stop in the gym.  Alan told him that he should.  I'm thinking it may be too soon.  The man just buried his dad over the weekend. He needs some time.

Alan was going to have me spar with Ben (shown in the photo), but I had made up my mind earlier in the day not to spar.  It wasn't that I was feeling physically out of it.  The past several days had been an emotional drain with feeling sad about Colonel and watching my stepmother contend with her health issues.  My mind just wasn't into it.

I am looking forward to the beginning of January because I want to see who is going to show up for the first day of boxing class at both Loyola Park and LaFollette Park.  Alan told me he's probably going to need my help because usually, the first day is mobbed with adults.  My 12 years and under class is nearly full.  I know a few of the kids on the list, but the rest are surprises.

Mary gave me some good advice regarding parents who put their kids into boxing in order to prevent them from being bullied.  "It's not a self-defense class. We teach Olympic-style boxing, that's it.  We're not preparing kids to go out and use the skills to just beat up on others," she said.  I will remember that for when the next parent comes to me with that "I want my kid to be tough" line.

Colonel's Day

I attended Colonel's funeral today.  It was a sad affair, as most funerals are.  But one of speakers said he didn't think that Colonel would have wanted anyone to be sad.  I believe that, too.  However, there were many, many tears shed.

As Colonel had been a pilot with the fire department, they were well represented at the funeral.  They took turns standing guard on either side of the casket.  Next to the casket there was a display of pictures.  I saw my name on a piece of paper.  Upon closer inspection, I recognized it as an email I had sent Colonel.  He had asked me to send him copies of some photos I had taken of him at Loyola Park boxing gym.  On the email was a picture of him hitting the heavy bag that I had taken.

Colonel was very good looking as a young man.  There were plenty of photos showing him as a soldier in Vietnam.  A particularly nice picture showed Colonel sitting on a couch with his wife; they made for a very attractive couple.

The person who oversaw the funeral at the funeral home told us near the end that although we'll miss him, we have to let Colonel go.  It was true, but it is still hard for me to come to terms with the fact that someone who was so lively is gone.

Alan drove me home and he said, "Everything starts up again tomorrow."  It will be a short work week.  People will be gearing up to show out for New Year's Eve.  Life goes on.  But a void created when a much loved person makes their transition doesn't close up so easily.

Small Crowd Boxing

A small crowd was at Loyola Park's boxing gym:  myself, Alan, Connor, David, and Jason.  It's often nice to be in a gym when it is not crowded.  I try to convince the kids at LaFollette Park of that when they express concern about there not being enough people there so they can spar.  I figure they'll appreciate having all of the room sometimes when they become older.

Connor and David started off the sparring action.

Alan sounded like boxing analyst Teddy Atlas when he kept telling the men, "Stop posing and move around!"  David actually offered his chin to Connor a few times. Afterwards, Connor stated why he wisely didn't take the bait.  "I figured that I would get caught by something," he grinned at David.

It looks like Connor and I are posing in this photo.  He was moving around just fine.  I kept trying to figure out how to get around his arms.  He would pop me with a straight right followed up with an uppercut to the body.  It was a good combination that kept me off of him.  "I kept thinking, 'I have to keep Hillari on the outside' -- that was my strategy," Connor said afterwards.

Alan doesn't use Facebook very much.  However, I "tag" him in the photos I take, and most of them show up on his page.  "Could you take some photos of me?  I want to do a Facebook thing," he said.

I later posted the pictures on his Facebook page.  "I like the comments I get there on the boxing pictures," he told me.

A Tough Guy and A Good Guy

I received notice that Colonel (real name, Ken) passed away yesterday.  It is always hard to receive news like that around the holidays.  The last time I saw him in person was at the LaFollette boxing show back in July.  I had heard from a few times via text messages (I have a raggedy cell phone that's not completely reliable).  The last message asked me to call him soon.  I made promises to myself to do so, but I never got around to it.  Now I regret that.

Colonel was a Vietnam war veteran.  He did not go into deep details about his time in the service.  But he said enough to let us know that it was no picnic.  After the service, Colonel joined the Chicago Fire Department where he remained until he retired.  He knew both boxing and martial arts, and he coached both.  Many of us at Loyola Park benefited from his knowledge.

He kept us laughing down at the gym.  The man had plenty of stories to go around.  There were a lot of off-color jokes he said that I wanted to put in this blog, but I couldn't.  But trust me, the jokes were funny.  There were also the stories about how he had to handle his business on people in the street who mistakenly thought Colonel was an easy mark.  He also had good advice, too.  I was helped greatly by his insights after I was unjustly fired from the church I used to work and attend.

What I will remember most is his attitude about his health condition.  It was kept quiet for awhile, but eventually it was revealed that Colonel was dealing with cancer.  Despite of everything, Colonel never let it get him down.  He was still doing his workouts, and just living his life.  Colonel was moving and getting around better than most guys twenty and thirty years younger than he.

I will miss him greatly.

My First Time at Fifty-Four

My first time sparring at age 54 was with Kathy, who is in the photo above.  She continues to improve greatly.  It was not my night, however,  She stepped in, got her punches in and stepped back out.  I was plodding along, spending more time avoiding being hit, than getting punches in.  Alan advised her to keep circling around me, and she did.  I tried backing her into corners, but she was already several steps ahead.

Professor caught David up against the ropes in this photo.  The two men claimed they were going easy, but it looked as if they had gone to war.  They got some good sparring time in.  David continues to improve on his skills.  Later, I heard Professor giving him some more advice.

Leon (on the left in the photo) sparred with Ralphie.  But Ralphie had enough after about a couple of rounds.  Then Leon took on Professor.  Professor held his own against Leon.  Leon threw a hook that missed, because Professor timed it right and avoided it.  "If that had landed, it would have sent him home," Alan commented.  Then Leon hit Professor in the ribs with a hard right hook.  Both Alan and I winched.   "That hurt me," Alan said.  He kept telling Leon to go easy, but Professor wasn't bothered by Leon's swings.

Finally got a new pair of glasses.  I'm showing them off in the photo above.  Since the last pair had been battered many times while I held the punch mitts for the kids at LaFollette Park, I'm going to be extra careful with the new pair.  They will go inside the eye glass case from now on before I put the punch mitts on.

David vs. Devian

I was waiting at the bus stop yesterday when Kody called to me from the back seat of a car he was riding in.  Turns out his dad was at the wheel.  I got a ride down to the field house.  His dad wanted an honest answer about how Kody was doing in the gym.  "He has a lot of potential, but Kody doesn't work out as much as he should," I explained.  "I know Kody is in there playing with the other kids and goofing around.  You don't have to tell me," his dad said.  Kody was silent. I had the feeling his dad had heard the same report before from Kody's school teacher.  His dad told me he would talk with Kody's mom to see if they will agree to sign him up for the winter.

Later, David got his wish when Devian, a new kid, showed up at the gym.  I was happy that Devian showed up too, because that meant I did not have to spar with David.  Besides, I wanted to see how well David could do against a kid closer to his size.  I also wanted to see more of what Devian already knew, since he told me he regularly boxed with his cousins.

Devian had his chin up in the air too much, and David took advantage of that.  Devian was also taking too long to take action.  "Be first!" I told him, as his mom, David's mom and sister, and Derrick, who showed up early for the teen class, looked on.  David loves to head hunt.  I'm trying to get him to remember to also throw punches to the body.  Both boys had their hands down too often at the wrong times, and they did not use all of the room they had in the ring.

However, Devian threw enough punches to cause David's nose to bleed twice.  I have to give David credit.  He's had his nose bloodied up before, but he never cries, doesn't scream or yell.  He takes it and keeps going.  His mother jumped to attention to clean him up.

Today was one of those slow days when no one comes in to train.  I had a few inquiries about the program, and I washed the hand wraps.  Other than that, it was extremely quiet in the gym.  Once again, I made mental plans as to where I want the two combination speed bag/heavy bags stands that the park district ordered for the gym to be placed.  I smiled to myself when I noted that I might not have to worry about those stands or any other equipment being tampered with during next year's summer day camp.  I learned that the refrigerator in the kitchen on the other side of the gym has to be moved.  There's inadequate ventilation in that room.

That means no kids trampling over the gym area to get their breakfast, lunch and snacks during summer day camp.  That will certainly ease my mind, as well as save my vocal cords from screaming at the kids all day.

Birthday Boxing

Today was my birthday, and I received warm hugs from David, his cousin Darlene, and David's mom.  Darlene showed up earlier than usual, so she and David sparred.  My Spanish is not that good, but I could pick out that David's mom was telling both him and Darlene to be serious while they were in the ring. The kids were giggling throughout the three rounds they sparred.

Kody came in, but as usual, not much of a workout was done.  "I've been in boxing two years, right?" he asked me.  "No, it's been less than a year," I answered.  Then Kody pointed out that he had been signed up a few sessions before along with his brother Kyle and his cousin Deshaun.  It still hasn't been two years, just a little over a year.

A new kid who is signed up for the the winter session came in, and he has some skills.  He explained that he had been boxing from time to time with one of his cousins who boxes.  It did not take him long to get the concept of the punches.  Now all I have to do is help fine tune the skills he has.

I met the person who is the head of the area where the field house sits in.  "So you are the only female boxing coach with the park district?" she said.  She wants to come by sometime and observe the class.  I hope there are enough participants during whatever time she stops in so she can get a good idea of what goes on.

Admonished and Popped

Kathy shadowboxes shortly after her and I sparred.  She has shown vast improvement.  I was moving my head, and I managed to duck under some of her punches.  But I couldn't avoid all of the punches, however.  Kathy popped me straight in my nose and left me stunned.  If there had been just a fraction more of power behind that punch, comedian Chris Tucker would have been standing over me yelling, "Hillari, you just got knocked the 'eff out!"

Professor got a blast in on David in this photo.  But David is improving.

David was whopping on Ralphie as this photo was being shot.

Over the weekend, I met up with my oldest friend, Clintonia, whom I've known since Kindergarten.  Once again, she admonished me when I told her I had been sparring with the kids at my gym.  "Hillari, no!  Just no!  You don't need to end up with brain damage!  You could get a better job than being a boxing coach," she said.  I keep trying to explain the world of boxing to her, but she's not convinced that any of it is good.  She keeps trying to convince me to go back to substitute teaching.  I like working with kids in the boxing gym.  I gave up being a sub because I didn't like working with kids in regular classrooms.  Too much stress, frustration and unnecessary drama.  I respect teachers, but I don't ever want to do their job again.

"But you're not making money there," she said.  I admit that if I was working full-time at the hourly rate I get at the field house, I would be a little better off financially.  But it's not always about money.  Sometimes it's about enjoying doing what you like and being satisfied with that.

Creed and Coaching

Creed is part of the long running Rocky movie franchise, but it is different from the rest.  First of all, the main character is not Rocky Balboa, but Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) who is the son of Rocky's late friend and rival, Apollo Creed.  Adonis has been raised by his stepmom Mary (Phylicia Rashad).  Adonis was bouncing back and forth between foster care and juvenile hall after his mom passed, and Mary took him in.  Adonis walks away from a successful nine-to-five career to box full time.  He approaches Rocky to train him.

The fight scenes and training scenes were well-filmed.  As usual, people from the real boxing world -- Michael Buffer, Tony Bellew, Andre Ward, Max Kellerman, Jim Lampley -- were placed in the movie to give it authenticity.  This movie also proved why boxing movies continue to be made -- boxing is a metaphor for life.  Every character in the movie is fighting for and against something.

I watch boxing training videos on YouTube as much as I can.  I'm always made aware of how I need to constantly improve my coaching methods as well what the students in my classes need to learn.  When I see movies like Creed, I'm inspired even more to be the best coach I can be.

Erica's Killer Ab Workout

My body constantly reminds me that I'm not in as good of shape as I think I am.  While shadowboxing at Loyola Park, my right side kept bothering me.  It didn't start doing that until after I arrived at the gym.  I decided not to spar.

The guys -- Alan, Professor, David, Connor, Sanal, Leon -- sparred.  Connor was hit three times in his right side with hooks by Professor.  Alan told him, "You'd think that after three times, you would cover up!"

Sanal was pawing David most of the time when they sparred.  I wanted to tell him not to do that, but Alan and Leon were talking to him.  David had told Sanal beforehand that he was worried about Sanal throwing wild punches.  "If you go fast, I'll have to go fast, too," David said.

Leon took on Alan.  I watched carefully because Leon is a big, tall guy, and Alan is in his middle sixties.  "I don't want to have to call the hospital,"  I thought to myself.  It appeared that Leon wasn't hitting Alan as hard as he could have.  After two rounds, they were done because Leon was spent.

Erica called everyone into the ring who wanted to do an ab workout.  I scrambled in behind everyone else because I'm tired of people thinking I'm three months pregnant (yep, I've been asked a few times "when is the baby due?").  It was a hard workout of leg raises, ab punches, butterfly kicks, etc.  I've been working out five days a week for the past three weeks.  But it was clear that I need to do more work.

But now it's the holidays, and I've been nipping eggnog every day (not caring about my diabetes for the moment).  I'm still sticking to having meat only once a day, and upping the veggie and fruit content.  But there's not much I can do about getting older and slower other than deal with it and work with it accordingly.

Schooled On Angles

Kathy had been sparring with Erica at Loyola Park when she put her hands up in victory for this funny photo.

Erica was taking on everyone who wanted to spar, including me.  I had to compliment her on hitting on angles.  That's something I never really learned to do well.  She was coming at me from various places, and my old self couldn't keep up.  It put something on my mind -- I need to teach the kids at LaFollette how to work off of angles.

Connor wasn't putting his punches all the way out while sparring with Erica.  "I don't want you to knock her about, but you can hit her," Alan told him.  Erica quickly adjusted to inside fighting in order to deliver hits to Connor's body.  Afterwards, she commented, "Ooh. . .tall people!"  "I know," I laughed.  Erica is about my height.  Connor has to be a little over six feet.

I gave Salen, seen here on the red heavy bag, a quick lesson on wrapping his hands.  I found myself saying the same things I tell the kids at LaFollette.  "Put the loop over your thumb.  Now wrap it around your wrist three times.  Wrap it around your thumb once, then wrap it once again around your wrist to anchor it.  Okay, now wrap it three times around your knuckles.  Good.  From this point on, alternate between wrapping it around your wrist once and then your knuckles once until you get to the end.  Then finish it off at your wrist."

Mary noticed the cuts on Alan's nose from when he sparred with Minh.  "What happened?  Were you fighting?" she asked.  Alan explained about the head gear scraping against his nose.  Then he said, "Hillari hit me."  "Oh, you're gonna put that on me!" I laughed.  It occurred to me that Alan and I haven't sparred with each other for at least two years.  I miss that sometimes.

Jamil came in with his girlfriend.  Hadn't seen him for a long time, and it was very good to see him.  He asked about Ralphie.  Alan and I had to break the sad news that Ralphie passed on three years ago.  "He was the best," Jamil said.  Jamil wants to get back into the gym.  He was working hard when he was there before; it would be good for him to come back to it.

Trash Talking and Registration

There are plenty of professional female boxers that The Ring could have put on its front cover, not just this year, but in years prior.  Laila Ali, Ann Wolfe, Ana Julaton. . . .the list goes on and on.  Instead, Ronda Rousey, a MMA star, gets the cover because she's popular at the moment, and she's interested in boxing.

But then she faced Holly Holm, a former professional boxer who switched over to MMA, most likely because of more pay, and hopefully, more recognition.  Rousey lost in a stunning upset in the second round.  Rousey's usual trash-talking apparently did nothing to intimidate Holm.  I'm not here to bash Rousey.  She is good in her sport of choice.  But most MMA fighters don't have a good hand game or good ring generalship, both of which Holm has.  I'm hoping The Ring magazine -- which has hinted that they may "open the door" to more MMA coverage -- thinks long and hard about giving press to a sport that has nothing to do with boxing.

Now that I have the correct dates for the winter boxing classes, I will put in a request for a flyer to be made.  I'm going to include a line that states I will not take any new students once the winter session passes the halfway mark.  This current fall session is the last time I'm dealing with those who wait several weeks before deciding to sign up.  The less disruptions I have to deal with in the gym, the better.  I'm not a Chicago Public Schools teacher; I don't have to alter my lesson plans to allow students who are behind in their grades to play catch up.

In the case of the adults, it even makes less sense to allow someone to pay their money for a class that is halfway over.  The cost of the class will not be prorated, and the adults will have to turn around in a short time to pay the fee again for the next session.  I'd rather not have to deal with grumbling adults about that.

Two Times, Two Gyms

Today is Veterans' Day, and when the kids are out of school, the field houses are open.  It also means the field houses open and close at different times.   I had to be at work earlier than usual because LaFollette Park was closing earlier.

Only David showed up to train, and he put in nearly an hour and a half of work.  David has been trying so hard to master the speed bag.  He knows how to hit it with one hand at a time, but he's trying to learn how to use two hands to make the bag go faster.  I see his frustration, and I feel for him.  I give him tips to make it easier to get.  But I always remind him that it took me about a year to be able to hit the speed bag like that.

I also ran a slipping drill with him, something that I need to do with all the boxing participants.  David moved around the ring with his hands up, while I came at his head with the punch mitts on.  The object was for David to practice moving his head.  He's also been practicing slips on the cobra bag.

After I got off work, I went up to Loyola Park.  That field house opted to open later in the day, but close at its regular time.  The gym had several people present, then suddenly, they all disappeared.  Only Alan and I were in the room.  Then I realized that all of them had gone into the hallway in order to have room to jump rope.

"Look at my nose," Alan said to me.  A couple of days ago, Alan's nose got scratched while he was sparring.  It didn't happen while he was sparring with his son.  It probably happened during the time he was in the ring with Minh.  Alan continues to use the head gear that looks like a hockey mask in order to protect his eye.  The bars across the head gear must have scraped Alan's nose due to a blow.  When Alan took the head gear off, I noticed he was bleeding, and I pointed it out.  He just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.  Today, Alan's nose looked more banged up.

"What did Reva say when she saw your nose?" I asked.  "It didn't look that bad the other night, but in the morning, it looked worse.  She gave me trouble about it.  'How old are you? You're a businessman!' she said.  What does one have to do with the other?" Alan said.  I chuckled, but I understood what Reva was talking about.  Alan is a salesman who calls on customers in person.  The customers might wonder, "What's up with this guy's face?"  But I'm sure Alan knows how to handle that. . .

I opted out of sparring again because my knees are still squishy.  I also knew that I would probably be sparring with David again later this week, so I decided to save my strength for that.

Sexism In The Boxing Gym

Coach James, who runs the football, basketball, and baseball programs at the field house, told me he had to defend my honor earlier yesterday.  A man who discovered that the boxing coach is a woman appeared to take offense at that.  "I applied for that job awhile ago!  That job should have been mine!  How they gonna give it to a woman?" the guy said.  Coach James told him that from what he could see, I was doing a good job.  "How can a woman teach men how to box?" the guy told him.

The guy showed up in the gym sometime later, giving me a long skeptical look.  When I told him I had been boxing since 2001, the guy seemed to fumble for a comeback.  Then he did what too many guys do, which is brag about what boxing experience he's had.  Uh-huh.  I learned a long time ago that many confuse briefly taking a few boxing classes before giving up with having a lot of fight experience.  Other people think the amount of street fights and schoolyard rumbles they've had constitute knowing how to box.

I'm used to the sexism in this sport to an extent.  But it irritates me all the same.  The guy offered to send some younger guys over to check out the gym and perhaps sign up for the program.  I appreciated the gesture, but he said, "I plan to volunteer, too."  Based on the guy's earlier comments to Coach James, I'm not so sure I want the guy as a volunteer.

Unfortunately, some men are always looking to undermine a woman's authority everywhere and at all times.  If the guy actually applies to be a park district volunteer and successfully passes the background check, I have a feeling I will have to keep reminding him who is the boss of the gym.  I already have my hands full dealing the kids.  I don't need to also have to explain manners and having respect for others to an adult.

The Guys' Turn To Spar

Lots and lots of sparring went on at Loyola Park.  Most of the guys there sparred; none of the women did.  Unlike last week, I resolved not to be tempted to spar.  I sparred seven times last week, at both Loyola Park and LaFollette Park. My middle-aged frame needed to cool it.

Matthew and Alan sparred.  Matthew also sparred with Leon.

Connor and Professor sparred.

Tony, Leon, and Minh on the gym floor.  Minh sparred with Alan.

Gabe came in, looking well.  He had been working in Hawaii for a few years, and now he's back in Chicago.

Gabby and David watch the action in the ring, while Erica works the heavy bag. David had sparred, too.  The gym was fairly crowded, and a good workout session was had by all.

No-Go Boxing Show

I should have paid attention to that little nagging feeling in my stomach that something would go wrong today.  According to the calendar of park district boxing shows, Humboldt Park was scheduled to have a show today.  I got down there and nothing was set up.

I called Tommy, who told me the Humboldt Park show had been canceled.  Fuller Park's show was being held instead.  I trudged back up to LaFollette Park and checked my work email.  There was no notification of that show being canceled.  I didn't get anything on my personal email, either.  It was just as well, because I didn't have anyone who showed any great interest in participating in that show.

Plan B was to salvage what was left of the work day.  A woman who had told me a couple of weeks ago about the son of a friend whom she wanted to get into boxing showed up at the gym.  Her friend's son, a sixteen-year-old with a smart-aleck smirk on his face, swaggered into the gym behind her.  "Here we go," I thought to myself.  I had already been told that the kid was a discipline problem at home and at school.  But after talking to the kid, I saw something there that I could possibly work with.  The fall teen boxing class is actually ending this month, not in December as I thought, so the kid will have to wait until January to join the class.  He wondered if there will be others in the class.  I couldn't give him an answer on that one.  But I hope attendance in the teen class picks up in the winter.

Sparring Time With The Girls

The boxing gym at LaFollette was very quiet yesterday.  Only the teen class had any activity.  Darlene, Ben (BJ), and Aylah showed up.  I did a round robin of sparring with the girls.  Ben opted to just do a workout instead of sparring.

Both Darlene and Aylah were apprehensive.  "No, Miss Hillari is going to beat us!" Aylah said.  "Please take it easy on me," Darlene smiled.  I promised to go light on the both of them.  "I'm not wearing headgear or a mouthpiece, so we're all have to go light," I told them.

I was tapping them while encouraging the girls to take harder shots.  I got a lot of taps in which prompted both girls to say,  "Miss Hillari, you're too fast!"  I did two rounds with Darlene, and one round with Aylah.  Then I had the girls spar each other.  Aylah is short and petite, so I advised her to throw more body punches at Darlene.  I told Darlene, who is taller, to keep the shorter girl away with her jabs.

It appears that De-Fetrick has effectively closed the door on himself.  The fact that the athletic cup he used at the Simons Park show hasn't been returned on top of De-Fetrick's lack of sportsmanship that day has forced me to deny him back into the gym.  If he shows up anytime before this fall session ends, I will also inform De-Fetrick that he can't sign up for the boxing program ever again as long as I'm the coach in that gym.  I've been tired of people thinking they can do whatever in the program, and I will make an example of De-Fetrick to prove to everyone that is not the case.

Kettlebells and Hits

I was not going to spar last night at Loyola Park.  My right shoulder was giving me problems, the left side of my upper back was acting up, and both of my knees were jelly.  But two new women in the gym, as seen in the above photo, sparred for the first time.  "You're just hitting each other's gloves," Alan said.  "Hit each other in the face!"  The women giggled, but they did not put more force on their punches.  "That's just pitty-pat.  If you all keeping doing that, I'm going to send Hillari in," Alan continued.  "Okay, I'll go in for a couple of rounds," I said.

"Hillari is actually going to hit you," Alan told both of the women.  I went one round with each woman.  I did get hits in, but I did not put great force on them.  Whenever Alan gave them instructions, I would turn down what I was doing to allow them to execute what he said.  Afterwards, one of the women said, "Sparring is not as scary as I thought it was going to be."

Leon, who neither Alan or I had seen in ages, stopped into the gym.  "I'm ready to do this, man.  I've thought about it, and I want to get back into the ring," he told Alan.  "But aren't you 90 years old?" Alan joked.  Leon insisted that this time, he was actually going to put the work in.  "I'm going to show you," he told Alan.  He promised to come in the next time the gym is open.

I read that Marlen Esparza lost one of the Olympic trial matches to qualify for competing next year.  She put up a video on social media to thank everyone who supported her.  I felt bad for her because she was very disappointed and sad.  It looks like the 2012 Summer Olympics -- where she won a bronze medal -- may be the first the only time she will compete on that level.

I've been observing Erica giving boxing tips to people in the gym.  If she wants to become a coach down the line, I believe that she would be a great one.  I'm also listening when she talks so I can help the kids I coach at LaFollette.

Alan let me use his kettlebell for exercise.  I had to struggle to swing it, and I didn't dare try to lift it over my head.  Alan's kettlebell is twenty-five pounds.  "I have to build up my strength more to do that," I told him.  Eventually I will purchase a few more lighter kettlebells for my gym, because I believe it will help the kids with strength and stamina.

No More Paper

The weather was winter-like today, and kids who are not in the boxing program are continuing to make a habit of attempting to use the gym as a hang out space.  No one showed up for the teen and adult classes, so I was quietly minding my business.  Then the bouncing of a ball interrupted my peace.  Kentrell, who bothers me like sandpaper against a blister, had a basketball in his hands.

"Do you have mouthpieces?" he asked me.  "Yeah, for the people who are in the boxing class," I said, giving the kid a hint that he did not take.  "Can I have one?" he asked.  "Uh, Kentrell. . . .you're not in the class.  I can't just give out mouthpieces," I said as evenly as I could.  I was reading a book to pass the time, having already put up the equipment for the day.  I had done a kettlebell workout.  I wanted to be left alone.

"I want to be in the boxing class," Kentrell announced.  I'm sick of that boy always coming to me with that every time he sees me.  There's no real interest in boxing on his part.  I know that from when Kentrell was in the class several sessions ago.  "For any activity in the park district, you must have a parent's permission to sign up.  Kentrell, you can't sign yourself up," I explained to him for the umpteenth time.  "Just give me me the paper.  My mama wants me in the boxing class," he whined.  "There is no paper anymore.  She either comes in person to sign you up or she gets on a computer and signs you up online," I told him.

Kentrell then decided he was going to goof around on the equipment in-between bouncing the basketball.  "This is not the basketball gym, so hold that ball.  And get off the equipment," I snapped.  Finally realizing that nothing was going to happen the way he wanted, Kentrell left.

It's a good thing that the park district has decided to go paperless.  When I first started, I handed out a lot of registration forms that never made it back to me.  Some of the kids kept telling me they wanted to be in the class, but the forms had been left at home, or at grandma's house, or they lost them.  Uh-huh.  Now if the parents truly are interested in their kids participating in any activity, they have to make an effort.  It appears a lot of the parents I deal with do not have a computer at home, so making an effort means having to interact with the staff.  It means actually getting information about the programs and activities so they know exactly what is going on.  It cuts down on confusion.

Or at least no one will have an excuse for not knowing the details.