Gym Shut Down Due To Concern

On February 11th, I walked into work as usual. I had barely signed in on my timesheet when Steve had me come into a meeting with him and Colleen, who works in risk management.  Less than 15 minutes later, I was sent home. I was told that the park district has a concern about my health. I've been using a cane for about three years. "Why is there a concern now?" I asked. Colleen claimed not to know, while Steve remained silent. Before being allowed to return to work, I had to see a company doctor.

I saw the doctor, a kindly sort, who upon learning the Chicago Park District does not offer health insurance to most of its part-time employees, gave me information about a sliding-scale clinic near my home. I also finally learned that I have nerve damage in my left leg. It's treatable but the doctor I saw can't take me on as a patient due to conflict of interest. The doctor released me to return to work on light duty.

Upon returning to work the following day, Steve told me that HR had to clear me to return to work. HR claimed there is no light duty for the boxing program. Until I am cleared for full-duty with no restrictions, I'm not allowed to work.

I sent emails back and forth to HR and cc'd both Steve and Colleen about the situation.  I even got the union involved. But still, I have no clarification about the rules and regulations involving me being forced off of work. It appears that no one at CPD, nor the union, is willing to give answers. I've been using my limited sick time and personal days to cover my absence, because, well, I still have to pay bills. Yet the way I was blindsided by this makes me wonder if I'm still considered to be an employee of the park district.

A visit to the doctor at the sliding-scale clinic did not result in a recommendation that I can return to work. On my limited salary, I can't afford to keep paying to see them. This incident has put me into yet another set of shaky financial situations.

Meanwhile, the gym remains closed.  Next week is the end of the winter session. It's too late to gather anyone to get up to speed to participate in the Chicago Golden Glover nor the Chicago City-Wide Boxing Tournament.

I'm angry.

A Sport That Needs To Have Clean Hands

Boxing has a reputation for being a dirty sport.  I believe that is one of the main reasons why the sport is no longer mentioned in the same breath as football, basketball, and baseball.  Many Hollywood movies have shown the underside of boxing - Requiem For A Heavyweight, The Set-Up, the Rocky series, etc.  They are not far off the mark when it comes to professional boxing.  But amateur boxing doesn't have clean hands, either. 

A few years ago, there was a scandal involving how the Chicago Golden Gloves was being run. Apparently, issues had been going on for a long time.  Situations have since been corrected but for a time, it appeared that the franchise was in danger of permanently being put on ice.  That would have delivered a hard blow to many amateur fighters, especially those who had their eyes on moving on to the Olympics and/or a professional boxing career. 

Often, I hear stories about sketchy moves that take place in amateur gyms here and elsewhere around the USA.  Someone told me that they took offense that several individuals claiming to be boxing coaches were allegedly hanging around in an amateur gym trying to recruit people to fight in what appeared to be an unsanctioned, underground show.  Underground shows, or smokers as they are sometimes referred to, are illegal.  Fighters who participate in such shows run the risk of being seriously hurt.  Several years ago, a female amateur boxer was paired with a professional female boxer during such a show.  I believe it took place in New York City.  The amateur boxing took a beating that left them with permanent brain damage. 

Sooner or later, coaches, fighters, officials, parents, and guardians, as well as others dealing cards from under the deck where boxing is concerned will get caught.  However, people tend to get away with stuff for long periods of time.  When the actions are finally exposed, major damage has already been done. It just gives more ammunition to those who constantly push for boxing to be banned altogether.  The sport also further gets pushed into the status of a niche sport, supported by a few devotees, but not receiving the resources, attention, endorsements, etc., of other sports that are seen as more "acceptable". 

I don't put up with much so I run a clean gym.  It's better, in the long run, to do that for the fighters as well as for my conscious. 

A Matter Of Attitude

In addition to issues in the neighborhood that have a negative impact at LaFollette Park, there are attitudes that also present challenges to running the boxing program. 

The program is free for those between the ages of eight and seventeen (a few of the gyms will take youths as young as six years old). There are beginning and end dates for each session, but parents and guardians in the area tend to sign up their kids whenever.  Free doesn't mean the class has unlimited spots open.  In order to give proper attention to everyone, there can only be so many participants.  Yet most parents and guardians believe I should make room for youths who often don't show up until halfway through the session.  Youths who sign up later throw off the balance in the room especially when there's a groove that has already been established with those who were there from day one.

Many youths and some of the adults are in the class for the wrong reasons.  I need to talk to people, especially parents and guardians, before anyone registers for the program.  It says so online and on the class fliers.  Most parents and guardians ignore that rule, and it's easy for them to do since everyone can sign up online.  It also says on the fliers that boxing is not a self-defense class, but parents and guardians expect me to teach youths to handle bullying situations. I'm aware that schools have zero-tolerance policies for violence.  I keep wondering why most parents and guardians around LaFollette don't seem to know that or are willing to ignore those policies. 

I'm also curious as to why some parents and guardians don't feel an obligation to let me know if their youths have physical and/or mental conditions. If the staff doesn't have that information beforehand, an incident can turn tragic very quickly.  I've observed that some of the parents and guardians think their youths' health situations aren't that serious.  Some don't seem to have ever taken the time to analyze whether an activity will be appropriate for their youths in light of that.  They just want their kids in -- and I suspect information about health situations gets deliberately withheld.

I've long been tired of parents and guardians who think boxing is going toughen up kids who they believe need it.  I've never forgotten a dad who grumbled that his son's mom (whom the dad was no longer with) was raising their son "soft".  The kid didn't want to be in the class, but dad refused to accept that.  Another parent was angry when they learned their child had no interest in sports at all.  Boxing was the umpteenth sport that they had forced the kid into with no success.  "Ask them what they really want to do, then put them in activities that speak to that interest," I told the parent.  That should have been common sense.

There are the youths in the class whom the parents put in purely for babysitting purposes.  A lot of kids at the field house, regardless of what activity they are in, are not there because their parents care about them having positive experiences.  Parents and guardians who operate on that level do not support the program nor encourage their kids to be more active participants. 

Parents and guardians don't pay attention to what time the class begins.  Time management doesn't exist, and personal responsibility doesn't seem to be taught much.  But I'm expected to work miracles with youths who are twenty or thirty (or more) minutes late to class every day.  I can't enter participants who don't train properly into the City-Wide Boxing Tournament, the Chicago Golden Gloves, nor the park district boxing shows. 

There are youths who have numerous discipline problems, but when I point that out to some parents and guardians, I get no response as to what they are going to do to put a stop to the behavior.  Even more troubling are the ones who tell me, "I can't do anything with her (or him)."  Why do they think that I should keep putting up with it?  Trust me, I won 't.

As for the adults who take boxing, time management is often an issue with them, too.  People forget about the other obligations they have like changing work shifts, dealing with their kids, going to college at night, etc.  Some adults confuse the park district boxing program with the professional boxing classes that are run out of private gyms.  Due to the issues in the neighborhood, many don't sign up because they don't want to be around when the bullets start flying across the park -- and I can't blame them. 

47 Fights

I judged 23 fights at the Chicago City-Wide Boxing Tournament last night.  There were 47 fights in total.  Two rings were set up at Curie Park to handle all of the action.

Derek, who runs the North Lawndale Boxing League, had two of his fighters "representing" LaFollette in the tournament.  "Did Thomas talk to you about this?" Derek asked.  "No, he did not," I said as I made a face.  I kept wondering why I hadn't been told -- for the second year in a row -- that Derek's fighters were registered to fight out of my gym.  It was curious to me that Derek was allowed to check his fighters in when protocol states that I should have been responsible for that since it's my gym, not his.  Allegedly, Derek will have a gym within the park district soon.  But he doesn't have one yet.

I was in the mood for sarcasm and an argument.  But sometimes, it doesn't pay to say anything.  Another coach commented that the situation sounded "shady", and I agreed since it was apparent I was kept in the dark about Derek's fighters' participation until the last minute.  But things have a way of working themselves out.  Derek admitted that his fighters had no sparring experience before the tournament.  He grinned at how he made them run a lot instead.  "This ain't gonna go well for them," I thought to myself.

There were a lot of tough fights.  Just like at the Chicago Golden Gloves, few competitors show up with the intention of playing around.  That's why I didn't allow any of my fighters to register for the tournament.  People can't half-step when it comes to training regularly then expect to do well in a tournament.  If someone gets seriously hurt, I'm going to be asked why did I allow them to compete when it was apparent the fighter didn't train well or enough for it.  Some coaches will put someone in the ring knowing that the fighter is too green.   I'm not going to put someone in a match just because their name is on my attendance sheet.

An announcement was made from the ring across from the one where I was sitting that one of Derek's fighters lost their match.  I ended up judging the match that his other fighter was in.  All I saw was wild haymaker punches, poor footwork, and a lack of technique from his fighter.  The other two judges agreed with me, and the win went to the other youth.  

Chances Going Down Or Gone

Sahia, Richey, Noel, and Mikaela are fine.  They just took an extended vacation.  They should be back in the gym this week.  But I can't guarantee that of everyone else who has been missing for past month.  

Looks like I'm going to keep the gym open during the break between the winter and spring session since the City-Wide Boxing Tournament will take place during that time.  But I'm not going to allow everyone to register for it.  Malik is dangerously close to being denied a chance to compete.  He'll have to show up every day from this point on in order to get a spot.  Iz and Abrahant's chances are already gone because of their constant absences which they had been warned about many times.  Based on Kaylib's lack of urgency to do what he had to do to enter the Chicago Golden Gloves, I'm going to demand that he sit out the City-Wide as well.  That's if Kaylib ever shows up to the gym again.

James won't be a factor, either.  I talked to his parents about his statement to me about not liking any sport.  His parents are dismayed, but they have known that about their son for some time.  They also aren't happy about James only wanting to play video games constantly.  His father told me that they are keeping James out of the gym for awhile until his attitude changes.  His parents aren't the first ones to complain about their kids' obsession with video games as opposed to participating in more physical play and activity.  What I'm not understanding is why don't they just take the games away from their kids?  Different parenting styles than from what I grew up under, I'm guessing.  My parents may not have brought the video games from the jump.  Since playing the games uses electricity, my mother, in particular, would not have allowed my younger siblings and me to play them often.  If we kept playing them obsessively, the games and consoles would either have been locked up, sold back to the game store, or thrown out.  

Missing and Run Down

The registration for the Chicago Golden Gloves is this weekend and on Monday, but I won't be there -- again.  Kaylib was the only person in the teen boxing class who was eager to enter that competition.  However, Kaylib disappeared from the gym and didn't bother to tell me about a hand injury.  I had to call his house to learn about that.  At this point, it's probably safe to assume that Kaylib won't return to class, either.

James keeps pointing out that several of the kids in the 12-years-old-and-under boxing class keep being absent.  Maybe James should worry more about his weight.  I keep finding candy and pastry wrappers in the boys' washroom.  James has a habit of going into the last stall in there and staying for a long period of time.  Initially, I thought James was playing video games on his phone.  As a courtesy to ReRe, the attendant who normally cleans the washrooms down in the gym, I started checking them before I locked up at the end of the day.  One of the last times James hid in the washroom for an inappropriate amount of time, I yelled, "You're not eating in there, are you?"  "No," James replied in a guilty manner.  The very next time I checked the room, I found a candy wrapper stuck in the hand towel dispenser.  A hand dryer has replaced the towel dispenser, but maintenance never removed the dispenser.  I guess James thought, "I'm gonna be slick this time."  Not quite slick enough.

Iz and Abrahant have been gone for over two weeks.  I'm beginning to believe they have dropped out of the class.  They have never put in a full workout since they've been in the class.  They're always late, even during the summer months.  Twenty minutes is about all they usually get done.  Maybe they came to the realization that a short training time wasn't enough.  I am also aware there was some disappointment when I cut down sparring from two days a week to once a week.

I have to give Damaris credit for showing up the two days of the week that she's able to do.  But just like they did three years ago, DeShawn and his cousin Felicia, who can only show up one day a week, have basically stopped doing that (along with their cousin Armani).  Jayda has continued her pattern of not showing up to class just like she did two years ago after only attending a few times.  Angelo, who was my best scrapper in the program this season, has vanished, too.  I called his home to find out what happened, got the voice mail, and never heard back.  

Attendance in the teen class is down, too.  Malik keeps running in every other day to either tell me he can't come to class or why he wasn't in class.  As I predicted, Janaja has become a no-show once again like she was the last two times she registered for the class.  Ceasar comes in on and off, but his brother Richard keeps missing days.  Ceasar's friends Melissa and Ximena have a lot of absences, too.  

The adult class has been very quiet as none of them have been in class for some time. But then, a lot of people have been out ill due to the flu that has been coming down heavily this season.  I've been feeling run down lately, but I haven't caught what everyone else has caught yet.  I hope I don't.  

Boxing and Bureaucracy Don't Mix

Donesha didn't make it to the meeting, but Sahia met with me, Thomas, and Steve about the fundraiser.  There isn't going to be a fundraiser this month as planned.  Apparently, there are many steps (read: hoops) that have to be gone through in order to have one approved.  Frankly, I'm not much in the mood for navigating bureaucratic mazes.

If I had discretionary income to play with, I'd buy what I wanted to place in the gym and just turn in the receipts afterward.  But the fundraiser wasn't only about equipment.  Not all parents and guardians are just dumping kids and teens off in my class because they don't want to be bothered with them for an hour.  Some parents and guardians are appreciative that boxing is free because they want their youths involved in something that is positive that won't strain their budgets.  However, there isn't money in their houses to pay for extras the youths may want like boxing tops and trunks, extra mouthpieces, and boxing shoes.  There have been youths who haven't been able to attend boxing shows and tournaments because of transportation issues.  Some have dropped out of the class because of that.  Those are some of the reasons why the program hasn't grown much over the nearly four years I've been running it.  Steve keeps telling me that having more kids in the class would be justification for me getting extra resources.  But it is what the park district does NOT provide and apparently can't provide which adds to the frustrations and challenges I have to face in the gym.

Teens have come to me asking about entering the Chicago Golden Gloves.  When I tell them they have to pay for a license, plus pay a registration fee on top of that, I notice the shift in their enthusiasm.  If I could afford to come out of my own pocket to make sure they were able to compete, I'd pay for it.  But on my part-time salary, I can't, so I just have to watch potential champions slip away.  The sport can show youths there is a world of other opportunities outside of the 12-to-14 block neighborhoods they live in, but if extra assistance is not available to help them, that's an issue.  

For every enthusiastic kid I encounter, I have to contend with several who don't have clear reasons why they want to be in my gym.  Yesterday, three teenage girls plopped themselves down on the equipment table during the 12-years-old and younger class.  The girls took too long to answer when I asked them why they were in the gym, so I said in a clipped manner, "This is not a hangout spot."  Finally, the ringleader told me that someone sitting up at the front desk sent them downstairs for me to sign them up for the class.  I suspect that some recreation leaders and instructors play fast and loose with the registration process.  I don't.  I told the girls their parents had to give permission for them to be in the class or they were not going to be in it.  Sahia, who appears to have more patience with youths than I ever will, asked the ringleader why she wanted to take up boxing.  The girl shrugged her shoulders and said, "I just want to be in it."  That wasn't a good enough answer for me.  The other two didn't state their reasons at all.  Then the ringleader indicated she and her crew didn't want to spar or compete.  I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes as I explained I'm not going to teach self-defense.  

The Good Group

Sahia noted during the teen class that it was a good group.  They all work when they are in the gym, and Noel and Makaela have been great at helping the others out with techniques and exercises.  Kalib is talking about signing up for the Chicago Golden Gloves.  Caesar, his brother Richard, and Melissa have been doing well.  

If only the kids' class was running that smoothly.  The class is now full, but a few of the kids who signed up have yet to set foot in the gym.  Jayda, who was in the class over two years ago, re-registered for it, but she has already missed days of class.  She told me that her friend Rosemary planned to sign up again, and I inwardly groaned.  Neither girl did much in the gym the last time they were in the class.  Iz and Abrahant were not in class again day with no explanation.  

However, a nice addition to the kids class is Angelo, a cute half Black, half Puerto Rican kid.  He's been hitting the ground running since he joined the class.  Angelo has very good form, too.  He told me that an uncle of his has a home gym.  I'm thinking that Angelo may have received some boxing training from the uncle, based on the way he moves.

The fundraiser is shaping up nicely.  I was able to print out fliers and hand them out to the kids to pass around.  I sent a note to Marty at Simons Park to ask him if he could bring some boxers from his gym to spar with mine on the day of the fundraiser.  It would be nice if Marlon at Portage Park can bring some boxers over to spar, too.  It'll be in late February.  

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.  

LaFollette Walkovers and Open Doors

Thomas emailed out a list of youths who signed up for the Chicago City-Wide Tournament (which takes place this week).  Two of the kids signed up at LaFollette who are with Derek's North Lawndale Boxing League -- Blake and Porsche -- were listed as walkovers.  They didn't get fights, so they won by default.

If Ariel had shown up to train more often, she could have been paired with Porsche.  That ship has sailed, along with my chance of seeing any part of the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament this year.  This was the first time in about 14 years that I missed going to the fights.  I never made it to either John or Michael's bouts (and unfortunately, they both lost), and I had no one in the competition from my gym.  Hopefully, the Chicago Park District boxing shows will turn out better.

In another bid to keep the destructiveness of the summer camp kids from touching the gym at LaFollette, I sent an email to Steve today requesting that the kids go to another room to get their snacks while camp is in session.  I'm still trying to put together a senior aerobic boxing class for the summer.  The last thing I or the seniors need is summer camp kids ripping and running in the gym and trashing it.  The boxing program has been running for nearly three years now; it's long been time for the summer camp kids to stop using that room.

Late last week, I found my office/equipment room door standing wide open.  No one knew who had been in there.  In the email, I also asked Steve to remind those who have keys to that room to keep it locked.  Summer is coming and brings a lot of people into the field house who are just roaming around.  I can't run the boxing program if a majority of the equipment comes up missing.

Departure and Passed Over At The Gloves

John did fight at the Golden Gloves.  It was a close decision, but John lost.  Michael ended up getting a bye twice, so he's in the semi-finals.  Michael's fight is scheduled for this Friday.  Ben joked and said it would be something if Michael was passed over again.  Perhaps he would then end up in the finals.

Kathy is leaving the gym permanently.  She's going on a road trip, and then she's joining the Peace Corps.  She was a great sparring partner.  I'm sorry to see her go, but she'll have a grand adventure.

Tonight was the first time I had been at Loyola Park in a couple of weeks.  One week I took off due to being tired and sore.  The following week, I babysat for a friend of Nayhomee, who used to train at Loyola.  I got in a good workout despite being as stiff as a board in the beginning.  My body seems to react well to working out before going right back to its usual state. 

Matt had some very good sparring with Ben and John.  Alan sparred with Ben later.  "I know he's not going to beat me up," Alan grinned. 

I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow at LaFollette.  While I don't mind that the coach from Franklin Park (I wasn't aware that any kind of boxing was going on there) has registered some of his kids into the LaFollette boxing program, I am concerned about a couple of the kids.  You see, they had signed up for my program last spring but never showed up to class.  I find it curious that they apparently have been able to show up for a boxing class at Franklin Park, but were not motivated to come to LaFollette in the past.  Franklin Park's coach will train them.  This I gotta see.  I'm tempted to ask the two girls why they're so interested in the sport now considering that they didn't seem to care about it when they were taking up space on the attendance list in my gym. 

There was a ray of hope when Ariel said she wanted to compete in the City-Wide Tournament a few weeks ago.  But I believe the window of time to register for that has closed.  On top of that, Ariel hasn't been in the gym much since then.  In fact, she only showed up seven times during the winter session.  That's seven days out of a total of 50 days in all.  She hasn't signed up again for the spring session, either, even though I reminded her of that some time ago.  I keep hearing that I have to get the attendance numbers up for the classes.  However, most don't bother to sign up until three or four weeks into the session.  I can't do anything about people whom, for whatever reason, won't get it in gear to get their names on the attendance sheets. 

Winter Session is Washed Up and Out

Barry wants to have a sparring session with his fighters, my fighters, and Marlon's fighters at Portage Park.  Good idea, especially with the Chicago City-Wide Tournament approaching.  So when I got to work, I called parents and guardians to see if they could bring their kids out for the session, which is tentatively scheduled for early next week.

Davion's sister reminded me that her brother is only able to go to boxing class two days out of the week.  He won't be able to go to Portage Park.  Tyler's mom was fine with it, but I have to make sure that I let her know if the date will be changed.  I didn't bother to contact Jada's mom because Jada can only take boxing class on Saturdays which prevents her from sparring as well as participating in competitions.

James had not come to class yesterday, so when I called his mom, I also wanted to find out if he was okay.  It is very unusual for James to miss a day in the gym.  His mom told me that she's keeping James out of boxing for the rest of the winter session.  James keeps getting into trouble at school about his grades.  The most recent progress report he received was very bad.  I agreed with his mom.  "The boxing gym will be here, but James needs to get his education," I told her.  I had suspected all along that James wasn't completely telling me the truth about his troubles at school.  Now I know.

Neither Tyler nor Davion have much interest in boxing, and frankly, I'm real tired of Tyler's lazy attitude.  The last time Davion came in, I got tired of him asking me how to do this and that.  He's been in there long enough to do the basics, but of course, Davion hasn't been paying attention.  I'm already disappointed because I won't have anyone to enter into the Chicago Golden Gloves this year.  Now I'm ticked because it looks like I can forget about having participants in the Chicago City-Wide Tournament, too.  I refuse to give either Tyler or Davion the opportunity to be in the City-Wide.  They're just not training hard enough.

Ariel showed up for the first time since last month.  As I suspected, she had been ill.  I thought I might have had a fight lined up for her at Cicero Stadium.  But it turned out that Ariel was 20 pounds heavier than the other fighter, so we had to take a pass on that.  There's a slight chance she could be in the City-Wide Tournament, but she has a lot of training time to make up.

I think it's safe to say that this winter session is washed out.  From day one there have been issues and setbacks.  It's halfway through, and I don't suspect things will get better before the middle of March when the session ends.

New Rules For This Year

The car died on me in the middle of the street last night.  The check engine light came on, which is never a good sign.  Then the car slowed down.  I was able to restart it and park it near my domicile.  Luckily, I wasn't too far away from my home when that happened.  My budget is very tight, and there's a possibility that the car may not be able to be fixed, depending upon what is wrong with it.

Of course, that meant I had to ride public transportation up to LaFollette today.  My boss was not on the premises, but he sent a message that he did turn in a special event request -- to allow for a ring to be set up outside for June's boxing show -- to the area manager.  After I found that out, I went on up to Eckhart Park for the boxing coach's meeting.

I like Thomas, the head of the boxing program because he's not much for a whole lot of nonsense.  He explains the reasoning as to why some things happen, why some things can't happen, and he gets straight to the point.  We went over the agenda for this year.  I knew beforehand that the park district budget had been cut down, so there was not going to be much any of the coaches could do about demanding extra equipment.  There is a private donor who donates funds to the program, but as Thomas pointed out, those funds have to be spent carefully.

When I see the kids at LaFollette again, I'm going to push two things:  the Chicago City-Wide Boxing tournament, and the Muhammad Ali Award.  The tournament takes place every year in April, and I have yet to have someone compete in it.  It's a good warm-up to the regular boxing shows that start in the summer.  The way things are looking down at the gym right now, I would be better off talking the tournament up to the teenagers.  The younger kids aren't showing much interest in the sport -- something that a few other coaches at the meeting were grumbling about, as they have the same problem.

The Muhammad Ali Award will be given to the best park district fighter of the year.  Judging will be based on the fights a person has had.  There was also talk of perhaps giving an award for Coach of the Year, as well.

I also have more backup when it comes to parents using the boxing program as a glorified babysitting service.  That does not seem to be the case with the kids who have been showing up to the 8-to-12-year-olds' class so far this session.  But it has been a major issue in the past.  Thomas told the coaches to inform the field house supervisors and have them suggest to the parents to move their kids into other activities, especially if the kids appear to show no interest in participating in the class activities.  We were also encouraged to inform the parents that boxing is indeed a sport and that there are expectations of the kids while they are in the class.

Thomas also let it be known that showboating and general goofing around from fighters at the boxing shows was no longer going to be tolerated.  I think I know where that decision came from.  There were some very disrespectful fighters at a boxing show I attended during the late summer/early fall.  A few of the coaches had to check them on their behavior.  Any fighter who is dancing around in the ring, talking trash to the other fighter during the match, etc., will have points taken from them.

Ada Park has a new coach named Emmanuel.  The search is still on for coaches to run boxing classes at Eckhart, Humboldt and Scottsdale.  I hope those get filled soon.  It would be nice to have a full roster of coaches.

From The South Side To The Stadium

It was a long day.  It began with my stepmother's funeral, which was held at the same funeral home on the south side where my dad's wake took place twelve years earlier.  The situation felt very unreal to me -- a busy, lively woman laying in a coffin, looking as if she was only sleeping.  After the service, I went straight home.  I took the day off from the gym.

Later, I went up to Cicero Stadium.  It was Kathy's turn to step into the ring.  Kathy beat everyone to the gym.  She had been there two hours when I arrived.  Alan showed up a little while afterward.  Kathy's bout was the ninth of the night.  Alan told her to get ready, because the prior fights may end early.  The first two fights of the night did.  Another fight ended due to a disqualification.

When I first got to the stadium, I went to the washroom.  There was a woman, dressed to box, sitting out in the hallway.  Later I found out that she was Kathy's opponent.  During the boxing match, Alan kept yelling for Kathy to "punch!", but the other woman threw non-stop punches.  It was hard for Kathy to return any punches back.  Joe, the referee, gave Kathy an eight-count twice.  The third time Joe not only stopped the action, but he stopped the fight.

Kathy was not upset at the outcome.  She was relieved that all the tension that had built up to that point was finally over.  I told her she would probably sleep good that night.  "I bet I will!" she smiled.

I saw two people whom I hadn't seen in awhile.  I ran into Emmanuel downtown as I was changing trains to get to the stadium.  JJ was at the fights; he was telling Alan about an injury to his hand.  Other familiar faces were on-hand, too, including Rita, Tina, Sam, Percy, Shifty, heavyweight boxer Fres Oquendo, and ex-boxer David Diaz.

Kathy said she didn't know if she would fight again.  I hope she takes another chance, perhaps at one of the upcoming park district boxing shows.

Sparring and Another Funeral

Like my late mother and father, my stepmother didn't like the fact I boxed, either. She did attend one of my fights, however, and she filmed some footage of Alan giving me a pep talk beforehand.  My stepmother passed away late last week, nearly a year after she had an accident in her home.  I'll be attending her funeral later this week. I wasn't in the mood to spar at Loyola Park, partially because my stepmother was on my mind, and partially because I wasn't sure my knees were going to stand up to it.

The sparring sessions began with Professor and Ro, who really seemed to work well together.  Alan said that he would like to see Ro compete in a boxing show down the line.

Professor also sparred with David.

Kathy also sparred with David.

Then Alan put his gear on and told her, "You've brought the old man out of retirement."  Kathy caught Alan with a few jabs and straight rights.  She got in as much sparring as she could because she'll be fighting in the Chicago Golden Gloves later this week.

Alan then sparred with Arvin.  Arvin has good punches, but he often hesitates to throw them all the way out.  I was standing on the apron, giving Arvin advice as the two men sparred.

I wondered where everyone else was, then I remembered that the winter session ended last week.  Alan asked me when the spring session begins, and I had to remember that his boxing class begins a day before mine resumes at LaFollette.  Alan had word that his class was filling up fast.  If any of the classes I have fill up, it'll be a long time coming.  People waiting until the middle of the session to sign up -- then disappearing quickly -- seems to be the norm.

Catching A Nose Ring

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder while I stood in front of my locker at Loyola Park.  I turned around to see Kenny, and I gave him a big hug.  In the photo above, Kenny gives David some pointers in-between sparring sessions.

I sparred four rounds -- three with Kathy, and two with Carrie Anne.  My knees refused, absolutely refused, to cooperate during the first two rounds I was in the ring with Kathy.  It was as if I was slogging through thick Jello.  When my arthritic knees don't want to work, my feet follow suit.  I tried to get up on the balls of my feet, but I remained flat footed the entire time.  Meanwhile, Kathy was popping me in my head and my stomach.

I sparred with Carrie Anne before doing a last round with Kathy.  I found a second wind from somewhere.  I kept thinking to myself, "Let's go, Action Jackson!"  Action Jackson (1988) was a movie starring Carl Weathers.  I've never seen the movie, but I remember my younger sister telling me about it.  For some reason, the title popped into my mind.  Carrie was throwing some good jabs, but I kept tapping them down and going for her mid-section. I got in a left hook to her head, which amazed me, because I seldom manage to get left hooks in on anybody.

Later, Carrie Anne told me that she had a bit of a nosebleed.  I was shocked.  "Are you okay?" I asked.  "Yeah, it's okay.  One of your punches got my nose ring," she said.

I learned that Connor lost his preliminary match at the Chicago Golden Gloves.  It sounded like the same situation that happened with Ben's fight at the Gloves. Alan said that Connor stuck to his game plan and was winning the rounds.  But the judges apparently saw something else and gave the win to the other guy.  Alan and Connor told me that even the coach of the other guy was shocked that Connor didn't win.  Now there's just Kathy left to compete, and I hope she will steamroll over her opponent.

Training, Tournaments and Painting

Rojan watches a sparring match at Loyola Park in the photo above.

No kids or adults showed up to LaFollette gym, as I have come to expect on the weekend.  But Janae and Terrance were there for the teens' class.  I didn't suggest that any sparring take place because Janae has almost zero experience with that, and I didn't want to take a chance with putting her in with Terrance.  However, I was pleased to know that Janae does shadow box on her own when she's not able to come to the gym.

I've made some more phone calls to coaches to set up the sparring session next month.  It's hard to catch people because they are usually working the same time that I am.  But I want to make it work because most of the youths in my gym really need the sparring practice.  It won't be long before the park district boxing shows begin, and I'd like to see everyone who is willing get a chance to participate.

I made it to the Chicago Golden Gloves last night only to miss Ben's (not the one in my teen class, but the one who trains at Loyola Park) fight.  Alan told me that Ben did a great job, but the judges gave the win to the other guy.  I made a point of telling the teens at my gym that they have to do the best they can not to leave the outcome of a fight in the judges' hands.  In other words, they have to work hard to make sure the judges have no choice but to hand them the win.

I've been hearing that the people who now own the Chicago version of the tournament are happy with it being out at Cicero Stadium.  But judging by the low turnout, the audiences still aren't down with the idea.  Even when the tournament moved away from St. Andrews, where it had been for decades, to Gordon Tech high school, the crowds were huge and the vibe was high.  That hasn't been the case since the Golden Gloves have been held out in the suburbs.

A check of the attendance sheets for the LaFollette spring boxing session showed that Elizabeth hasn't been signed up like she told me.  People may think I'm being mean, but I kind of hope that she doesn't.  After all, it seems odd to me that a girl who has been telling me for over a year that she doesn't want to box now all of a sudden is interested in the sport.  She's already told me she doesn't want to spar, which is problematic in a program that is set up for youths to compete.  I like Elizabeth, but I'd rather not have yet another kid just holding a place in class when another kid who wants to learn the sport and would actually do the work could have that spot.

Several boys kept coming into the gym being disruptive.  I kept putting them out (I have no problem or reservations with doing that).  Later, the same group of urchins came in with a woman who was related to a couple of them.  It appears that everyone still hasn't received the message that the Chicago Park District has gone paperless in terms of registrations.  While I was explaining online registration to the adult, the boys kept messing with the equipment.  I had to get loud with them a couple of times.  I apologized to the adult for my outburst towards the kids, but I have to also start letting the adults know that I'm not going to tolerate discipline problems out of their kids.  If their kids don't follow the rules and regulations, they're gone.  It's just that simple.

I've been toying with the idea of not allowing the youths to spar if they show up late on the days when sparring takes place.  There are still problems with youths taking too long to wrap their hands (because of goofing around), then not starting their workout right away.  No matter how many times I point out that showing up late cuts down on what they'll be able to do that day in terms of training, tardiness keeps happening.  The next step beyond that is just not allowing them to participate in tournaments due to lack of not being on time, and not training well on top of that, regardless if it was a sparring day or not.

Finally learned what happened to Deja -- she's in the gymnastics class.  Deja was one of the kids who had good potential (and her brother Terry had started to come along as well).  But it seems that gymnastics is a better fit for her.

Maybe when I come in next week, the painters will finally have finished painting the supply room.  Trust me, it's not a big job.  The painters seem to have a habit of stretching out jobs for some reason.  I could have gotten it done in a day or two.  Having painted my mother's house inside and out a few times when I was younger, I do know something about how to paint.

A Clean Room Reveals Another Theft

The photo above is of the boxing equipment room/my office at LaFollette Park.  That is the cleanest I have ever seen that room since I've been working there.  Some of the staff members helped me move practically everything out of there so the room can be spray painted (allegedly) tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I discovered that an air pump that I brought for the gym is gone.  Xavier noticed one of the speed bags was low on air, so I went to get the pump to fill it up.  I've found the equipment room open on most days when I've arrived at work when it was supposed to be locked after the painters did what little work they had been doing over the past few weeks.  With that much easy access going on, it's anyone guess who might have taken it.  A work order is going to be put in to place a lock on the cabinet from where the pump was stolen.

Another view of the equipment room, facing the back of the space.  The cabinet where the pump used to be is on the right.

Elizabeth, a pleasant, but chatty little girl, informed me that her mother signed her up for the spring session of boxing.  For a year now, she's been telling me that she didn't want to take the class, mainly because she didn't want to get hit.  I'm trying to figure out how that is going to play out.  The kids and teens' boxing classes are designed to give them an opportunity to compete.  I'm concerned that Elizabeth is going to get bored with the workout routine and the discipline that goes along with it.  Also, the youths in the gym who do want to spar and compete can be relentless about picking at the youths who don't.

I went to the Chicago Golden Gloves only to meet Kathy and Alan coming out of Cicero Stadium.  Ben's fight was rescheduled to later this week.  Kathy's fight is two weeks away.  She's nervous, but looking forward to it.  I gave her some tips about blocking out the crowd noise and listening for the coach's voice.  I hope to help Alan in the corner with both Ben and Kathy.

Pretty Girl and Maintenance Issues

Professor and Martin watch the sparring at Loyola Park gym.  Martin hasn't been in the gym in awhile, but he's planning to sign up again.  He told me about Grauben, whom I also haven't seen in awhile.  Grauben would like to return as well, but he lives way out on the south side these days.

I sparred with Kathy.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get in close enough to throw any hooks to the body.  "Catch her in corner," Alan said, and I only managed to do that once.  My head was easy pickings for Kathy.  I fared a little better with Melissa, but only because she is still new to the boxing game.  I was able to get a lot of body shots in, and a few good ones to Melissa's head.

Ben and Connor's first fights at the Chicago Golden Gloves take place this week. I'm planning to see Ben's fight, but because my niece and her husband are coming to town later, I may not get to see Connor's fight.  Kathy's fight is still not on the schedule according to what I saw on the Golden Gloves web site.

Meanwhile at LaFollette, most of the boxing equipment is still in plastic bags.  The painters responsible for fixing up the supply room have barely done anything.  I do know that at least one of them sat at my desk in the supply and leisurely worked on a puzzle in the newspaper.  Yesterday, I loaded up the top of the desk with bags of equipment so that whoever that person was will have to find another spot to sit and read the newspaper and eat,  and whatever else they've been doing at my desk.

Now the painters are claiming that more things have to be moved around and perhaps out of the supply room so they can do their jobs.  Well maybe that would have been a good thing for them to communicate up front so the painting job would have been done by now.  I'm not going to have my program and its participants disrupted and inconvenienced; the painters will have to work around us, not the other way around.  I'm still salty about the two months it took them to finish painting the gym last year.  It took me awhile to build back up the boxing program, which had been shut down all that time, because of that.  And trust me, it should NOT have taken two months to paint that gym.

Ben sparred with Xavier.  "It's going to be my funeral", he told me beforehand.  Xavier is bigger than Ben and older by three years.  But Xavier was giving pointers to Ben while they were in the ring, which I appreciated.  Ben's father was helpful as well in encouraging his son.  But Ben wasn't answering many of Xavier's punches, and he could not figure out the older boy's moves.  Ben received some good head shots and body shots.  "He'll be alright.  Ben is just mad," Ben's father said afterwards.

One of the teen girls whom I believe is a part of the gymnastics program told me she's like to sign up for boxing.  Yeah, right.  It's become easier for me to recognize the kids and teens who are all talk and have no strong interest in the sport.  Ever since I was a little kid, I've recognized the girly girl issues some females, no matter how old they are, have.  I don't have time for pretty girl issues in my gym.  You know the type. . . ."I can't have my hair and nails messed up!", "I don't like to sweat!" and other types of nonsense.  Those types of girls need to find something else to do other than come to my gym.

Between Loyola and LaFollette

Alan watches as Rojan and David spar.

I didn't spar the last time I was at Loyola Park.  Both my knees and my right shoulder said, "Hillari, please don't."  I told Alan that my right shoulder had been hurting from holding the punch mitts for some of the stronger participants in the boxing class at LaFollette Park.  "Use the punch shield instead.  I can't hold mitts for people because of my wrists," he suggested.

David also sparred with Kathy.  I had my back to the ring, shadow boxing, so I didn't see an apparently good punch she gave out.  I heard Alan exclaiming that was the best punch he had ever seen her throw.  Later, when she was on the heavy bag, Alan told someone else, "Kathy's a beast!"  She smiled.  Both Kathy and Connor have signed up to compete in the Chicago Golden Gloves.

Back at LaFollette Park, I took Alan's suggestion and used the punch shield instead of using the punch mitts.  It helped ease some of the pressure on my right shoulder.  Only TJ showed up one day, and he looked a little down because neither his cousin Earl nor any of the other kids showed up to the gym.  But I worked with him a lot using the punch shield, and he brightened up.

Xavier has been showing up regularly to the teen class every day, and he's been very consistent in training.  Xavier can fight either orthodox or southpaw.  Other fighters are going to have a hard time trying to figure out his style.  His friends Tyler and Terance haven't been as steady with their attendance.  I hope that changes soon.

Bennie has disappeared from the adult class.  He told me he was moving back into the area (currently, he lives on the south side) so maybe that's what is going on.  I'm concerned because of all the adults in the boxing gym, Bennie is the most consistent in coming to class.  Yami and Jesse returned after a brief absence.  Yami got another job which cuts down her participation in the gym to once a week.  But I understand.  She's going to school and working, and both of those things are more important than hanging out in the gym all the time.

Kids who aren't in the class have been showing up to the gym a lot lately.  I caught two kids before they started playing around with the equipment, and told them they need to sign up for the spring session.  The same two kids came back minutes later, looking for paper registration forms, which the park district doesn't use anymore.  The third time, they returned with a few more kids and had the nerve to ask me if they could go in the ring.  Do kids comprehend the word "no" anymore?  Is it not taught in schools?  Are parents giving in to every whim their kids have?  Somebody tell me something. . . . .

As for the the other kids, like nine year old Elizabeth and pre-teen Desire, for example, they're welcomed.  They usually come in to say hi and hang out for a minute before going home for the day.

Eric and Aaron may return to the kids' class for spring.  Their dad is interested in re-starting them in the sport again.  Football took them away for most of the previous session.  If they're not playing basketball this season, they may be in boxing class more often.  Justin, whose son Jaylin is already in the boxing class, told me he has an eight year old nephew he wants to sign up.  The spring session could possibly be filled up again this time.

As usual, I tripped out the kids with some information that only an old woman (me) can give.  David was talking about who might win the next presidential election, and Jaylin chimed in with his opinions.  Somehow, the subject turned to presidents being hurt while in office.  I told them about John F. Kennedy.  Both boys looked very surprised to hear about what happened to him.  They hadn't learned about the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life either.  I wondered why they hadn't covered that in their American history classes yet (David is in 5th grade; Jaylin is in 6th grade).  Jaylin shook his head at the news, and David said, "Wow, that's messed up!"