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.

"They Always Goad Me Into This S&%$!"

The new people take a big interest in a sparring session between John and Ren in the photo above.  Just about the entire gym stopped to watch.  Alan gave everybody the opportunity to spar, but of the newcomers, only John, Ren, and Tony decided to participate.  Pedro told me that he would love to do it (and I was thinking he'd be a good match up with Andres), but he wanted to wait awhile before stepping into the gym.

John (on the left) and Ren were the first up.  John got a lot of good hits in on Ren, including the one in the photo above, where he broke Ren's guard to land a left jab.  Ren told Alan and I that he didn't like to wear headgear.  "It feels so tight, and it cuts off my wide vision to an extent," Ren explained.

Franco was very eager to get into the ring, and he started with Robert, one of the newcomers.  Robert took some hard pops, but he stayed in with Franco.  "Easy, easy," Alan kept warning Franco whenever he threw a hard punch at Robert.

Franco's brother, Tony, took on Gabriel.  Tony was throwing both hands out at Gabriel.  Gabriel covered up very tight, and picked his shots.

Franco and Tony sparred, and Alan kept telling Franco to grab his brother's arms when Tony threw flurries of punches.  Franco wouldn't do it.  "Don't grab his head, that's not stopping anything!" Alan said.  Tony is heavier than his brother, and we could tell that Franco was really getting rattled from the punches.  In the middle of the second round, after Alan admonished Franco again for not grabbing and holding Tony, Franco came out of the ring.  "It's too hard for me to do.  You get in," he told Alan.  I helped Alan on with his gloves.  "They always goad me into this s&%$!" Alan grumbled.  "And you take the bait," I replied.

Alan and Tony's sparring session was rough and tumble with a lot of punches going on during the clinches.  Tony seemed to be hitting Alan harder than he did Franco.  Alan ended up falling back into the ropes after one hit, but each hard hit just motivated the coach to return even harder hits back.  Alan grabbed Tony's arms to slow him down, and then turned to Franco and said, "See?"

Another three hard rounds were done by Alan and I.  I got him with a right and a left hook to the head.  "Uh-huh, so that's how it's going to be," he grinned, before pummeling me with some body shots.  I went "oof!" a few times, and Alan laughed, "That's how I know when I've hurt you."  "Oh, alright!  I see how this is going," I said, before answering his punches with more hooks to his sides, and uppercuts to his body.
We kept needling each other like Spider Man trash talking Dr. Ock during one of their many confrontations.
Alan's going to be sixty-two years old this Friday, but apparently age is nothing but a number to him when he's in the ring.  I know I'll be feeling those punches I took tomorrow.  Especially that one I took to the gut.

Coaching Thoughts

I've always liked this photo of Brandy and Alan, which was taken during last year's Golden Gloves boxing tournament.  Brandy is all smiles, while Alan looks like he's going to give orders to some associates later on: "Saul, Reuben. . . .it'll happen at the warehouse at midnight.  There won't be any slip-ups this time."

Now that the new year is here, I realize that it'll be time to renew my coach's license soon.  I originally went to a coach's clinic and got a license out of frustration.  I wasn't getting any actual fights for the longest time, then I was diagnosed with diabetes, and there went my chance to compete in sanctioned matches.  There was a point when I was going to walk away from boxing completely, then it dawned on me that I liked coaching.  I had been assistant coaching unofficially down at the gym ever since Steve was the coach, so I decided to make it official.

There's no school for coaching.  Every coach I know picked it up by working next to a seasoned coach and observing what they did.  It also helped that most of them had boxed, whether as amateurs and/or professionals, so they knew what all goes into that.  Learning how to coach also involves observing other boxers in the gym and analyzing what they do. 

Each coach has their own style.  Some are very hands on, stepping into the ring themselves to spar in order to better show fighters techniques.  Other yell orders and curse from the sidelines like drill sergeants.  Some are better in one-on-one situations, while others can work with large groups at one time.  I've done the group lesson approach from time to time, but I feel I do better with one or two people at a time.  Sometimes, I think I sound more coherent around a few people than with many.  I'm always concerned about either rambling too much or repeating myself unnecessarily, too. 

My mother used to say to people, "You know I can sing, so that means I know how to scream loud, too."  Sometimes, I use that same phrase on people, depending on the situation.  But I'd rather not scream and yell to get points across in the gym.  Most people tend to be more receptive to advice when it's delivered with an inside voice as opposed to an outside one.  But I'm an urgent encourager, and I try to show that I can relate when a fighter is trying to push through and master a concept.  A few years ago, Momo (Muhammad) was in the middle of a sparring session.  He had barely got to the middle of the second round before complaining about, "I'm too tired!  I can't go on!"  Momo was running from the other person, not returning punches, etc.  "I need to lose some weight, and I'm got arthritis in both knees, but I keep going.  Momo, you're about twenty years younger than me - you can do this," I told him.  He completed the round.

Watching a lot of boxing matches is another good way to develop an eye for what works and doesn't work during fights.  I don't mind listening to the boxing analysts while watching fights, but it might be a good idea to record the fight on the VCR, DVD player, or the TiVo, then play it back with the sound turned down.  See if your opinion matches up with what the analysts saw. 

I've helped out coaching kids, and I've helped out with coaching adults.  Which group is easier?  It depends on the people involved.  The younger the kids are, the more eager they seem to learn and the closer they listen.  Some teenage boys walk into gyms with the "I know everything already" attitude, however.  Some adult men do the same thing, and that is hard to work with.  Females can be a mixed bag.  Some are game to take on challenges from day one regardless of what level of experience they had before they got to the gym.  Others will recoil in horror as soon as I start talking about taking and giving punches.  Most women are not afraid to ask a lot of questions, and they will usually investigate thoroughly before signing up for lessons. 

Patience is valuable in coaching, because all kinds of personalities show up at boxing gyms.  The coach has to work with everyone, but they're not going to click personality-wise with all who come through the door.  When people in the gym are showing out, the coach can't always go there with them.  My father would often say, "I don't want to say anything, because I know it's going to start an argument."  But Dad would always ignore the filter and make his remarks anyway, and then the shouting matches between him and I would begin.  There's been a many a day in the gym where I kept my filter on in order not to make a tense situation worse.  The few times I did blow up -- on Igor,  and on Jordan, in particular -- I still made an effort to carefully measure out what I was going to say. 

I'd like to attend another coaches' clinic at some point.  Unfortunately, most of them are held way out in the 'burbs, and I can't get to them easily.  They're also usually held on days and times when I can't go due to something else on my calendar. I'm at Level 1, and I'm thinking maybe it would be to my advantage to move up to the next level. 

Volunteering To Fight

You may be wondering, "This chick has mentioned several times that she's a volunteer in the gym.  What does she do exactly?"  Well, I'll tell ya.

I'm usually in the gym before the coach.  Alan, like Steve before him, usually is late to the gym.  Unless the coach says otherwise, the field house staff can open the gym door for me.  The same rule is in effect if the coach is not going to be in that evening, and they have alerted the field house staff ahead of time.  That way, people can come in and work out, and the gym will be monitored by someone.  If the coach is not in that night, I make sure I'm the last one leaving the gym.  I alert the field house staff that everyone is gone so they can lock the door.

Once I change into my workout clothes, I fill up the water bottles.  The water is important to have available for boxers during sparring sessions.  The water is also there for those who are working out, but don't have their own water bottles with them.  I usually fill up my water bottle too, killing two birds with one stone.

If the timer is not already on, I set it for three minute rounds with a one minute rest.  Then I do a little cleaning up.  Nothing major like sweeping and mopping, but if I see stuff on the floor, or out of place, I'll pick it up.  I do pick up again at the end of the evening.  There's always gloves that have fallen off the table, towels laying near the ring, or stray mouthpieces around. 

If Alan steps out of the gym for any reason, I'll stay back to keep an eye on things.  When he is busy with the boxers who are sparring, I'm the second set of eyes watching everything else that is happening.  If people come into the gym inquiring about the program, I answer their questions.  I keep kids and teens from running through the gym. 

If someone needs help with technique, I show them with input from Alan.  Sometimes, I will help monitor the sparring, especially if Alan puts on the gloves to mix it up with one of the guys.  Sparring is not allowed when Alan is not in, and I'm supposed to keep people from doing that when the coach is out. 

When we're out at boxing shows, I may do any number of things: assist in the corner with the coach, keep an eye on everyone's personal stuff, record videos and/or take photos of the matches, assist with warming up the boxers before the matches, and whatever else is needed. 

I keep up with information about the dates when the gym session starts, and the times of the Golden Gloves Tournament.  Steve would often forget names of people in the gym, and Alan does, too, so I remember for the coach.

"You Do What?"

This past weekend, I attended my high school class reunion. The classes of 1978 and 1979 celebrated together (I'm part of the latter class). People were asking each other what do they do for a living now. "I'm a church secretary by day, and an assistant boxing coach at night", I told Dennis, one of my former classmates. His eyes lit up, and he laughed. "That's how we Whitney Young High School students are -- full of surprises!" he said. Then we talked about how good of a fighter Manny Pacquiao is.

Others at my reunion had similar reactions when I told them. Dorian, andother former classmate, had taken martial arts for a time. Her youngest son now teaches it. "I used to spar, but I got hit in the stomach once and that was it," she told me. I told her and several others about being knocked out in the gym a few weeks ago by Ieisha. The alumni cringed. "Wow, you are something else," someone told me.

Last night in the gym, I told Leon about the damage he'd done to Deo. Alan told me that Deo had his eye operation, and was doing fine. "You're kidding me," Leon said. "I feel so bad. I didn't think I hit him that hard." I thought the same way when I knocked out Maggie, but I underestimated my own strength.

Alan mentioned a bout to Leon that is taking place out in Mundeline. I overheard Leon say that he had no boxing gloves. I thought about a pair that I have at home, but I think they are more suited to martial arts than boxing. I brought them while I was still attending Degerberg Martial Arts Academy.

Get your boxing gloves and equipment for less.

Once again I teased little Justin about him and I sparring. He gave me a funny look as he played with his Spiderman action figures. "You must be thinking, 'this woman is crazy,' " I told him. He smiled at me. His father, Carlos, sparred with Alan. I was worried when Alan took a few hits; he was not wearing headgear. Carlos and Alan kept locking each other up. I was watching on the sidelines, calling out, "Break!" whenever they did.

Carlos also sparred with Ralphie. During the last 30 seconds of the last round they were in the ring, Ralphie let loose with some fast combinations. He had Carlos up against the ropes a few times while doing that.

Jamil is getting better in the ring. He was sparring with Oscar, who kept his head down too much. I wish I had paid more attention in my high school Spanish classes. Oscar doesn't speak a lot of English. It would be nice if I could help Alan relay instructions to him. But Ralphie, Carlos and Al help with that when they are around.