Anticipating Issues

This is a photo from when I was still at Loyola.  I was showing off my big legs for some reason; I can't remember why now.  I have yet to wear shorts down at LaFollette.  It would be appropriate now that the weather is warmer.  But then I'm still old school enough to think maybe I shouldn't be wearing shorts to work.

There's a meeting of the boxing coaches coming up soon about the upcoming Chicago Park District boxing shows.  During a previous meeting of the coaches, it was said that coaches are responsible for making sure their fighters act appropriately during the shows.  It's not the fighters I'm worried about so much.  So far, it looks as if I can only rely on Shanita, Julius, and Kishaun to actually participate in the show this July.  It's the youths who used to be in the boxing program and the ones who never were in the program whom I have to watch.

I am certain that those who are not currently signed up for the gym are going to ask if they can get a fight.  Terrance and Jermaine are the two most likely to do that.  Putting some kid in a boxing show who hasn't been training and thinks their street fighting skills are enough is a no go.  The situation would be very unfair to the kids who actually bothered to show up regularly to train.  I already know there will be a debate on that, and I'll probably have to yell to get my point across.

A few months ago, Terrianna and Te'Ria, neither of whom have an interest in boxing, were bugging me about working the corners during the matches.  Uh, no, since neither one of them stayed in the gym long enough to learn anything.  I'll choose among Kishaun, Shanita, Julius, or one of the other kids who've signed up for the summer classes to help me do that.  If Terrianna and Te'Ria keep whining and getting in the way on the day of the show, which I am anticipating, I'll put those two on the glove table to keep them away from the ring -- and me.

I'm surrounded by adults around the park who don't seem to get what boxing is about. I keep being asked if the kids at the gym will fight each other during the show.  It's been explained several times that kids from all the parks that have boxing programs compete against kids from other parks.  The other day, I was asked if the kids were going to hit each other for real during the matches.  No, the kids are going to stand in the middle of the ring and play patty cakes, I thought to myself.

Some kids are going to get their feelings hurt on the day of the show, mainly because of the annoying attitude of "I want to have my way at all times."  Those who have been doing a half-job of training will whine and complain when the outcome of a match doesn't come out in their favor.  Others will stamp their feet because I'll refuse to allow distractions and disruptions to interfere with the boxing show. Some adults will put their unwanted and erroneous two cents in, and I'll have to remind them that I'm the boss.  It will be interesting how things play out.

Loyola Park's Winning Night

As promised some time ago, here is a photo of me wearing the lovely coach's jacket that Amy gave me a few months ago.  There was no fight for me at this year's boxing show down at the field house, so I helped out everyone else in my assistant coach role.

I got to the field house a bit late.  I saw Rob, a pastor who used to train at the gym.  His sons, both heavyweights, had fights.  Rob's sons didn't win, but according to their father, they put on a good showing.

Gabriel's fight came up not long after I showed up.  The announcer got Gabriel's last name correct, but kept messing up on his first name, which I found amusing.  Usually people have problems pronouncing the last name.  Gabriel was backed up into corners and the ropes a few times, but then he used his long reach to keep the other guy from coming in on him.  The other guy took some hard straight punches and hooks from Gabriel, especially in the last round.  Gabriel was the victor.

James, or Professor, as we commonly know him, was up next in a 168 pound match.  Throughout the fast three rounds, the other boxer never got one significant hit on Professor.  Professor was clocking the guy left and right. Professor had said all day long on his Facebook page that he was going to win his fight, and true to his word, he did.

Andres was in a super heavyweight fight.  Arnold and I kept yelling from the sides, "Hit the body!"  At the end of the second round, Andres' opponent was tired, and it showed.  Andres delivered some straight shots to the guy's mid-section, and threw some hooks in that direction as well.  Andres' hand was raised in victory after it was all over.

Of the adult boxers, Matthew was the last to have a bout.  From ringside, Alan instructed Matthew to relax. Matthew was aggressive enough to back the other person up into a corner at one point.  But after Matthew was backed into a corner, the referee stopped the fight.  Confused, I asked, "What happened?"  Matthew had raised up his knee -- the same thing he did the other night when Alan had him up against the ropes while they sparred.  I heard Alan telling him, "I should have reminded you not to do that," as he took off Matthew's gloves and headgear.   The decision went to the other boxer.

Arnold took a video of me on his cell phone interviewing Professor and Andre about their fights afterwards.

Barry's fighters didn't do bad, either.  The last fight of the evening was between Dominick, and another kid. Dominick was getting the best of the kid most of the time.  The other kid got two eight counts.  Dominick won.

Arnold (who looks very good with a beard, by the way), a friend of Andres, and Andres pose with Alan right after Andres' fight.

Andres goes in for a hook to the other boxer's body.

Arnold holds the pads to help Matthew warm up for his bout.

Eric and Barry with Dominick in the corner.

Matthew (in the middle) talks to Gabriel and Nina (Matthew's girlfriend) after the fight.

Professor and Andres after Professor's fight.

Professor and Oscar.

The champions:  Professor, Andres, and Gabriel.

It was a good night.  I saw Bill, the coach at Hamlin, and he told me there's six women in his gym.  I need to get over there and get some sparring in.  I also saw Sean, who was the referee during some of the matches. Rico, who I hadn't seen since the cops vs fire fighters match a few months ago, was there, too.

Tall John was disappointed that I didn't get a fight.  He was ready to take pictures.  Gabriel wanted to see me fight, too.  "I wanted to see you throw that overhand right on someone!" he grinned.  But there are still several more tournaments to go before mid-December, and I believe I will get at least one fight at one of those shows.

Where For Art Thou, Oh Fighters?

Both Keith and Mort were nowhere to be found in the gym last night. Last night marked exactly a week before the start of the Chicago Golden Gloves. "I'm afraid Keith's not going to come in on Friday iether, and he's not going to know what's going on," I told Steve. Two years ago, Keith rolled up on the first day of the Gloves over an half-hour late to be weighed in. The officials wouldn't let him box, and he raised all kinds of sand. As much as he said he didn't want to miss out again (he couldn't do it last year due to his work schedule), I'd hate for him to lose the opportunity. However, if he doesn't show up, what can be done?

I didn't even notice Mort wasn't in the gym until the end of the night. He had been in the Gloves two years ago as well. He lost a close fight during the preliminaries. I was working his corner alongside Steve that night, and Mort was mighty hot that he had lost. He accused his opponent of playing games and being underhanded. His opponent was a bit scared of him during the rounds, judging by the way he was skipping away from Mort most of the time.

Rias would have been a good candidate for the Gloves, I believe, but he didn't sign up. Jermaine probably would have too, but he didn't register, either. Besides, Jermaine is trying to get a rap music career off of the ground. Sadiq might have won it all if he had signed up, but I sense he's had a little loss of confidence since losing his last show fight.

Erin did sparring drills with Mike last night. Once she worked her jab more, and then hooked off it, she did well. I overheard a few of the guys saying, "Man, she's good! Remember when she knocked out that girl a while ago?" My niece's mom asked me last night what happened to Kristine. As far as I know, she comes in when the kids are in the gym, but I haven't seen her in several weeks.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of the kids and teens in a long time, like Diego, Kevin (Toby), Nate Jr., Freddie, Montrell, etc. They might show up at the Gloves to watch the matches.

Boxing Vs. MMA and Coaching

I went to Mike's condo on Saturday night to watch a match between Sugar Shane Mosley and Luis Collazo. Two of Mike's buddies, Nate and Bill were there; none of the guys from the gym came by. We watched several MMA matches including the inagural ones that Showtime aired. Bill commented as we watched the Mosley-Collazo match that it was sort of a come down after the excitement of the MMA bouts.

Well, yes and no, in my opinion. MMA fighters generate a lot of heat with their kicks, takedowns and grappling, but boxing has the better bang for its buck. MMA bouts have longer rounds of five minutes, and only three or four rounds are done. Everything can be over by a submission or knockout in the first round. A fighter can be knocked down and out in the first seconds of the first round in boxing, too, but it doesn't happen all the time. MMA fans get cheated out of good fights a lot, while boxing fans get their money's worth when two great fighters go the distance. It seems that fighters have to be just about dead before referees will stop a match in MMA. Refs and coaches appear to look out more for their fighters in order to keep real damage from being done.

For example. . .Frank Shamrock jammed his opponent, one of the famous Gracie family, in the back of the head twice with his knee before the referee stepped in. Gracie had a concussion and couldn't go on. The fight was aborted unnecessarily, and after a big build up, fans were left hanging. The best MMA bout of the night took place between two women, the first MMA match with females that had been aired on TV. Those women were tough; that could have gone on more than three rounds.

Steve told me Friday night that there was a coach's clinic in Harvey, IL the following morning. If I had known about it earlier in the week, I would not have scheduled a church gospel concert rehearsal Saturday. I'll have to ask him how he finds out about the clinics, so I can put the next one in my calendar.