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.

Losing The Potentials

Here is one view of the boxing equipment room at LaFollette Park.  I put most of the stuff back in their places.

Here is a second view.  No, the kiln hasn't been moved yet, but someone is supposed to come and get it and take it to another field house.  Mitch, one of the swimming instructors, helped me set the little table back up and put the small refrigerator on top of it.  The extra heavy bags still need to be put back in the room.

I made the announcement that this is the last week of the winter session, and it's time to sign up for the spring session.  Earl and TJ waffled on whether or not they would return.  David said he's on a swim team, so he probably won't sign up again.  Michael just said straight out he didn't want to take the class again.

Xavier, Tyler, Terrance, and Ben didn't show up for the teen class.  I signed up a new guy, Jesus, for the spring teen boxing class, but I'm wondering if any of the guys who are currently in that class will come back next session.

It's so frustrating to have people in the gym, especially if they are showing mad potential, decide to walk away from the sport.  Nearly two years have gone by, and I still don't have a core group of fighters that will stick around.  I know the football/basketball/baseball coach deals with the same issue.  But then those programs have great methods of recruiting players and getting the support of parent/guardians.  Even though Coach James loses a lot of the kids before the season ends, he still has enough of a crowd to populate the games.  And a lot of those kids keep returning year after year.

The gymnastics instructor was shaking her head that only four of her girls are ready for an upcoming competition.  However, she has many kids in that class, and that class continues to grow.  Some of the girls who used to be in boxing ran off to be in that class.

I feel as if some people sign up for boxing intending only to kick the tires and window shop.  They determine what the "trial run" will be, which is usually very short.  When that time is up, people are gone, and I'm sitting around in an empty gym, twiddling my thumbs.  I would like to bring my fighters to competitions, but that's hard to do when they're not there to begin with.  Depending on how soon the competitions are coming up, there's not always time to get people ready for fights.  Then I'm back to square one.  Again.

Earl and TJ's Modus Operandi

One of the attendants at LaFollette Park shook his head when he saw the boxing equipment room (in the above photo).  It has now been painted white, but it was apparent to him that the paint job should have never taken this long to get done. I agreed.  There wasn't that much to paint. I was wishing they had asked my opinion regarding what color the room should have been painted.  Judging by the constant dust and debris there, I certainly would not have chose white as the color.  The painters dragged the job out unnecessarily, and now it appears they will take their time removing the paint and other equipment out of that room, too.

Just as sure as Roger Bolander, Virginia Johnson Bolander, Terry Murphy, and Ken Doering are abject failures as human beings (see previous posts), Earl came in with yet another excuse as to why he couldn't spar.  "Uh-huh", I said, opting not to comment any further.  TJ also had one.  "I ate too much junk food and forgot I had to go to boxing today," he said.  Jaylin won't spar with the smaller boys because of fear of hurting them.  I had sparred at Loyola Park the night before, so I didn't want to spar with Jaylin, so no sparring took place.

I replaced the air pump that had been stolen.  I now keep it locked up with the sparring gloves.  After putting air into the speed bags, I noticed that the one my friend Donna gave me has to be replaced.  It keeps leaking out air.  Looks like that's something else I will have to pay for out of my pocket.  The equipment budget for the gym is already too small to get everything for which I asked.

Marty at Simons Park returned my call on the field house phone, but I didn't get the message until after I closed the gym.  Marty must have been already gone, because when I called back, the answering machine at his field house picked up.  I'm really interested in having Marty bring his fighters over to LaFollette for the open sparring session I've planned for next month.  Simons Park is very close to LaFollette, and Marty has always been supportive of me from the get-go.

My right wrist was bothering me.  I had sprained it several years ago due to not using a properly padded set of bag gloves.  The first thing I thought was, "I hope this doesn't mean arthritis."  My late mother had a little bit of arthritis in her hands, and my oldest aunt -- who is now 90 years old -- really has a tough time with it in various joints.  Being an aging coach/fighter is a trip, but I just have to keep it moving.

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!"

Excuses For Everything

You may be wondering why a photo of the ultimate late night talk show king, Johnny Carson, is featured here.  I've been watching reruns of his show on Antenna TV lately.  I looked him up online because I could not remember what year he passed on (2005).  I learned that Carson had boxed while he was in the Navy during WWII; he had a 10-0 amateur record.

Here lately, Earl has been offering one excuse after another as to why he can't do what he's supposed to do in the gym.  I hear a boatload of excuses especially on sparring days.  Earl's favorite one is, "I don't have my mouthpiece."  Both Earl and his cousin TJ were on time to the gym because Earl's dad had dropped them off.  When the boys come on their own, they don't show up until thirty to forty minutes of class time have passed.  Earl's dad admonished his son for not keeping up with his mouthpiece, then gave me a dollar to give him another one.  "This is the last time I'm paying for a mouthpiece," he warned Earl.

Suddenly, Earl finds his mouthpiece in his coat.  Surprise, surprise.  That always happens when Earl is criticized for supposedly not having it with him.  The excuses didn't stop there.  During the warm up and shadow boxing rounds, Earl kept whining about being supposedly hurt.  I kept ignoring him, but Earl doesn't take hints well.  Finally I said something to Earl about warming up more.  Seeing that I wasn't in the mood to play sympathizer, Earl stopped talking about his "hurt".

Another annoying thing that Earl does is always insisting he only wants to do two rounds of sparring.  Then he keeps repeating it as if I hadn't gotten the message the first few times.  He is most evenly matched with his cousin TJ, so that's usually with whom I pair him. Plus, the other kids in the class do not show up on a regular basis, or else, I would match Earl with some of them.  But I know that Earl doesn't want to spar with his cousin because TJ is faster and more   aggressive.  "Earl, the park district boxing matches are three rounds.  You will not be able to tell the referee that you only want to do two rounds," I informed him.

The sparring session went well for TJ, but not so much for Earl, who kept dropping his hands.  After two rounds, TJ elected not to continue because Earl was sniffling and crying.  I opted not to show much sympathy because all of the fighters need to learn how to take hits as well as give them.  I also was still a bit irritated by Earl's earlier antics.  If only most of the kids would get it in their heads that they would do better if they took their training more seriously!  I'm not saying there never should be time for fun, games and laughs in the gym.  But there needs to be a realization that once the bell rings to start a round, time for goofing around is off, whether it's a sparring session or a real match.

Hit In The Same Spot

Michael sparred with TJ, but he didn't exactly keep all of his promises about conducting himself properly in the ring.  I don't understand -- Michael has been telling me a lot of stories about hitting back kids who are picking on him.  But Michael's alleged fearlessness towards his classmates doesn't seem to translate into confidence in the ring.

Earl took too long to decide whether he was going to spar or not.  It's a habit with him.  "I don't have my mouthpiece," Earl will announce whenever it's sparring day in the gym.  Later, he'll change his mind after much whining about having to spar with his cousin TJ.  They are a good match in terms of size, but TJ is just a little more aggressive, which scares Earl.  I keep telling Earl that he will not be able to pick and choose with whom he has a real match.  Earl might as well get used to that in terms of sparring, too.  Eventually, Earl did spar with TJ.

Jaylin, who is eleven years old, sparred with me.  I was not wearing headgear nor a mouthpiece.  I should have said, "let's go light", but I just assumed Jaylin would.  I was hit in my left cheek, the same spot where Kathy hit me last night at Loyola Park.  Jaylin also hit me in both of my eyes.  My left eye looks a little bruised, and the right eye doesn't look healthy, either.  Ah, the things a boxing coach has to do to show their fighters technique.

An Almost Knockout

Ro makes his way to the ring at Loyola Park for sparring in the photo above.  He told everyone "I'm 27 years old," to which Alan replied, "You look six!"  Ro is very young looking.

Ro faced Connor in one sparring session.

Ro also had a good match up with David.

I did five rounds of sparring: one with Deb, one with Carrie Ann, one with Melissa, and two with Kathy.  Kathy caught me with a right to my left cheek.  It nearly knocked me cold on the canvas.  She keeps improving, and her punches have gotten harder.  Kathy is going to sign up for the Golden Gloves along with Connor.  The registration is this weekend.

While cleaning up a little around the house today, I found some stuff I could take to LaFollette.  One of the items was an ab roller that I had stuck way back in one of the closets.  I haven't been using it despite my best intentions, so the people in the gym can get use out of it.  I also found instructions on wrapping hands which should be helpful to the kids.  Luckily, I also found some duct tape.  The uppercut bag has some wear and tear, and I want to patch it up.

I threw away an old heating pad.  Since my right shoulder has been bothering me, I think I got rid of the pad too soon.  Fortunately, I didn't throw away the Icy Hot or the Mineral Ice.

The Full And Empty Boxing Gym

All of the boxing classes I coach are now full.  But the numbers don't add up to actual attendance most of the time.  There are people who can only show up once a week.  Others may come in twice a week.  Then there are always those people who showed up a few times and never came back.  I have a a few people who signed up but never showed their faces in the gym at all.

I keep hearing the emphasis is on getting the numbers for the classes.  But I'm not satisfied with just having names on the attendance sheets.  I guess I just don't understand all the reasons why people don't love boxing like I do.  I do know that those who need a team of people around them to be motivated to learn in this sport don't seem to stay in it for very long.

For example, Xavier and Tyler sparred the other day.  Several kids who should have been upstairs participating in or watching a basketball game elsewhere in the field house were hanging around in the gym.  After getting on them about goofing around with the equipment, they settled down and got interested in the sparring.  As soon as Xavier and Tyler went back to training on the equipment, the kids lost interest.  Slowly they went back to where they were supposed to be in the first place.

When I first got to the field house, I hung around the front desk, waiting to see if any of the kids under twelve would show up for their class (they didn't).  Kier, one of the kids who plays the seasonal sports back to back asked if there was going to be boxing class that day.  "Why would I be here if the gym wasn't open?" was what I wanted to say.  Once again, I had to explain to Kier when the gym was open.  "There's no one here," he said.  Kier has a bad habit of attempting to use the gym as a hangout spot when Kier has nothing else to do.  I suspected that was on his mind, but I was ahead of him.  Not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice, I replied, "I have to be here at work whether or not anyone shows up."  "I know," he said.  "Really, kid?" I thought to myself.  Sorry, but I wasn't in the mood for lame conversation that day.

Maybe I'll have a full house again during the spring session.  I know it won't be like that during the summer.  I'm planning to change the class hours for the summer.  Giving everyone an hour and fifteen minutes was an experiment that didn't work, especially where the youths are concerned.  Besides, I need some time built in to sign up people and do other administrative stuff.  The youths only need an hour for their classes.  The adults can have an hour and a half because they are paying for the class.  The new time change will be the permanent one.

Second Mama In The Gym

One of the attendants, plus Xavier (a new guy in the teen class) and Xavier's friend Tyler (?) helped me put the new bag up in the above photo.  Now there are five heavy bags hanging at LaFollette Park boxing gym.  I should go to my supervisor and have him cross the Bob the Boxer punching bag off of the list of supplies I gave him.  I would love to have that, but it's more of a want than a need at this point.  I have enough heavy bags for the participants at this time.

Xavier had taken up boxing at the high school he attends, but he's never been in a tournament or boxing show.  His form looks very good, and I'm hoping to get him into the Chicago City-Wide Boxing Tournament in April.

I learned that people can apply for their amateur boxing licenses at this year's Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament registration.  People had been prohibited from doing that for a few years, and they were told to go to USA Boxing's web site to get a license.  That will be good news for some of the teens and adults I have who may be interested in that tournament.  Jesse looks like a strong possibility, but Yami may wait and compete in the park district boxing shows starting again this summer.

I still don't get why most of the youths think they can sign up for the boxing class themselves.  Assuming that they have participated in other activities and classes at the field house, I would think they would know their parents have to register them.  Over the past few weeks, there have been too many youths, mostly teens, who seem to think I can just put them on the attendance list.  When I tell them the proper procedure to follow, I get a lot of confused looks.  It's not rocket science.

Most of the under twelve years of age crowd have disappeared, including David and Devian who were the most consistent in showing up.  Among the few that still come around, I've noticed that some only seem to show up on the days that sparring takes place.  It appears that Michael, Earl, and TJ have been doing that lately (and Earl and TJ also have a habit of showing up a half-hour late to the gym).  I always have to make speeches about how the whole workout needs to be done, just not one part of it.  Besides, Michael is already in trouble -- again.

Turns out that one of the field house staff is a substitute teacher, and they were covering Michael's grade school class.  The staff member asked me to let them know when Michael's parents showed up to pick him up.  Michael allegedly was showing out in class.  The staff member also correctly guessed that Michael doesn't pay attention in the gym, either.  When it was learned that Michael's parents don't always come into the gym to get their son, the staff member said, "I'm going to be looking for them when they come inside the front door of the field house.  I'm going to tell them about Michael's behavior."

After the staff member left, Michael began grumbling about them, and how he wasn't about to take discipline from his parents.  I explained to Michael that he's always going to have to listen to somebody and be focused on the right things throughout his life.

Sometimes, I feel the same as a friend who told me about her trials with dealing with a church youth group:  "I am so tired of playing second mama to these kids all the time!"  I often find myself sounding like my late mother when I'm talking to the youths.  I'm not crazy about that.  But one of the good things about boxing is that the lessons learned there can be applied to other situations in their lives, and that is a good thing.

Women's Sparring World

It looked as if it would be all women at Loyola Park gym.  That's all who were standing around the gym door for awhile.  Eventually, some of the guys showed up.  But it was the women who dominated the sparring action.  "It looks like Women's Workout World or Curves in here," Alan said.  "I knew you would say something like that," I said, and he grinned.

Alan held the punch doughnut for a couple of the women.  A few of the guys sparred, including David (who has a good jab) and Connor, but it was the women's show from that point forward.

Before Vachel (wearing the red shirt in the photo above) sparred with Kira, she said, "Please don't hurt me!"  She hadn't sparred in a long time.

Here, Alan helps Vachel on with her gloves.  Kira also sparred with Kathy.

I ended up sparring with Deb, Rachelle, and Carrie Ann.  I took it easy on everyone, like I usually do when they are sparring for the first time.  But here's a tip:  when sparring with someone who hasn't done that before, pay attention.  Some people think, "Oh, this is light easy work,"  not keeping in mind that a newcomer will often throw wild punches while moving oddly and/or stiffly.

EJ, in the photo above, hadn't been in the gym in ages.  It was good to see him there again.  He used to live up the block from me, but he and his family have since moved elsewhere in the neighborhood.

My fame seems to be spreading.  A pastoral resident mentioned to a member of the church I've been visiting often that he wants to learn how to box.  The member told him about me being a coach.  I'm acquainted with the pastoral resident, but he didn't know about my job.  "I'm doing a spin class now, but when that's done, I will get in touch with you about boxing.  I've been interested in that for awhile," he told me.  Another member there also learned I was a coach; he used to box a little, and he's interested in having more conversations with me about the sport.

Wasted Time, Money, and Training

Deshaun works on the heavy bag in the photo above.

It was another quiet day in the gym.  Too quiet.  I understand that some people can't make it to the gym every day.  Unfortunately, that means I can't put some of them in boxing matches.  I get the feeling some parents/guardians believe their kids should get a shot at competing regardless of how infrequently their kids train.

It doesn't work like that, folks.

I can't in good conscious put a kid in a match who is not showing me much when they are in the gym.  Not every kid has natural talent.  Not every kid has the potential to be the next superstar boxer who sells out stadiums and generate high pay-per-view numbers.  Add to that the fact that most of the kids they may face from the other gyms have been training hard and making good use of their gym time.  But I'm not expecting perfection.  But I do give points for making an effort and showing motivation.  The kids who do that I will support and encourage them to do their best, even if they never bring home a trophy.

I can't muster up much enthusiasm for kids who act like they don't want to be in the gym.  Constant goofing around, talking more than listening, insisting on doing anything else in the gym other than boxing, displaying poor training habits, etc., are time wasters for both the kids and I.

As far as the adults are concerned, I can't make them stick to whatever promise they made to themselves to lose weight, get healthy, or learn to compete.  It's a shame that many pay the money, show up once or twice, then disappear.

Meanwhile, the gym is open when it is open, and I'm waiting to coach.

Michael Puts In The Work

The boy in the photo above is Michael.  The same Michael who seldom puts his wraps on right, doesn't want to do a full workout, and whines about sparring because "I don't want to get knocked out!"  Despite the fact the Michael often works my last nerve, I do like the kid.  He surprised me by not showing up with food in his hands.

Michael was the only one who showed up for the kids' class, so he and I sparred.  I wasn't wearing headgear or a mouthpiece, but I'm glad I took off my glasses.  Michael was going for my head a lot.  "Go for the body when fighting someone taller," I told him.  A good thing for him, because he got some good body shots in.  Rough for me, because I wasn't ready for some of those body shots.  Michael got me in the middle of my belly.  "Oof!" I went.  When he actually concentrates on putting muscle behind the punches, Michael can throw some hard ones.

"I like sparring with you, Miss Hillari," Michael said.  That's probably because I wasn't hitting him hard at all, and I let him get in a lot of shots on me.  I have a feeling that I will be sparring with him often.  But if that will get him used to the ring, and perhaps stop the running out of the ring when Michael is in there with the other kids, then I'll keep sparring with him.

Benjamin, in the photo above, was the only one who showed up for the teen class.  I told him about the City-Wide Tournament that is approaching.  "I don't think I'm ready for that," was Benjamin's stock answer.  "You've got two months to prepare for it," I pointed out.  "Well, maybe I will be ready for it," he said.  I hope so.  I'd like to have at least one person competing in that.

Bennie and Angela were the only two who showed up for the adult class.  Bennie has been there for a little while, but Angela is new.  Bennie is coming along; his punches are good, and his footwork is getting better.  Angela is a bubbly person who always wanted to box, but her dad wouldn't let her because of her gender. Now that she's an adult, she wants to be involved in the sport.  In many ways, the adults are more of a challenge than the youths.  Some of them, like Bennie, are thinking about competing, while others like Angela, just want to get in shape.  So I have to do my research and put my thinking cap on in order to help them reach their individual goals.

Back Up From A Parent

Michael pushed my patience to the max at LaFollette.  As usual, Michael walked into the gym with food in his hand (a fudge bar).  TJ and Earl were looking to spar with someone.  TJ and Earl had done their warm up and were doing shadow boxing while Michael finished eating, then Michael took too long to wrap his hands.  I put Michael and TJ together to spar, but Michael refused.  He sat down in a chair, with his gloves, headgear and mouthpiece in, and refused to move.

When I pressed the issue, knowing that his mom and grandfather want him to learn how to fight, Michael began to whine, "I don't want to get knocked out!"  After more snapping from me, and encouragement from Jaylin, Michael slowly made it into the ring.  It wasn't long after the bell rang that Michael rolled out under the bottom rope, refusing to answer TJ's punches.  I ordered the boy to get back into the ring.  There was another long pause before that happened.  TJ barely tapped him, but Michael did a dramatic fall to the ground.

"Boy, he didn't hit you THAT hard," I said.  Michael sat on the canvas and refused to move.  I gave him two choices: either finish the round or leave the gym.  Michael opted for the latter.  TJ was disappointed, but I put Jaylin in with him.

Later, during the teen class, Michael returned to the gym with his mom.  I explained to her what happened.  She was not happy with her son.  "We try to teach him to fight at home, but it's not working," his mom told me.  Michael tried that same whining with her that he'd done with me, but she wasn't hearing it.  She told her son to behave and pay attention when he's in the gym.  I felt good that I had back up from his parent.

Ben Jr. returned to the gym.  He and Derrick Jr. did "shadow sparring" where they move around in the ring, throw punches, but don't actually hit each other.  Ben Jr. and his family won't be around much longer.  They're planning to move to the suburbs in a few weeks.  "I still want to come back around and see Miss Hillari," Ben Jr said.  That made me feel good.

Bright Red T-Shirts

Rachelle asked me about dealing with glasses and boxing while I was at Loyola Park last night.  "I just take them off and put them to the side.  I can see well enough without them to see a punch coming in," I said.  Some will fight with contacts in, but I've seen too many people lose those during sparring to take a chance on doing that.

Vachel came back to the gym.  I broke the sad news to her that Colonel passed on.  She didn't remember who he was at first.  "Remember the guy you used to joke with about playing 'fishing music' every time he played his old music in the gym?" I asked.  "Oh, no!  Not him!  Wow, cancer just keeps taking people out," she said.

I sparred with Kathy, and no, I still didn't do a good job of getting around her long arms.  I was able to get in some straight rights to her middle and right hooks to her sides, but that's all.  Most of the time, I missed trying to get those shots in. Kira did better when she sparred with Kathy, because she kept up better with hunting her around the ring than I could.

Alan showed me some old newspaper clippings and photos that an old college girlfriend of his sent to him.  The materials were all about his time boxing while he was in school forty years ago.  "Look at me with that mustache," he laughed.  "Yeah, the 70's porn mustache," I laughed.  I finally got a look at what his coach back then looked like.  The coach was a middle-aged African-American man.  "That guy was like a second father to me," Alan said.

Alan gave me the box of LaFollette Park boxing T-shirts that I couldn't easily take home the day of the boxing coaches' meeting.  They are nice shirts.  Coach James at LaFollette will probably say again, "Hey, those shirts are the wrong color.  They should be blue like the football team's color."  I have no say-so about how the shirts will look, but I'm liking the bright red color and the boxing logo on the front.  I'll have to take a few of them at a time to work, but all of them will be in the storage room by the time the Golden Gloves start in March.

The Return of Janae

I thought it was going to be a long, quiet day in the gym.  But Deja and Terry showed up for the kids' class.  I thought it was amusing that Deja was undoing her hair.  She wears braids, and she wanted to wash her hair and have them redone.  Every few minutes, I saw her taking another braid out.

She and Terry sparred.  Terry is getting a little better each time.  I have to keep reminding him to take off his glasses before sparring, however.  Deja and Terry have to learn to take advantage of their opportunities and not wait on the other person to punch first.

Janae, who hasn't been in the program for a couple of sessions returned for the teen class, and she brought her brother, Montrell, with her.  Montrell was very eager to learn, and he sparred with his older sister.  I usually don't like letting people spar their first day in the gym, but I figured Montrell wasn't going to hurt her badly, and he didn't.  But Janae remembered the lessons she had the last time.  She clocked her brother solidly a coupled of times.

No adults came in, but it looks like the adult class has been given a green light to continue to run for the spring session.   A good amount of participants in the class during this session was enough to try it again for the spring.

Luckily, I found out that two of the heavy bags in the storage room did come with chains attached.  I'll ask one of the attendants to help me hang it up next week, then there will be five heavy bags up, plus the three speed bags that are already hanging.  Now I need some heavy rope so I can hang up the double end bag, and I should have enough equipment for people to work with for awhile.

Class Interrupted

Because everyone at the field house is not there at the same time, staff meetings are held at odd times.  A meeting took place in the middle of the eight-to-12 year olds' boxing class.  I hoped it would only run a few moments.  It ended up running until that class ended.

Before I went to the meeting, however, I had to once again contend with Michael about putting on the hand wraps.  Michael just about had one wrap almost all the way on when the whining started.  "I can't do this," he kept saying.  Michael refusal to focus and a tendency to want to be babied all the time was not something I was going to put up with yesterday.

Jaydon returned to class, which I was relieved about.  After that hit he took during sparring last Friday, I thought he would not attend class again.  The only other kid who showed up was Jaylin.  I had to leave them to their own devices when I went to the meeting.

The meeting cut into part of the teen class as well.  Meranda and her mother had just walked in.  I told them I would be back soon, but I ended up being gone another half-hour.  When I came back, Meranda was sitting next to her mother watching something on her mom's cell phone apparently for that entire half-hour.  She hadn't even put her hand wraps on.  When she finally did that, Meranda kept doing only the left jab and the straight right on the equipment, and not putting her punches all the way out.  "Meranda, you have to practice all of the punches, plus move around and stay on your toes," I said.  But Meranda continued not to show much motivation. She was the only teen who showed up for class.

I asked her mother once again about Laquan's (Meranda's cousin) whereabouts.  "Oh, he's been having a lot of basketball games," she said.  "I can't put Laquan in any boxing matches if he's not here training consistently," I said flatly.  Meranda's mother looked concerned, but I can't afford to take risks by pushing kids into fights for which they are not ready.  I'm not going to keep worrying about Laquan, Charles, or Elijah as all of them have the same excuse for not training in the gym.

I was happy to see Jessie and Yami show up for the adult class based on how unproductive the teen class was.  Both Jessie and Yami have pretty good form.  But Jessie gave me a bit of a scare yesterday.  "He didn't tell you what happened?" Yami asked me.  By that time, Jessie's dad and little brother had walked into the gym.  Jessie's dad look concerned about his son moving around.  Jessie had injured a muscle in his leg.  He told me the doctor said it was okay to work out, but I told Jessie if his leg is bothering him, he should take it very easy.  I worked on the punch mitts with Yami, but Jessie couldn't do it because his leg started giving him trouble.  Both Yami and Jessie were tired out, so they left early.

I have three boxing competitions to worry about:  the Golden Gloves (which any of the adult participants can register for), the City-Wide Boxing Tournament (that takes place in April), and the park district boxing shows (which start in mid-summer).  I understand I have to keep up with administrative issues because I work in a municipal/public gym.  But getting people ready for those competitions is more of a concern to me right now.