I Need A Break From People

I had to remind myself that even if the installation of windows at the field house wasn't going on, the boxing gym would have been closed anyway for the next few weeks.  I don't keep it open during the breaks in between sessions.

When I first began working at La Follette Park, I tried to follow Steve, and later, Alan's lead of keeping the gym open during the session breaks.  I suspect most of the other Chicago Park District boxing coaches keep their gyms open as well.  But quickly I learned that those who don't show up with consistency during the regular session were not suddenly going to become considerate enough to show up during the breaks.  It doesn't matter even if boxing shows are going on during the breaks; people vacate the gym and don't keep up with what is going on top of that.  I need to take care of the paperwork as well as clean the equipment, so I close the doors.

Another important reason I need to close the gym is I need a break from people.  I've never hidden the fact that unlike most, I don't automatically go ga-ga over every youth I encounter.  I wasn't born with a high maternal instinct.  If I've gone through a session that was overly problematic because of having to deal with attitude and behavioral problems and other issues out of one or more kids, I need to be able to distance myself from that during the breaks.

Also to preserve my sanity, I need to be away from some parents, guardians, and those who sign up for the adult class who do things that make my job harder than it needs to be on any given day.  Some are constantly trying to bend the boxing program to suit them regardless of the established rules and regulations and the fact there are other people in the gym.

As a part-time employee, I don't get vacation days.  I have to fit in a respite where I can, and shutting the gym down during the breaks is how I have to do that.

Hustling At Harrison

I had reminded Henry and David's dad about the boxing show at Harrison Park some time ago.  Unfortunately, the boys were no-shows, and there were kids there with whom they could have had a fight.  Having La Follette's gym being shut prematurely due to window installation plus the fact that we're now on a break until the fall session begins has made it difficult to keep in touch with people about the ongoing boxing shows.  I was judging fights again as I had no fighters present.

I noticed there is construction going on at Harrison Park as well.  I felt their pain.  There was a good turnout for the boxing show, however.  There were 12 fights instead of the usual ten, but the action went quickly.  The fights took place in a basketball gym inside the field house.  Usually, that show is held on the outside, but the construction I saw may have been the cause for the change in location. 

During one of the earlier fights of the evening, I thought both boys did a great job.  But one boy did a little bit more than the other one, so he won the fight.  The boy who didn't win took his trophy and no sooner than he stepped out of the ring, the boy was blubbering.  I always feel bad when I see that.  Sometimes when I see kids crying because they lost, I feel like crying with them.  I looked for that boy later to give him some encouragement but he must have left the park quickly.

Solomon, who fights out of Loyola Park, won his fight against a boy from Garfield Park, which was no easy feat.  The fighter from Garfield Park won the first round against Solomon, popping him with several punches.  During the next two rounds, Solomon carefully watched the other guy and picked his shots.

While sitting at one of the judges' tables, I imagined what it would have been like if my late younger sister was sitting next to me.  I've mentioned before that while she liked the ideas of beating on people, she wasn't crazy about me being involved in the sport.  She might have enjoyed watching the action close up like that, however.  Then I imagined my late mother sitting next to me at the table.  She wasn't supportive of me fighting.  Ma probably would have criticized everything that went on during the show, despite the fact that she had an appreciation for the sport. 

The Usual Sign Ups

So far, the upcoming fall boxing class session is populated with the usual faces: Henry and David, Kayla, Anayah, and Damaris.  The teen and adult classes are empty at the moment, and I expect them to stay that way until right before the session begins or until shortly after the session begins.  The people in the neighborhood that surrounds La Follette are notoriously slow about signing up for anything that goes on at the field house. 

The one camp counselor whom I had a run-in with earlier in the season was up at the front desk yesterday when a call came in for me.  She rudely announced to me that I had one, laying the receiver down on the counter instead of handing it to me.  I guess she's still angry because she failed to get me in trouble with the supervisor.  I ignored her attitude.  The call was from Anayah's mom who was having a hard time coming in to re-register her daughter.  Since Anayah is already in the computer system, I told her mom that I would take care of it.  Right after that call ended, Damaris showed up in-person with her mom and little sister to register. 

Malik has been sniffling around as of late asking about re-registering for the teen boxing class.  Frankly, I'm not expecting that to happen.  Malik has some interest, but like too many of the youths associated with the boxing program in the past, they're dealing with too many distractions.  However, I'd be a little bit more accommodating about allowing Malik back in than I would Dexter.  Dexter appears to have given up on trying to run game on both myself and Sahia.  I hope it stays that way.  There are youths whom I never want to see in my gym again. 

Thankfully, today is the last day of the extended summer camp.  I doubt that program was able to tear up my gym over the last few weeks due to the fact that new window installation has been going on.  But I wouldn't be surprised if, despite all the "danger - construction" signs, and notices about asbestos being present that the summer camp coordinator and camp counselors were still distributing lunches and snacks to the kids from down there.

Once again, I found the equipment room open the other day yesterday.  I knew the people doing the construction didn't bother to make sure the staff on hand could secure the door before they left.  The level of inconsiderate behavior from outside maintenance crews is extremely high.  I locked the door during the brief time I checked the gym to see if any progress was being made towards me being able to get back in there before September.  It wasn't.

Closing Up The Session

The boxing gym was a mess when I looked at it today.  I had no choice but to call those who had been regularly attending the class and tell them the summer session was over.  I reminded people to re-register for the fall class which doesn't begin until September.  So far, Kayla is already back in. Henry and David are planning to come back.   However, Aarav probably will not return, and I don't exactly have solid answers from everyone else.

The premature closing of the gym means I'll be stuck sitting behind the front desk counter which is my least favorite area of the field house.  Not being able to access the gym easily means I won't get a chance to clean the headgear, gloves, and hand wraps.  Hopefully, the construction -- which consists of replacing the old windows in the field house -- will be wrapped up before the break period is over.  But knowing the track record of other outside construction companies the park district has worked with, I'm not banking on the work being finished on time.

Harrison Park and Eckhart Park's boxing shows will take place during the break.  I'll see if Henry and David will be able to go since they are the two best prepared to compete.  If not, I'll go to those shows regardless. 

Well, That Wasn't A Good End To The Session

Due to the window installers dragging their feet, the boxing gym hasn't been open all week.  Allegedly, the installers have no friggin' clue what progress is going to be made from day to day.  They can't tell Steve, the field house supervisor, what is going on, which means he can't tell me what is going on.  I can't tell the youths and parents what is going on.  This is yet another example of poor planning between the park district and an outside construction company. 

The program has to be inconvenienced during the last two weeks of the summer session -- really?  While boxing shows are going on?  While registration is going on for the fall session?  Z, one of the seasonal attendants, told me he had been inside the gym and the room is a mess.  I haven't seen the inside of the gym since last Friday (I took a personal day on Saturday and the neighborhood alderman's annual festival was going on).  I shudder to think what I'll find if I'm able to go inside before the summer session ends at the end of next week.  I have a feeling that the summer session has ended prematurely.

No More Late Sign Ups

It occurred to me that Leah has not been in the gym for a few days.  She only showed up once.  We went over jabs, straight rights, and basic footwork.  Sahia had talked to Leah's mother about the class and encouraged to register her child.  I signed the girl up because Leah's mother was so upset about her daughter having been picked on during the summer camp at another field house.  Normally, I don't sign up anyone after the middle of the session has passed by.  This will be the last time I do that as long as I am the boxing coach at LaFollette.

One of the reasons it's not a good idea to sign up people so late in the session is because of what I observed with Leah -- people immediately stop showing up  Some coaches keep their park district gyms open during the two, three, or four-week breaks between the 10-week sessions.  I learned quickly that people who haven't been showing up regularly to train during the normal sessions aren't necessarily going to be dedicated enough to show up during the break periods.  That alone is part of the bigger issue of participants not being motivated, signing up for boxing for the wrong reasons, indifferent parents, and guardians, etc.  Also, I have to get stuff done like clean the equipment and enter attendance numbers.  I can't do those things easily while class is in session.

People will point out, you have a volunteer.  But all supervisors don't view volunteers in the same way.  They certainly don't give all volunteers, regardless of the program or activity, the same privileges.  For example,  when I volunteered in the boxing gym at Loyola Park, I could run the gym in the place of the coach if they were not available on any given day.  However, the supervisor at LaFollette does not allow Sahia to open up the gym and run the program if I'm not there.  The program is officially not going on during the breaks so the volunteer would not be able to run it during that time, either. 

Etonia is another person I signed up late, as well.  She hasn't shown up yet.  I'm not calling her to find out what's up with that especially in light of the fact that next week is the last week of the summer session.  If people are really interested in participating, then there's no need for me to chase them.  I don't have time - nor interest - to do that anyway. 

Rain Holds Off At Seward Park

It was predicted that there was a 30% chance of rain today.  Fortunately, no rain came down, so the boxing show at Seward Park went on as planned.

There were seven fights.  A lot of kids showed up later to weigh-in most likely due to heavy traffic.  Some streets were closed to accommodate the upcoming Lollapolloza music fest.  A Chicago Cubs game was going on, and part of Lake Shore Drive had been shut down due to a protest.  Henry and David were there early and weighed-in; both of them got fights.

Unfortunately, neither of the boys won their matches.  Henry was up against a kid from Ogden Park.  As usual, Coach Kenny was barking orders to his fighter.  It's funny how Kenny does that without being animated like most of the other coaches.  It's the way he says things and the tone of his voice as he sits stationary at ringside. 

David probably could have won his fight against a kid from Portage Park.  The other kid was heavier and slower.  Like his brother Henry, David wasn't aggressive enough and kept waiting on the other person to throw a punch first.  But I was glad that both boys were able to get fights.

Damaris was a no-show.  She wasn't in the gym the day before which wasn't a good look.  I'm seriously considering not allowing her to fight for the rest of the session.  Damaris keeps telling Sahia and I that she wants to fight, then she backs out of shows at the last minute.  I can't keep going through ups and downs with that girl. 

Alan was at the show, and he told me he plans to go to Sheridan Park's show, which is next week.  I'm going to skip that one and Ogden Park's show as well to give Henry and David some extra training time before Harrison Park's show. 

Henry Shows His Skills

Seward Park's boxing show is coming up this week.  I expect Damaris to do what she usually does -- back out of it at the last minute.  I have high hopes for Henry and his brother David, however.  They have been working hard.  I think the both of them will be able to get fights at Seward.

Sahia keeps asking about Lael and Arrav's chances at getting fights.  The reality is, they don't have any.  I'm not backing down on the "train five days a week or no fights" rule.  Lael is only good for showing up one to three days out of the week.  Recently, I found out the boy shouldn't have been allowed in the class due to his age. I overheard him tell someone, "I'm seven years old."  The youngest participants are supposed to be eight years old.  Lael's mom signed him up online.  If had signed him up in person, Lael would have had to wait until the fall when his birthday takes place to be in the class.  That is another reason why parents and guardians are supposed to talk to me before registering their kids.

Arrav told me he couldn't come to class two days of the week, and he actually ended up missing three days.  Usually, the boy only shows up at the gym once a week.  I understand Arrav is signed up for several other activities going on at the same time.  Youths who are picking and choosing what days they can come to the gym will never train enough to my satisfaction to be allowed to get fights.

Henry sparred with Damaris.  Her father insisted that she wear a chest protector before sparring.  I didn't think she really needed it, but it brought out for her to wear.  Henry did hit her in the chest a few times.  Damaris kept pawing at him, something both Sahia and I have told her to get out of the habit of doing for a few months now.  She also had her hands down.  Each time Henry punched her in the face, I pointed it out to her.  Henry tagged her five times. 

At the end of class, Sahia and I presented Henry with a certificate and trophy for outstanding sparring.  Henry's dad, Julio, was extremely happy and proud of his son.  Sahia and I felt good about being able to acknowledge Henry's hard work. 

I Don't Take Orders

The summer day camp coordinator got angry with me yesterday because I locked the door to the gym.  Let me back up.  Just about every day I get to work, the door to the gym is open.  Yesterday, both the door next to the stairwell leading downstairs and the main gym doors were open.  Summer camp was over for the day, yet the camp coordinator felt they should be able to keep marching kids through the area. 

I lock the doors behind me when I get in.  Class begins a half-hour after I get there, and I use that time to set the gym up.  Every day, I set out gloves, the ring timer, the clock, jump ropes, medicine balls, the balance board, the footwork cones, and water bottles for the participants to use.  I don't need to be distracted by random youths and adults roaming into the gym during that time.  I don't open the doors again until five or ten minutes before class begins. 

"Why did you do that?" she demanded when I opened the door after I heard her and several kids banging on it.  She doesn't look anything like my mother when she was alive, and even less so now that Ma is deceased.  I ignored her.  "I know you heard me when I told you to leave the door open!" she snapped.  She may have mumbled something to me in passing when I first got there, but remember folks, I'm an old woman.  I don't hear so well sometimes.  Maybe being post-menopausal has something to do with that.  At any rate, I don't take orders from people who don't sign my paychecks.  I especially didn't feel the need to respond to her since she believes I'm a monster towards kids simply because I never gave birth to any.

"I'm tired of this!" I heard her grumbling as I continued to go about doing my job.  Maybe she complained to our supervisor about me -- again.  Whatever.  My reaction to her foul attitude reminded me of a statement one of those TV judges made to a youth standing in their courtroom: "I don't argue with children." 

Questions That Make Me Shake My Head

1.  Do people hit each other for real?
People who ask me this question when inquiring about signing up for the boxing class are usually people whom I do NOT want in the class.  It indicates an extreme misunderstanding of the sport in general.  Even those who aren't major fans of the sport have a basic idea of what goes on in it and have probably seen clips of boxing matches.  I know people have heard of fighters being injured, so I don't get why anyone would believe the punches thrown aren't real. 

2.  Are we sparring today?
It's a legitimate question only if there are several others on the premises.  The question doesn't sound intelligent when asked by someone who happens to be the only person who showed up that day. 

3.  Is it okay if I or my kid can't make it to the gym every day? 
Yes, but people aren't going to be allowed to participate in boxing competitions if they don't train every day the gym is open.  Please, I might not allow people to spar depending on their attendance. 

4.  Can I just come in and hit the bags and get in the ring?
No.  I make some exceptions for those who I know are training at other park district gyms and professional boxers that come through from time to time.  Otherwise, both youths and adults need to be officially signed up for the class.

5.  I have one kid in the class, but could you show my other kid(s) who aren't in the class a few moves?
No.  The main reason I get asked that is because the siblings, cousins, whoever of the kid who is already in the class are too young to register for the boxing class.  The second reason is that the parent or guardian has babysitting issues.  They figure since the other kids are there, why not let them join in? 

6.  Do the times of the boxing classes change each session?
 It's not a college course that is offered at different times each quarter or semester.  The youth boxing classes, like other youth activities at the park district, are designed to catch youths as they are coming out of school.  And no, the days and times the class meets is not going to change during summer just because school is out. 

7.  Can I or my kid come in and work out during an earlier or later class?
No.  The classes are divided by ages for a reason.  An eight-year-old can't spar with a 15-year-old.  I'm not putting a 15-year-old in the ring to spar with a 35-year-old adult.  I don't want to deal with parents who are upset because teenagers and/or adults are in the gym with their grade-school age kids.  Most adults don't want kids underfoot while they're trying to exercise.

8.  Can I or my kid sign up even though physical and/or mental issues are present?
Depends on what those issues are.  But common sense should have dictated that a check-up should have been done long before showing up to register for the class.  Even if I'm not told about those issues and people sign up anyway, I will eventually figure out what's up.  When I do, depending on the situation, I may take people out of the class. 

9.  I've got a couple of youths who are arguing with each other.  Can they put on the gloves, get in the ring, and duke it out?
No, no, and no.  Usually, the youths in question aren't signed up for the program.  The youths should be shown there are other ways to solve their differences than putting their hands on each other.  If they are determined to fight anyway, they'll do it elsewhere but not in my gym.  The equipment in the gym is NOT to be used for purposes other than what is intended.  I'm not about to risk losing my job because of allowing any and everybody to walk up in the gym and do whatever they want. 

10.  Can I just pay you so you can let me train in the gym?
This is asked of me by adults who don't want to officially register for whatever reason, and who don't want to pay the full fee for the class.  I get a check from the park district every two weeks for my services.  I can't accept money under the table from people who don't want to follow rules and procedures.  The park district does not run open gyms nor accepts day fees. 

11.  Can I bring my friends here to train?
Another question that comes mostly from adults looking to give their buddies a hookup.  Yeah, their friends are welcomed -- as long as they understand they have to pay for the class.  And even though the youth classes are free, everyone in those classes has to be accounted for on my attendance rosters.

12.  Seriously -- you're the boxing coach?
Yeah, women do box, act as judges, referee, and coach.  If people have a problem with me because of my gender, they are free to go to other gyms.  I don't have time to deal with sexism. 

"It's An Easy Money Fight!"

The photo above is of Marty (on the right), the coach at Simons Park, and one of his fighters who was successful in winning a trophy at the Garfield Park boxing show.

George, the coach at Garfield, has been there for 28 years. I heard George tell one of his fighters in-between rounds, "It's an easy money fight!  Just keep going for his head and body!"  George was telling him right.  The kid's opponent was easy pickings.

I was judging the fights.  For the first time in my memory, all of the fighters I had listed on the cards to win did..  There were nine fights, and they went rather quickly.  One fight looked in danger of being stopped when one of the fighters, who was from Humboldt Park, told the referee that it felt like his shoulder had come out of the socket.  The EMT people on hand checked it out, and it was fine.  The fight continued, and the guy from Humboldt won.

Damaris showed up and so did Anayah but neither of them opted to fight.  Damaris' mother told me yesterday that her daughter "wasn't sure" if she wanted to fight.  Damaris didn't bother to tell me anything this time, after having already backed out of fighting at the Humboldt and LaFollette shows.  A week or so ago, Damaris had told Sahia that she wanted to be "worked harder" in the gym in order to be prepared for the Garfield Park show.  But once again, that girl's words didn't match her actions.  While driving home last night, I noticed that I hadn't packed my coach's bag for today's show.  It was just as well.

All of the girls in the youth class appear to have no further interest in competing.  I'll have to pin my hopes on Henry and his brother David.  Their father inquired about them participating in Garfield's show, but the boys had signed up for the class less than two weeks before.  They will be better prepared for the Seward Park show which takes place in early August.  I might consider Aarav for that show, too, despite the fact that Aarav only comes to class once a week.  Aarav was looking sharp when I put him in to spar last week against David.

Summer rolls along.

Parents Don't Run Programs

"The parents do not run these programs."  That statement has been repeated frequently to me over the past several weeks.

Recently, a parent told me they don't want their kid participating in any boxing shows for at least a year.  They feel their kid needs to train more. Their kid has been in the program for several months and has a good presence.  They're more than ready to take on a boxing match.  Languishing in the gym for several more months without being able to test their skills out, especially when other kids are competing, is not a good idea.  There are already signs that the kid is getting bored and treating their time in the gym as a time for socializing instead of training.

There is another kid in the class who has been there almost a year and has yet to participate in a boxing show.  Their parent has also made similar statements about not wanting their kid to be in fights until they've trained for months.  That parent also has issues about other kids interacting with their kid.  But I'm not running a private boxing gym and working with highly paid fighters who have the luxury of picking and choosing whom they will fight with and when.  I'm dealing with a city-run operation that puts heavy emphasis on the quantity of youths in the class and expects maximum participation.

There have been problems with people not attending the gym on Saturday, which is the day sparring takes place.  I changed sparring to that day partially based on some parents telling me that it was easier for them to come to the gym to watch their kids on that day.  Now I'm hearing Saturday is a problem because the parents -- not the kids -- have scheduled other things to do on that day. It was suggested to me to switch sparring back to a weekday, if only temporarily, to give at least one of the kids who has been skipping Saturdays a chance to spar.  I seriously doubt I'm going to do that because there are other kids can be present on that day and whose parents have an interest in making sure they are in the gym.

Over the past four years, I have gained a good idea of what works for the boxing program in general.  I do know that the program -- or any other park district program -- can't run properly if schedules and lesson plans are constantly being changed around based on the personal calendars of the participants. I've come to the point where I have just about set the boxing gym schedule in stone.  I'm not going to make anymore concessions to people who don't want to abide by it.

Is She The Same Girl?

Damaris has been surprising both Sahia and myself.  Damaris is itching to be in a boxing show, and she wants to be worked harder in the gym.  For a long period of time, Damaris gave the impression that training was the very last thing on her mind.  But her focus has improved and her skills have become a bit better.  

But unfortunately, she doesn't have adequate sparring partners in the gym.  She's not really a good match with Anayah, Kayla, Lael, nor Aarav.  Elijah is taller and bigger than all of the other kids, so she can't spar with him, either.  Garfield Park's boxing show is coming up soon, and Damaris is going to need to spar.  I'm going to have to allow her to do very light sparring with Anayah or Kayla.  I won't feel comfortable allowing her to participate at Garfield Park unless she does.

I'm also hoping that Garfield Park's show doesn't get canceled.  There were a lot of hard feelings about the Humboldt Park show being shut down at the last minute.  My show was rained out.  I'm assuming that Taylor Park's show went on as planned today.

Sahia wisely pointed out to Damaris not to base what the Garfield Park show will be like based on  the Fosco Park show that took place back in May.  Due to low turnout, every fight at Fosco was turned into sparring sessions.  There were no knockouts nor big injuries.  That probably will not be
the case at Garfield.

Two new kids, Henry and David, signed up for the youth class today.  For the past three weeks there has been a pattern of kids dropping out or being withdrawn from class by me only to be quickly replaced by others.  Henry and David's father was so glad he was able to get them into class.  The boys appear to be ready and willing to work.  That's all I ask.

Seven Down

So far, so good . . . no major problems in the gym since summer camp began this week.  I haven't noticed any vandalizing of the bulletin boards or equipment.  However, it's early in the season.

Seven kids are now gone from the youth class.  This is only the third week of the session.  Yesterday, a set of twins admitted to their guardian that they were not interested in continuing to take boxing.  They left in the middle of the class.  One of them double backed to me to explain their twin didn't like jumping rope because they couldn't get the hang of it.  "What the . . .?" I thought to myself.  Neither of the twins showed much enthusiasm for anything in class from day one.  The sport is just not a good fit for everyone, no matter how much a parent or guardian may think it is for their kids.

Elijah finally showed up to class yesterday (he signed up weeks ago), but again, there was the issue of not being able to show up every day.  "I'm not sure if I can get him here every day," his mother told me.  He wasn't there today.  One reason I know for the absences is that Elijah attends summer camp, but not at LaFollette.  It takes a while to get over to boxing from that other camp which is a good distance away.   I learned from Elijah that there's no coach at Seward Park now; Elijah had previously trained over there.  Allegedly, Mike resigned right before the summer session began.

Aarav was missing, too.  He can only come to the gym two days out of the week and today was supposed to be one of the days.  Like Elijah, Aarav was training at a different gym, too; he was at Sheridan Park.  I'm beginning to wonder how often Aarav was showing up there.

For all intents and purposes, I have no teen or adult class in operation.  I dropped Kierra after her parents never responded to voice mails I left about her non-attendance.  Savannah has yet to show up to the gym.  The two adults bowed out early.  One of them was Yamira's dad; her mother told me they signed up their daughter for something else, which is why she never showed up for the summer session.  The other guy told me the gym was a bit out of his way; maybe that should have occurred to the guy before paying his money.

None of the kids have been showing up for the past few Saturdays.  That's an issue because sparring is set for that day, and we're in the midst of the weekly boxing shows.  I don't know how the ones who keep telling me they want fights -- namely Damaris, Kayla, and Anayah -- think that's going to work out for them if they don't spar. Elijah and Aarav are already ready out of the running because they can't show up regularly to class.  It looks like Lael will never get a fight, either, for lack of regular attendance, too.

On the upside . . . well, there isn't one right now.

Second Year Cancellation

As soon as I drove up to the field house, Steve was outside telling me my boxing show scheduled for today was canceled.  I knew that already, considering it had rained all day long. This is the second year in a row that LaFollette Park's boxing show has been canceled due to the weather.

 The youths were told yesterday to show up to the gym even if the boxing show was canceled because we would just have regular training as usual.  No one bothered to show up.  I woke up this morning with a headache and the fact that I had to sit in an empty gym for several hours did not make it better. Neither did finding a sign torn down from my office/equipment room door.  The sign was another reminder to both outside maintenance crews and on-site attendants to lock the door afterward if they have to be in there for any reason.  I found that door open again sometime last week.  My sign was crumpled up and laid in a spot where I wouldn't miss seeing it.  I put up another sign.  If that one goes missing, I'm going to use Super Glue to post the next sign up.

Lee, who I hadn't seen in a couple of years, came by the gym.  I used to let him and Mike -- the late Johnny Heard's son -- use the gym to get work in.  Lee told me he now has a professional boxer's license.  He's planning on getting a fight in August.  I would love to have more professional boxers visit the gym.  Perhaps it would motivate some of the youths to straighten up and take the sport seriously.

Not A Good Beginning

Yesterday was the first day of the summer session.  Despite my reminder phone calls made to parents last week, only Damaris, Kayla, and Anayah  showed up for the kids' class.  I asked if they were still planning to participate in the boxing show later this week at Humboldt Park.  Anayah's mom said she and her daughter were going to be at the weigh-in.  But Damaris and Kayla have changed their minds.  Not a good start to the regular boxing show season.

Mikaela and Noel came in, and I asked why they weren't at Simons Park, where they now train.  Coach Marty asked them to come in later so he can work with them more.  They wanted to work out while waiting for their mother who volunteered in the kids' class, but they're no longer signed up at my gym.  Sorry, but rules are rules.

No one showed up for the teen class.  Only Mark, an 18-year-old, showed up for the adult class.  Mark told me he might not be able to come to the gym regularly.   It looks like a repeat of the spring session where those classes are concerned.

I got evidence there was an attempt to turn away a guardian from registering their child in the boxing class.  Fortunately, the guardian talked to me, and I rectified the situation.  But I'm confused at what smells like a case of program sabotage -- and it's not the first time there has been signs of it.  All I do is go to work, mind my business, and do my job.  I fail to see how I -- or the boxing program -- is a threat to anyone.

Summer Ain't Shaping Up Too Well

For the first time in a while, the gym was completely empty this past Saturday.  I wasn't happy.  A few days before, I made courtesy calls to remind people that the summer session this week.  The majority of those registered for summer were in the spring session.  However, a lot of them did not complete the spring session.  Of those I called, I only got a hold of a couple of the parents.  At this point, I'm doubting that most will show up for the first day of class.  I do know I'm not going to keep making courtesy calls.

Humboldt Park's boxing show is coming up this week.  Kayla and Anayah are ready for it.  Sahia thinks Damaris has shown improvement.  But Damaris' continual lack of focus and motivation as well as the girl's disrespectful attitude irritates me.  Unfortunately, youths who operate on that level often learn the hard way -- during a match -- that more work should have done in the gym.  Damaris may learn that lesson if she gets a fight at Humboldt Park.

It is still officially late spring, but the weather has been fickle.  Humboldt Park has the option of presenting their boxing show on the inside.  LaFollette does not, and my show was rained out last year.  If that happens again this year, it'll be another setback for a boxing program that already contends with low support and visibility.

Saturday Is Better

When I initially floated the idea to some of the parents about moving sparring from Friday to Saturday, I was met with approval.  The parents wanted to watch their kids spar, but admitted that it was not easy to arrange their schedules to be in the boxing gym on a weekday.  Based on that information, when I change the sparring day around, that will be a permanent schedule change instead of just making that for summer only.

Sparring used to be on Saturdays when I first started working for the park district.  The intent was to have it on a day when school and perhaps other activities were not a factor.  But then most youths, and the adult participants as well, were not showing up on Saturdays.  I switched sparring back to weekdays thinking it was easier to draw people into the gym, especially youths coming out of school for the day.

Now I realize that I've been accommodating and compromising with people for way too long.  The boxing gym hours are what they are.  I should have never been doing constant adjustments in a futile attempt to work with every one's personal schedules.  Either youths and adults deal with the days, times, and training schedule of the boxing program or they don't.

In addition to Saturday being an easier day for busy parents to come in and see their kids' progress, it works better with the park district's boxing show schedule.  The City-Wide Boxing Tournament, as well as the weekly boxing shows that take place between June and February take place on weekdays. If someone had a hard fight on a Thursday, the day weekly boxing shows currently take place, it wouldn't do to have them sparring back at the gym on a Friday.  This is especially true if fighters were injured.  I could let them skip the gym on Friday to rest and give them the option of sparring on Saturday, if they felt up to it.  They could also skip Saturday, depending on what happened at a Thursday fight and start again the following week.

Everyone would have four solid days of training, instead of having that broken up by sparring on Friday, and then returning on Saturday for a regular training day.  I could further keep track of who is just showing up to spar, cutting down on some participants' willingness to fight but not train.

No matter what I do in terms of scheduling, however, there is always going to be some who aren't going to attend the class regularly, and those who will show up but won't train.  I don't doubt that there will be people -- the youths, mostly -- who will complain about the change of sparring day.  But running that program efficiently is more important to me.

Again With The Youths' Mouths

The past couple of Fridays, no sparring took place.  As time marches towards the end of the spring session, participants have begun to show up less and less.  Only Damaris, Kayla, and Anayah showed up the last time for the kids' class.  Kayla and Anayah match each other a little better for sparring purposes.  However, Damaris is taller and bigger than the both of them.  Three fighters on sparring day would mean that one of them would have to do double duty.  Although in the past I've allowed sparring to go on with that number of people, it's really unfair to tire one person out against two.

Damaris took exception to my decision not to let anyone spar that day.  Sahia wasn't having it.  Just as I was beginning to explain why sparring was not going to happen, Sahia told me, "You're the adult.  You don't have to explain your reasons to a child."  She admonished Damaris for her attitude.  Only then did it occur to Damaris to politely ask me about my reasons.  Later, Sahia apologized to me because she felt she had cut me off.   But there was no need for an apology, because Sahia was right.  Damaris -- who is seldom focused and motivated when it comes to training -- should have been checked about her behavior.

One of the least favorite parts of my job is dealing with mouthy kids and teens.  I'm not going to argue with a kid.  But I will exercise my right as an adult to tell a kid to shut up while I'm talking. They don't pay a dime for the class and the door to the gym opens both ways.   Damaris is not the only kid I've had in the gym who I knew was mouthing off to their parents and guardians (many times in front of me while in the gym) and thinking they could also do it to any other adult they came across.  She was lucky that Sahia stepped in and firmly but gently admonished her.  I would have hurt Damaris' feelings to get my point across about respecting others.

The Show That Wasn't

I knew before I left my apartment yesterday that the Fosco Park show wasn't going to go well.  My feelings were confirmed when I arrived and noticed a majority of the gyms did not show up.  I counted five coaches there including myself.  Those coaches did not have many fighters with them.  From my gym:  Anayah had told me she wanted to fight.  However, she did not appear until the show began.  Jamarion was supposed to participate but he didn't show up.

Because the turnout was so low, Thomas, the boxing program coordinator, announced that all of the fights that evening would be sparring matches.  When Sahia heard this, she wondered if Mikaela and Noel could get in the ring.  But they also were not there in time for the weigh-in.  Thomas had already put the scale away.  He could not and would not delay a show already in progress to add another fight.  There were only four fights instead of the usual ten or twelve.  The evening ended early.

There will be another show today at Fosco Park for open fighters and adults who want matches.  Seeing how I don't have open fighters nor adults who have trained enough to have fights, I won't be going.  Probably, the number of fighters and spectators will be no higher than yesterday.  Maybe it just wasn't good timing to have a boxing show in May.  As far as I know, that had not been done before.  I would not be surprised if Thomas sends an email around asking why the coaches didn't show more support for the Fosco show.