Boxing club offers youths discipline, escape from reality
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Tucked away inside the YMCA in Downtown Evansville is a room where people go to get away - from work, school and sometimes reality.
That's the type of experience 24-year-old JarDan Ealum found four years ago when he stopped by a local boxing gym in his South Side neighborhood,-Rock'em Sock'em Boxing Club near Adams and Kentucky avenues.
Curious and confident, he got into the ring with a professional to test his pugilism. The result was a humbling experience.
"I got my ass whooped," said Ealum, a 6-foot-2-inch, 178-pound light heavyweight southpaw. "But at the same time I knew boxing was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be great."
Ealum, a self-styled defensive fighter and counter puncher, would spend the next four years training and honing his boxing skills. Soon he will compete for his second Indiana Golden Gloves boxing title, this time in the open division after having won last year as a novice. It's an elimination tournament at the Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis with four two-minute rounds that sends the victor to the national Golden Gloves tournament in Las Vegas. The winner of nationals advances to Olympic trials for a chance to represent USA Boxing.
But titles and trophies are not Ealum's main reasons for boxing.
"To me boxing is like an escape from reality," he told the Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1aXkVxs ). "It's my world, I control that world."
John and Jennifer Richard had Ealum's words in mind when they started the Downtown YMCA Boxing Team in August, to give inner-city kids a chance to experience something new. The couple of five years met at the Boxer's Den as sparring partners and yes, Jennifer did beat her husband - although she claims he let her win. Both spent years competing as amateur boxers. Who does the dishes at night becomes a whole new issue.
Like Ealum, the Richards understood what it was like to live the everyday struggle of lower-middle class life. John also grew up on Evansville's South Side, and Jennifer grew up in a small town she claims no one knows about. Ealum said before he found boxing, he was drifting around in life without a passion or calling. In boxing, the Richards found a way out of juvenile delinquency.
"Both of us got into some trouble when we were young," said Jennifer, a Michigan native who moved to Evansville in 2008. "Boxing was really something to focus us."
Historically, boxing has had a way of attracting troubled youth, Jennifer said. But with a declining presence in Evansville, would-be boxers have fewer places to develop their talents, unlike in major boxing cities like Philadelphia, where it seems gyms are on every street corner. Evansville is home to several other boxing clubs, but Jennifer said limited resources often prevent participants from traveling for competition. The Richards hope their team will boost boxing culture in Evansville.
That led to a $35,000 grant written by Jennifer and approved by the Women's Fund to fund their boxing team at the YMCA, which occupies a second-floor studio complete with a full-size ring and enough equipment to keep all the kids happy. But the kids must also maintain their grades and behavior if they expect to make it through the program. It's a soon-to-be implemented policy that sees the offender subjected to a grueling workout or sitting out part of training, Jennifer said.
"We're here to help kids and young adults become productive and responsible citizens.
The team has become like a third child for the Richards, who are parents to a 1-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy, the latter of which can be found jumping on medicine balls during training sessions. However, he knows to stay out of the way of the people doing serious training.
Six teams will be competing in the Golden Gloves tourney, which starts March 12 and runs every Thursday for six weeks. But a person need not be on the team if they wish to train. The Richards welcome anyone who wants to learn to give and take a punch. The team attracts a diverse crowd.
Michelle Thomas, a mother of two and personal trainer at the YMCA, was excited when she heard the Y was getting a boxing club. She had been intrigued by the idea of adding the sport to her extensive bag of exercise activities.
"It's like nothing else, the physicality of it," said Thomas, who is two months into her boxing career. "It's not something most of us get to do in our everyday lives, punching and hitting is not encouraged in other areas."
Thomas, self-nicknamed the "Boxing Mom," likes more than just the thrill of mutual combat, she appreciates the hard work behind the scenes of boxing with some of the best coaches around like Travis Way, Wayne Cooper, and Daniel Maldonado, all of whom help the Richards with pupil training.
"The Richards and coaches are giving their heart and souls into this program," said Thomas. "Their energy is endless and they're always coaching, encouraging."
Those interested in joining the team can attend weekly meetings at the YMCA for $25 a month. The USA boxing certified team currently has around 20 boxers.
Jennifer said the team has plans of traveling to boxing club shows around the U.S. as well as the Ringside World Tournament in August and Junior Olympics in April.
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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com