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Jay's "Gym Spotlight Tour"
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GYM TOUR WRAPUP
This report finalizes my visits to the area gyms, interviewing boxers and coaching staff. Most gyms have welcomed me into their gyms, and were willing to participate. I offer my appreciation and thanks. It is not my intention to evaluate or compare gyms, but to understand and to publicize their programs, their boxers, and coaching staff. In each gym visit, one immediately notices the importance of the teacher/student relationships.
As any student must do, a boxer has to go to school. His classroom is a boxing gym and his teacher is his coach. Some use the same classroom and the same teacher from grade school through college. Some move around a bit, seeking a setting that is more suitable to his needs. All must attend classes in order to become proficient in his chosen activity. Because boxing is not an easy thing to learn, some students find that they must spend more time in the classroom than others. Some others may try to skip classes, going directly into competition. Only a very few succeed. The dropout rate is high and total success is a rarity. Because of the nature of the game, graduation does not happen in this school. As long as one steps into the squared circle, he must continue to attend class.
Visiting the various gyms in the Tidewater area, one will discover that the teaching methods sometimes vary but the goals are the same. That goal is to teach a student the things he needs to know so that he will be the best that he can be in his chosen field. To accomplish this, the coach must be as dedicated as the boxer. All gyms are different, and training methods may vary to some degree. In some, more emphasis is put on strength and power, while others stress skill and speed. All successful coaches will teach defense. When all can be taught together, the success rate of the boxing student increases. A coach is also a student. One never stops learning new tactics or new methods so that it may be passed on to the boxers.
In boxing, success happens at different levels. It occurs with the first JO or novice win, or the crowning of a world champion. Without exception it will always start at the same place, the boxing gym.
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Todd's Eastside Boxing Club
Roughouse Boxing Club
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Roughouse Boxing Club of Newport News
The Roughouse Boxing Club is a family run operation. The Jackson family, Robert Sr. along with Robert Jr. and his wife Michelle, take boxing very seriously. It has been a part of their lives for a very long time. The ring knowledge, accumulated over a period of twenty five years, did not come easy to either Robert Sr. or Robert Jr. That knowledge, earned from the participation in more than seventy professional bouts, is the reason they’re here.
Neither the father nor the son had a manager. They did not have promoters that would sign them to long term contracts. They did, however have the determination and heart that kept promoters calling. Many of their fights were made by last minute calls from promoters who needed a dependable fighter to replace one who pulled out of a show. After a few bouts like this, one becomes known as an opponent. The opponent doesn’t get a lot of breaks in the game, often being overmatched. They seldom had enough time to train, but always fought hard. Win or lose, they were known as tough competitors whose services were in high demand.
After retirement from active boxing, they both stayed active by training amateur boxers. The Jackson family decided that things would be different for the youngsters they would train. When their boxers step into the ring, they will be well trained and ready to compete. This is the goal of the ‘The Roughouse Boxing Club’. Robert Sr. and Robert Jr. share the training responsibilities while Michelle takes care of the paper work. They are a team and they work well together.
On the evening of this interview, only two boxers were training, but the program was conducted as though the gym was full. “There are usually six or eight,” Robert Jr. said. “Some have to work and will be here later.” The two boxers that were training received the full attention of both coaches. The younger one is Raquille Jackson, son of Robert Jr. He is a fifteen year old welterweight. The other boxer, Milton Wardett, is older and larger but the sparring session is evenly matched. The younger Jackson has a fight soon and is being fine tuned by father and grandfather.
On Saturday, April 25th, the club will host their second show of the year. It is to be held at the American Legion Post 25, 7609 Marshall Ave. in Newport News. The bouts start at 4 pm.
The discipline and self confidence that is developed in a boxing gym will be invaluable in a person’s life, no matter what career they choose. This is what is important to the Jackson family.
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Team Norfolk
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Team Norfolk Gym
When I stepped into the building at Barruad Park in Norfolk, the gym full was of boxers. It was not crowded however. After a few minutes, I realized it was because the ring was centered, with bags circling the ring. There are three more rooms, including a comfortable office. The other rooms are used for floor work and more workout equipment. Everything was arranged so that twice the number of boxers could work out with only a little crowding. The gym was clean and orderly.
Coach Gloria Peek, with a touch of New York accent in her strong voice, was telling the fighters, in no uncertain terms, that the Golden Gloves tournament was less than a week away. She was also letting them know that if they intended to participate in that tournament, they would make their weight before leaving the gym. She told them, with her gaze shifting from one face to another, that she does not lose fights on the scales. A dozen or more young men listened respectfully, without comment. When coach Peek finished her instructions, they immediately began their night’s work.
Tyler Trask, Team Norfolk’s assistant coach, took a group into the mirrored room, used for floor work. Under his supervision, they started their shadow boxing routine. Coach Peek supervised the sparring.
It didn’t take me long to realize why Team Norfolk is considered tough competition. This team has eight boxers entered in the tournament. It is evident that their team members are also helping to prepare them, both physically and mentally for the long hard week ahead. With the help of the team and the expertise of the coaches, it’s difficult to imagine this team without Golden Gloves champions. Dedication, determination, and excellent coaching contribute equally in making Team Norfolk a force to be reckoned with.
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Peninsula Boxing Academy
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PICTURES WILL COME SOON
Peninsula Boxing Club
Coach Ottis Hooper runs a completely different type of boxing program at the Peninsula Boxing Club. He teaches students to believe as he believes, that boxing is applied physics. Using the motto “don’t get hit“, and the predestined moves that one may expect to be applied in a chess game, boxing becomes a strategy based on self defense.
As you enter the gym, the very impressive display of pictures and certificates leave little doubt that Master Hooper is a highly qualified teacher of contact sports. He is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, a professional kick boxer, and a professional boxer. As a boxer, he was a sparring partner for Sugar Ray Leonard. In martial arts, he worked with Chuck Norris and the late Bruce Lee. The listing of Coach Hooper’s accomplishments and activities are too long and involved to list here, but they are impressive.
To understand the teachings of Master Hooper, as he is addressed by his students, one must attend his classes. All students are taught to box. Not all are in competition. Every student has a program with a clear cut objective, whether it is weight control, fitness, or competition boxing.
Coach Felipe Vasquez is the only other staff member at Peninsula Boxing Club. He teaches most of the competitive boxing. There are seven club members who choose to compete in boxing. One of these seven competitors, light heavyweight Antwan Ward won the novice State Golden Gloves championship in March.
Except for the floor level ring, the gym appears to be more equipped for martial arts than boxing. There is ample equipment necessary for training boxers. There is more boxing related equipment found in other gyms that are dedicated totally to boxing. At the conclusion of the interview, Coach Hooper stated that the program at the Peninsula Boxing Club is successful. This success is due to the fifty plus students registered with the club, and the success rate they achieve in reaching their personal goals.
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Moton Community House Boxing Club
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