A Lime Lite gym boxer
Mr. Simmons says the training can make the children better boxers. But he says it also provides them hope for the future. He says the coaches all have jobs. The children want to be like the coaches. So, the coaches help them learn about the value of work.
“These kids are going to go out and get jobs and be law-abiding citizens.”
Coach Simmons says a few hours in the center every day keeps the kids off the streets and out of trouble. He says by the time they are done training they are so tired they just want to go home, do their school work and go to sleep.
Sometimes an especially skilled fighter comes out of Lime Lite, like boxer Malik Jackson.
“I get a lot of respect from the kids, because they look up to me. They respect what I do. I’ve been putting in the work for ten years and they see that.”
Mr. Jackson started training at Lime Lite when he was nine. He was small and other kids were mean to him. He would get into fights at school. Then, school administrators would punish him.
So he started attending the gym. He says he wanted to learn how to keep calm. But he also learned he was naturally good at the sport of boxing.
Now, Malik is a high school graduate who also earned a place on the United States national boxing team. He hopes to go to the Olympic Games in 2016.
Tony Simmons is proud of Malik’s success.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25