[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https://12roundsboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG_7641.jpg” title_text=”IMG_7641″ _builder_version=”4.6.5″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https://12roundsboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG_7636.jpg” title_text=”IMG_7636″ _builder_version=”4.6.5″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https://12roundsboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG_7635.jpg” title_text=”IMG_7635″ _builder_version=”4.6.5″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]As the gym is now quiet, Kat has suggested that I write a blog post for our website about my
experiences so far with 12 Rounds. Until today I hadn’t even read a blog post, let alone written one!
Hopefully by now most of you would have met me, if you have, I’m sure that you would have formed
some kind of opinion of me, and I do hope it is a positive one?
I’ve been coaching for a long time… since retiring from professional boxing in January 2009 I’ve
coached at various amateur boxing clubs. Initially I coached at my childhood club, Crawley Amateur
Boxing Club. That gym is truly my happy place, there is something about the place that I can’t
adequately put into words. As a child and then a young man it was the place where I felt safest and
most able to be my authentic self. Even now as a 38-year-old man I get this incredible sense of being
completely at peace when I enter Crawley Amateur Boxing Club.
After relocating to Epsom and starting a family, I opted to volunteer at the local boxing gym because
making three round trips per week to Crawley was starting to wear on me. The way it was run was
completely different from what I was used to, and I thought the sparring sessions were more like
battles between sworn enemies than a way for boxers to learn from one another. In my opinion,
sparring should primarily be utilised to put what has been learned in training into practise rather
than an attempt to beat each other senseless. Hard, competitive sparring is sometimes necessary,
but by no means every session. At Epsom, I didn’t think my coaching approach fit well, so I decided
to move on.
I had met Keith Hawkins on a coaching course, and since Smallholdings Boxing Club was just
launching, he came to me and asked if I would like to come work as a coach there. We had a
successful start, with our boxers winning something like their first 10 bouts. The defeat was bound
to come soon enough but we thoroughly enjoyed that undefeated spell while it lasted.
George Brown, my amateur boxing coach, and the closest thing I ever had to a father figure, moved
from Crawley to run Battlebridge Boxing Club. Since it was only a 10-minute drive from my house, I
leaped at the chance to go with him. Prior to Battlebridge's closure due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, I
was a coach there for around 7 years.
I have learned from working with numerous coaches, that ego can be a big issue in boxing gyms,
especially among trainers. If someone has a different method for doing something, men in
particular, seem to perceive it as a personal slight. As a result, I expected some opposition to my
viewpoints and ideas when I started working at round 12. To my surprise, everyone was really
receptive to my suggestions for improvement and new ideas. There is such a fun and vibrant
atmosphere in the gym, and I love spending time here.
Although I haven’t yet trained all of the members, everyone I have met have been fantastic.
Everyone who trains here is upbeat, and the workouts are always enjoyable. As a coach, although
given an outline as to what is to be included in the sessions, there is plenty of autonomy, allowing
each coach to get creative and let their unique personality shine through. The atmosphere at the
gym is cheerful. Members and staff enjoy interacting with one another and people are treated more
like friends than clients or colleagues. I think I’ll be very happy here hopefully for a long time.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://12roundsboxing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG-0278-Crop-scaled.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Anthony Young, boxing coach [/author_info] [/author]
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