It may sound counterintuitive: fighting violence through a sport that is, by its very nature, violent.
But there’s a long tradition of organized boxing as a way to help kids—especially kids considered “at risk”—develop characteristics like self-discipline, confidence and sportsmanship, and to help them find a structured way to channel normal feelings like aggression and frustration into healthy, rather than destructive or self-destructive, ways. The best-known of these programs is Golden Gloves, the 87-year-old national program where famous fighters like Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Evander Holyfield got their starts. (Mike Tyson started in Golden Gloves, too—perhaps not the most shining example of the program’s successes.)
This afternoon, Mayor Domenic Sarno will help kick off a youth boxing program in Springfield: the Neutral Corner program, which will be based at the South End Community Center (which Sarno ran before he was elected mayor). The program is open to middle- and high-school students in the city.
A press release announcing the program describes Neutral Corner as “a hands-on, ‘Old School’ boxing program” that “teaches discipline; fosters teamwork; and instills character, focus, and strategic-thinking, all of which are critical elements in supporting academic and personal successes. The program promotes positive resolutions to conflict and contributes to violence prevention in the schools and community.”
Sarno will hold a press conference at 4:15 at the community center gym, where the inaugural class will be held. Springfield’s Pat Ireland—a one-time Golden Glover who went on to a 11-6 career as a light welterweight in the late 1980s and early ’90s—will be there as well.
