Three student athletes from the Garland Police Boxing Gym enjoyed success while competing at the recent national tournament. Abriana Avilas, 14, won first place in her weight class. Abriana is a Garland High School freshman who has been boxing for six years. She said that the participation of her brother and sister in the boxing program caused her to want to be in the program as well.
Jasmine Abduo, a student at Brandenburg Middle School, has participated in the boxing program for two years. She came in second place at the national tournament. Jasmine never thought that she would join boxing and now she’s come in second place at a national competition.
Isabella Aguirre, a Sam Houston Middle School student, also fought in the national tournament and placed third in her weight class. She has been in the boxing program for four years. She said that she had not been expected to place in the competition.
The young women explained that they like being in the program for several reasons. The two that came up the most were that It keeps them from just sitting around at home and wasting time, and it’s fun.
They all go to the gym five days a week and taking a day off has a negative effect.
“Once I started doing boxing, it started feeling like it’s something I have to do,” Jasmine said.
She added that when she wants to take a day off, she feels bad, like she isn’t dedicated enough.
“But I love it,” Jasmine said. “It’s not like I’m forcing myself to do it. I love it. I want to do it.”
Isabella agreed with Jasmine that it doesn’t feel right to take a day off. Another thing they agree on is that there can be a lot of stress before fights. This was not Abriana’s first national tournament, so she wasn’t really worried. She is confident that she is good at the sport.
“My parents push me, and my coach pushes me to keep going and not give up,” Abriana said. “The sport is stressful but at the end, the hard work pays off.”
They are in three separate weight classes, but the feelings are the same. They all get nervous and feel stressed the night before the fight. How many times each person has to fight depends on how many girls are in their weight class. There were four in Isabella’s weight class so she had to fight three times to secure her third place spot.
Jasmine only had to fight once. To get to the national tournament, each of them had to win at the Junior Olympics.
Because the boxing gym has a strict “no pass, no play” policy, all the student athletes at the gym must keep their grades up. This rule motivates them to work hard at school. It’s important to note that no exceptions are made. Briana, Jasmine and Isabella do well in school and do not have trouble keeping up with schoolwork because of the time spent at the gym.
“If you want to do it, you keep your grades up because you want to do the sport,” Jasmine said.
Since these young women have been involved at the gym and competitions for a while, they try to help the new students. Jasmine’s advice is for them to remember that it’s up to them.
“As beginners you have to go through the beginners’ class. That’s how you find out if they like it or not,” she said.
Isabella added that they often visit with the new students and tell them why they like the program.
Abriana’s advice for beginners is to not give up.
“When you first join beginners, they are going to push you so you’ll know what you are going to come up against. Just keep going. If you really want to do the sport, you should push yourself and stay active. And, if you really want it, you’ll come to the gym every day.”
“Don’t worry about other people. Don’t stress about anything when you’re here,” Jasmine said. “When you’re sparring, don’t be nervous… Also, you have to make sure you actually like boxing. Don’t do it because you’re being forced to. Do it because you want to.”
Isabella added that in addition to focusing on yourself, you shouldn’t let nerves beat you.
The three of them agree that you must focus on yourself to succeed. They also said that new students shouldn’t be shy at the gym. They should feel free to ask for help when they need it. In addition, they never have to worry that someone is going to make fun of then.
“In this gym we know that we all have to help one another,” Abriana said. “It’s like we’re all family. We all help each other. We don’t talk bad about each other in this gym. We try to make new people feel confident and comfortable.”
Abriana added that any student that doesn’t know what they want to do yet should try different things.
“Try different sports, different hobbies,” she said. “If you do find you like boxing, don’t be intimidated by other people.”
Abriana also said that boxing is a good confidence builder.
“To be good, you need confidence,” she said. “You don’t want to be putting yourself down. You have to keep pushing yourself and you have to keep thinking, ‘I’ve got this,’ or ‘I’m going to win.’”
The students are also required to run as part of their training. They must build strength and endurance.
“If you cheat on the running, it’s on you, and you’ll see it later in the ring,” Abriana said. “There’s no point in slacking.”
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