The Coronavirus and resulting restrictions have created many hardships and challenges, especially for our young people. Take for example the students involved in the Scramble Academy boxing programme, who have been unable to hone their skills in the usual ways – no pad work, no sparring, no interclub competitions. How do you train boxing if you’re not allowed to box? Yet these students have shown unbelievable resilience and dedication to their sport over the past months because they know boxing is about more than winning rounds.

During the pandemic they have shown how deeply embedded their teamwork and leadership skills have become, as well as demonstrating their ability to cope with levels of frustration and deal with challenging situations. As their coach, I am immensely proud of how resilient they have been in the face of setbacks and how confident they are when trying new things. They have not been fazed by the gruelling training regime or the shadow boxing and solo footwork drills. In fact, they have even helped invent some new training techniques that develop specific skills related to boxing, while adhering to the Government and school policies on social distancing.

 

Our team has been very productive during the pandemic and, when the time comes, we will be ready to get back in the ring!