Gary Dobry, the owner/operator and head trainer at Pug's Boxing Club @ The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake was an inner-city kid. He played some of the same sports growing-up on the northside of Chicago that kids in the suburbs play. "I played hockey", Dobry tells me. "We'd take a hose and water down the alley until it froze. We'd play in figure skates that our folks bought us from the Salvation Army. The skates weren't the right size, but we'd wear a few extra pairs of socks until we 'grew into them'". Dobry switches gears and starts to vent, "It still takes me for a loop when I see how much money some parents spend on their kids sports in this economy. My mom couldn't afford rink-time. She couldn't afford all that fancy industrial-strength equipment. And it's not just hockey either, I know of parents who pay $100 a lesson for their kids to play volleyball in this whacked-out economy!"
The kids who participate in the Youth Boxing Program at Dobry's gym have parents who aren't just interested in having them participate in a sport that doesn't break the bank. These parents understand that what their kids get out of boxing is more important than boxing itself. Dobry is philosophical about kids boxing. He tells me, "The kids here learn whether they win or lose their fight, they're still champions. They understand that the average guy will never climb between those ropes and get into the ring. That in and of itself is a valuable lesson learned. If a kid gets through all the rigors of boxing training and ultimately faces another kid in the ring, where there is no place to run and no place to hide, an algebra test will be like a walk in the park." Dobry believes kids who face challenges in the ring will face the challenges that life has in store for them. "They walk in here kids, but they leave here as champions."
Youth Boxing starts again at The School of Hard Knocks on November 7th. The gym is located at 824 S. Main St. in Crystal Lake. The gym's website is: www.pugsboxinggym.com and the phone number is 815 356 6572.