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A Letter to our Potential Champions.
I started in martial arts at 10 years old. I really believe this is where I developed a basis for good punching ability. It was definitely a start. At fourteen a friend told me about his visit to the boxing club in town (The Kamloops Boxing Club in Kamloops,BC). It sounded interesting so I decided to give it a shot and go with him one night. I was intrigued, I saw boxing as a sport that only real tough men did that came from big mean cities. I was surprised to see how accessible the club was and that it wasn't like one of the Rocky movies. The coaches (Jim Stephenson, Gunther Peemoeler) took a liking to me, I was 14 years old, over 6 feet tall, and about 175lbs. I was a lean, mean, fighting machine that already knew how to throw a punch and had good athletic ability. Within a week I was in sparring. The first guy I sparred was a big muscle bound (man), who had a few fights. As we sparred I got more and more excited, falling in love with this sport. I could actually punch someone and not get in trouble for it or get disqualified like in all those Karate tournaments. So here I was throwing punches at this man, hitting him at will too, I remember frustrating the heck out of this guy; here I was (14 years old) and I was beating this adult muscular macho man up, until... pow, I learned a lesson that first day sparring. Keep your hands up. He hit me with a huge punch and I was down. "Wow", I thought, and I got up immediately and was laughing, I was amused at this new sensation I guess. I wasn't knocking the guy; I was so filled with excitement and adrenaline. He hit me hard, but I found out that I could take it and shake it off, that is a big fear to over come of any boxer or athlete. So I continued going to the boxing club, and continued with karate. I accomplished a lot in Karate, I got a black belt, I won many trophies and titles, but it just didn't compare to boxing for me. Boxing seemed way more realistic, practical and challenging. In my first time sparring, I learned more about defending myself in 3 minutes, than I had learned ever before. I was hooked.
After 2 months of training the coach had me in for my first fight. I had a birthday and was fifteen now. He had me up against a 27 year old man. (The rules were different back then) He had facial hair and all. My mother was terrified. "That's my baby", she kept saying. I guess I showed her I wasn't a baby anymore. I beat this 27 year old man up; I beat him up good too. What a rush... I don't think anything else could match it for me. So it began, my boxing "career". My second fight was against the intermediate provincial champ. I was still a junior; intermediate was the next age group up, 2 years my senior. I beat that guy up pretty good too. I was getting the hang of this boxing thing. My coaches had even more hopes for me. At the time, Mike Tyson was the big man, every one knew who he was, or was just starting to know who he was. He was making millions of dollars in just minutes. You can see there would be an attraction to that for a 15 year old boy. My coaches told me that that all could be mine too. So I went along with it. As a teenager I had won the nationals, I had won a pile of other tournaments. I won Several Golden gloves titles both in the US, British Columbia and Alberta provincial championships, I won Junior Olympics in Seattle, and the list goes on. Toot toot. I was on a high for most of my teenage years; I thought I was untouchable, like most teenagers I suppose. I was in a zone though, myself, I was in the news papers all the time, even on TV, I was a bit of a celebrity, especially in my schools. My coaches would pluck me out of school at times and fly me wherever, I was like a jet setter or something. I missed a lot of school those years. Is that why I didn't get an academic scholarship?? At the same time I was boxing I got involved in kickboxing. I needed some sparring and there were some big guys at the kickboxing club that said they would help me out. One of them was world middleweight champ Tom Leroche and his coach Barry Atkins. I went there and sparred with the big boys for a couple years, that was a pile of fun, I got to kick spar which was helping them out too, and I loved kicking so it was a pleasure. Before boxing, Kicking was what people knew me for. I had dedicated most of my free time to developing my kicks. Here I was, either at school, the boxing club, the kickboxing club or the Tai-Kwon-Do school developing my kicks. I'm not nor have I ever even been a violent person. Maybe those are the reasons why. I could let out any aggressions.
By the time I was 17 years old, my parents wanted to move back to Ontario. I wanted to move to Kitchener, there were a pile of great boxers coming out of there. Chris and Greg Johnson, Fitzroy and Sydney Vanderpool, Lennox Lewis to name a few. I looked up to them. I wanted to work with them and with Arnie Boehm, the coach. So we set off, just like that, we moved to Kitchener. My dad was a trucker so he could move wherever he wanted, pretty much. Kitchener sounded good to him as he wanted to support me in my sport. So we moved.
The first night in the Kitchener boxing club, I met Lennox Lewis... he was training as a pro then, he had already won a gold medal at the Olympics and was headed to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and one of the best heavyweights of all time. How exciting. Chris Johnson was training for the 1992 Olympics where he ended up getting a bronze; losing only to his friend Chris Byrd, who would later become a world heavyweight champ himself. Chris Johnson went on to successful pro career too and now I see him as a coach at shows. Greg Johnson, Chris' brother, had won many Canadian titles and would also have a successful pro career. Greg was one of the most inspiring athletes out there too; watching him skip a rope was something you could understand paying to see. Fitzroy Vanderpool won several Canadian amateur titles and went on to a successful pro career, becoming Canadian professional Champ. I see Fitz from time to time now as a coach with his own club too. Sydney Vanderpool also was a Canadian amateur champ who went on to a successful pro career; I remember watching him on TV, boxing for the world middleweight championship. What a small world, and I was a part of it.
Training at the Kitchener boxing club was great, I worked with the best there. Arnie Boehm is a legend, a great man who died too soon. There is an annual boxing tournament to honor his name now. At the Kitchener club, Joe Hajnal also took me under his wing. He also is a legend in the amateur boxing game. Having coached for so many years, being part of many Olympic Games, either as a coach or as an athlete in his day. I consider him one of the best coaches in Canada. He now coaches in Don Nelson's club, Motor City Boxing Club, in Oshawa. In Kitchener I got to travel with teams, all over Canada and over seas. After a few years in Kitchener, my father wanted to fulfill his dream of living on the Trent Canal system. So we moved to Peterborough, just north of. I could have stayed in Kitchener I suppose, but I think I came to a realization that I wasn't going to make a living as a pro boxer. Sure I could make some money, but I wanted to come out of boxing not having been abused by promoters and being able to speak my name. The professional game is much different than the amateur one. I could almost say it's a bit barbaric, and people only look out for themselves, which means boxers get used. I decided I wanted to go to school and living at home is much cheaper for students. It was good, my parents were both on the road all the time so I had free reign.
In Peterborough I joined their local boxing club under Al Wilson. We didn't go to many shows. That was ok. Al /was/is a busy man, he is a contractor. He built his own house that is the nicest in the Peterborough area. I see him from time to time now a days. Kerry Hendren took over the club in Peterborough after that. He was a great boxer that won many championships. He later went on to win several professional kickboxing titles. In my time in Peterborough, I didn't really fight a lot. Kerry liked to have his boxers in shape and trained in such a way. I kind of lacked focus at this time and didn't train as I should have. Lazy lazy. At the time of the provincials one year, Kerry couldn't make it to the tournament, he asked if I would mind going with Steve Lemmon from Barrie's Uptown Boxing club. I was up for that. Steve had called me up and told me that he really respected me as a boxer, thought I had great potential and would love to work my corner at the provincials. I hadn't really trained for the tournament, but I figured I would go. They were close to Thunder Bay that year so everyone thought no one would show up. Fighters came out of the wood work for that one. I ended up winning the tourney, Steve asked if I would go and train with him. So I did. Steve was a real motivator. I loved working with him. He and his wife Dawn have shown me much warmth and love; I hold them both near to my heart. Steve is what I needed to go to the Olympics. I lived with him and Dawn for quite a while, they took me in. He pushed me to work hard. I won some big tourneys with him. I was never more devastated when fighting for the chance make in on the Pan-Am games team in 1999. I had already torn my way through Canadian Champ Art Cooke. I was ready for the finals. Against Patrice L'Heureux, I was dominating, he couldn't touch me. All I remember is his head bouncing back each time I hit him with a jab. However in the 2nd round my right elbow went and I was fighting with one arm. Although I held my own with one arm, he ended up winning by a couple points. I was crushed, I'd finally trained hard for something, not just thinking I could walk through it and here I was, I lost.
The next year was the Olympic year, the year that we had been waiting for. At the provincials, the first stage before going to the Olympics, I ended up facing an old training buddy of mine name Arthur Binkowski. I thought I would honestly eat this guy up. Over confident I guess, but I lost. That sucked but I was given a second chance. There was a second chance to win just a few months after that. This is where things really get crazy for me. All my life I wanted to go to the Olympics, who doesn't have that dream, right? Here was my chance to go. I was more then capable. We had a couple of coaches at our gym in Barrie, one was Roman. Roman is from the Czec Republic. Old communist country. He was in the Special Forces there and everything. He was also on the national boxing team back then. At this time in 1999-2000, he is in his early to mid 60's. This guy is as hard as a rock, you could punch him in the belly and he wouldn't flinch. He volunteered to help me with conditioning. He had some old drills that they used to do back when he was in the army. So 3 times a week at 5:30 am, we got together. I did a warm up, a bunch of exercises, and to the bottom of this huge hill I went. Meeting me at the bottom of this hill was a huge round rock. The rock must have weighed 80 lbs. The goal was to pick the rock up, throw it up the hill, run after it before it ran me over, and do it again all the way up the hill. The first time I got about a quarter the way up the hill and stopped, I started puking. That wasn't fun. My dad happened to be there the first time to witness all this too. After about a week, I was finally able to get the rock all the way up the hill. We continued doing other exercises of course but that one sticks out in my mind. On week 3, after I was done with the first rock on the first hill, we went to a second, steeper hill with a smaller rock. Bye the end of our training, I can say I was in the best shape of my life, ready to take on anything. Being in that good of shape, I felt like a finely tuned machine. Everything worked so well for me, physically and mentally, it was bliss. However at the same time I was doing this, I was working full time at this job I hated. I had been working there a couple months. Prior to that I actually had a job at the Roxx night club in Barrie on weekends where they had a party for me and raised money for me to keep training. I should have stayed there. Instead I got this full time job paying me a pile of money, and a week before my chance to try out for a spot on the Olympics I quit boxing. Go figure. I gave up. All I could think about was winning this tournament, and then having to train this same way for 7 more months to the Olympics. Also having to work the crazy shifts I was working. It seemed too much for me. So I quit my dream, Arthur Binkowski, my old sparring partner, the guy I used to toy with in sparring, goes to the Olympics. Oh man that sucked. I knew that if I went to that tournament I would have won. I just felt it; I knew it deep down, not a shadow of a doubt. I was in stupid mode I guess, and I quit. Maybe I should have went to get professional help. Arthur went on to win 2 bouts and he lost his 3rd. He is a good guy that has a good pro career going for him now.
I took a year off boxing after quitting, did my own thing. The next year for the provincials, I got the bug back about a week before. I figured... why not, and went for it. I won the provincials. When I got to the nationals, I had to box the Canadian Champ. Not a big deal, this is the same guy I boxed at the Pan-Am Trials. I figured I would do well. I thought I was beating the guy, many people did, yet in the second round I was 15 pointed. That means he was ahead 15 points so they blew the whistle and stopped the fight. It's a rule to keep people from getting too badly hurt; this was of course a joke to me at the time. I felt it was quite uncalled for as did many others. But as we all know.... poop happens and there is no sense whining.
In short, I've had around 120 bouts in boxing. Around 200 matches in karate and Tai Kwon Do. I have sparred countless number of hours boxing, kickboxing, with some of the best competitors in Canada. I've worked with the best coaches in Canada. I've won just about everything there is to win at least once. I've traveled all over Europe and the US, all paid for by boxing. I ended up missing one trip with the national team to Puerto Rico a couple years ago. I had other commitments. But that too would have been paid for. Boxing has been good to me. The only dream I missed was going to the Olympics, winning a medal, having CBC interview me, and have me thank all the people that have helped me along the way. Even though I didn't make it to the Olympics, I still have much thanks.
In 2002, I ended up moving back to Peterborough. My father had died and I came back to take care of my mother and take over my fathers business. I hadn't done anything with boxing for quite a while, when last year (2004) in November, I decided to go to the local boxing club in Peterborough and see if I could help out. Maybe spar with some of the guys and stuff. I'd thought of coming back to compete, but I was so busy with work and I didn't have much drive. I also didn't have Steve Lemmon there to push me. So I started coaching. There were a couple potentially great boxers there, and they have now moved to the new club. The club is now The BEL Boxing Club here in Bridgenorth, run by Scott Eccles. Scott is the perfect person to run a club. He is driven to succeed and puts so much effort into the club. I know that everyone is thankful and grateful. I know that we can make champions here, not only in the ring but in life too. I know of the mistakes I've made and why I didn't go to the Olympics. I know what it takes to go to the Olympics and I know I can show this to our boxers. If not the Olympics, I know that I can help a boxer become the best they can be if they want to commit the time and effort. I am confident of that. I am proud of the success our young club has had so far and I look forward to great success in the future.
Thanks,
Terry Dummitt.
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Message from the owner, and coach, Scott Eccles.
Welcome to BEL Boxing Club in Bridgenorth, Ontario. It gives me great pleasure to be able to serve young athletes, and steer them toward greatness. Most of us remember a coach in our lives. Possibly they gave you a few kind words, encouragement and a game plan for success - that can go a long way in a person's life. I had the fortune of having 3 coaches in my life that made a difference to me, Roger Nielson (high school coach); Don Smith, (boxing coach); and Ty Burch (high school coach). All imparted in me some lesson that shaped me to where I am today.
I believe that the sport of boxing is so close to real life, that the lessons learned can impact the decisions a person makes for the rest of their lives. I have applied many lessons over the years that came from boxing - in my many businesses, in my career, in my personal life and in my goal setting. My purpose in teaching could actually be considered selfish, as I feel I become a better person for running a club like this. Realizing that teaching an art sinks the lesson to the heart, I always encourage my seasoned athletes to take a new person under their wing, and help them, and bring them along. I try not to push an athlete unless they want to do it, because when the student is ready, the teacher appears.
Let me first talk to the athlete who thinks they would like to compete someday. What is it about this sport that turns on a fire in you? Could it be the respect (both self respect and others admiration) most boxers carry with them after they have been in the sport for a while? Or could it be the self confidence, and respect for others that exudes from them? Or perhaps it's the internal motivation you pick up on? Whatever it is, say to someone you belong to a boxing club and there is another level of respect that is earned.
For both the athlete who would like to compete and the ones just dipping their feet in the water, there will be tremendous lessons learned, mostly internal. Internal motivation is paramount in this sport - until it comes from within, I cannot make anyone perform. I believe the willingness to learn and master a sport is more important than the actual mechanics of the sport. The mechanics of this sport are actually quite simple. We teach basic Olympic style boxing, add a little heart and voila. I would sooner take a person who maybe isn't the best at everything, yet they have heart, than take a person who is a natural, but with no heart. The one with heart will win every time. That is why boxing is so close to real life. It is a sport that takes an individual commitment, because only the boxer can make it happen in the ring. Sure the corner man is the other set of eyes, and can pick out the opponents weak points and act as an adviser in a bout, but it comes down to the boxer themselves doing the work. The take all the glory when they win, we all share the losses. The losses don't necessarily mean a decision against you. The win or loss is within you. Did you become a better person or a better boxer because of what you did in the ring? Did you apply everything you have learned in your bout?
In my boxing career, I have won bouts that I know I didn't deserve to win, and have come out of the ring not feeling victorious. I have also lost bouts, yet came out of the ring prouder and a better person, because I just happened to meet a better athlete, yet I gave it 100%, and my opponent knew he was in a fight. Win or lose isn't the measure. I love this sport because it is such a great revealer of an athlete's motivation, heart, and commitment.
Boxing to me is so much like life. Most that come into this sport who are new look for the knockout punch, (just like in the movies) when actually true amateur boxing is a constant barrage of jabs, with a build up to controlling their opponent in the ring, to score more points than your opponent. The knockout punch in life is buying lottery tickets and hoping you will hit the big one someday. But for most of us, real life is a constant, sustained, long term peddling of life's bicycle, building, steering and moving forward. Then, when the window of opportunity opens, we jump on it. Just like boxing. We take a new person and teach them the basics of Olympic style boxing. Some move forward quickly and compete. Some take their time and don't ever compete. We don't push them; it has to come from within.
Within our club I am watching talent that is emerging that I am very excited about. Real life, world champions come from clubs just like ours. Imagine the dream and excitement of having an Olympic competitor in your club, in your town, in your family, or maybe yourself!
The spirit of this club is red hot, we love the sport, and we respect and admire the athletes who are our family here. Most people see youth as trouble makers; I think all youth have heart like no other age group. We hope we can serve them to become better human beings, better athletes and contributing members of society as they are uplifted through plain good old hard work, and then pass the lessons on for generations.
Thank you,
Scott Eccles, owner/coach
BEL Boxing Club,
Bridgenorth, Ontario.
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