For the young people at Fit Mind Boxing Warriors, boxing is about much more than what happens in the ring. The group brings together like-minded young people of different ages and genders who share a passion for boxing, and their Find Your Spark project gave them the opportunity to take that passion further.
The group decided to organise a trip to the British Amateur Boxing Association in Sheffield, giving them the chance to visit another boxing club, experience a different training environment and learn more about careers in boxing and the pathway towards becoming a professional boxer.
For Kevin, visiting another club was about experiencing something completely different from what they were used to: “If we go to clubs nearby they probably run a bit more similar. So if we go over there, the chance are that they are completely different.”
Neither Kevin nor Lauren had previously had the opportunity to travel this far to visit another boxing club. Being able to do this through The Key to Find Your Spark felt like a new experience for both of them.
Planning the project also gave the young people the opportunity to take on more responsibility and make decisions about what they wanted to do. For Lauren taking on this responsibility felt different, but positive: “[It was] weird but nice to do. It’s something different.”
One of the biggest challenges for Kevin was pitching the project. Speaking in front of others was something that made him nervous, but he pushed himself to do it and felt so proud of himself for doing so.
“Probably the planning and pitch for me. I get scared of stuff like that [pitching] and it felt good to be able to do it.”
The experience has already changed how Kevin sees his own abilities. When asked whether he feels more confident in himself and what he could do in the future, he said: “Yeah I believe in myself. If we had to do another pitch I feel like I wouldn’t be as scared.”
For both young people, boxing has also been an important source of support through difficult experiences.
Kevin explained that he joined the boxing club at a particularly difficult point in his life: “Before I came here, I had lost three family members in two months and a dog. I came here because I wasn’t leaving the house, just inside my room not doing anything. My granda suggested going to the boxing club and since then I’ve stuck with it and it’s helped me mentally a lot.”
Lauren also described how the boxing club has supported her through challenges, including health problems: “I cam here like three and a half years ago, obviously I was struggling and stuff and then Graham [their boxing coach] helped us pull through all that. And then I had health problems and was in and out of hospital. But then Graham pulled us through it, told us how to overcome it and it’s been alright since then.”
Now, Lauren has a clearer idea of where her passion for boxing could take her: “Before I came here I didn’t know what I wanted to do at all but now I want to box competitively and then do coaching so Graham’s helping me with all that.”
For Lauren, pursuing competitive boxing also comes with practical barriers. The equipment and gear needed can be expensive, and although her parents are supportive of her ambition, these costs can make it harder to access her next steps. Through The Key to Find Your Spark, Lauren is now exploring the possibility of applying for a Find Your Spark bursary, with support from Graham, which could help remove some of these financial barriers and make it easier to pursue her passion.
The project has also given the group the opportunity to look beyond their usual experience of boxing and explore how different clubs approach training. By travelling to Sheffield, meeting other boxers and experiencing a different environment, they have been able to see different ways of doing things and think about what they might want from their own boxing journey.
For Fit Mind Boxing Warriors, Find Your Spark has helped turn a shared passion into an opportunity to explore new experience, challenge themselves and consider where their interest in boxing could take them – from competitive boxing to future coaching and careers within the sport.
When asked what advice they would give to other young people taking on Find Your Spark, Lauren said: “Have in your mind what you want and how you’re going to accomplish it.”
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The Key