It Ain’t Easy Being a Boxing Coach!
By Tyler “The Miracle Man” White
As a young coach and boxing trainer, I meet all sorts of people wanting to learn how to box – there are a variety of age groups and a multitude of reasons as to why each individual wishes to pick up a pair of gloves and experience a taste of the life of a fighter.
The one thing that stands out to me in particular, is that despite a person’s original intentions and enthusiasm, boxing reveals more about a person’s character than anything else…
How hard are they willing to work?
Do they cut corners or make excuses?
How does this person cope with setbacks or defeat?
Do they listen and learn, or do they think they know it all already?
For anyone that really knows boxing, they appreciate that in this sport, you have no other option than to work hard, listen and learn, or else you’re going to get found out. You’ll get found out, under those lights in front of all your family and friends if you don’t put in the work and if you haven’t been paying attention to the lessons your coach has been teaching.
Following on from the hard work and that necessity to listen and learn, the training has got to be done properly and done without cutting corners. There cannot be excuses creeping in every session at the gym or every morning when you’ve got to wake up early and get in the miles out on the road.
There is no room for excuses in boxing and as the saying goes “if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse”.
Also, as a fighter, you’ve got to put in, what you want to get out in return…
So, if you want to win and be successful, you’ve got to put in the level of work and commitment that’s necessary to achieve that. However, a lot of people struggle to get their heads around that and expect instant results, wins and boxing ability without doing the work and putting in the hours to study the noble art.
Even if you do put in the hard work, however, you can’t guarantee victory on every occasion, but at least you will have learnt a lot and improved from the experience and in boxing, experience counts!
Every fighter has at least once, experienced a loss within the ring (even Floyd Mayweather Jr in the amateurs) and there are two ways to respond to that:
Accepting it and using it to fuel your fire to come back better and stronger
or
Letting that defeat stop you from progressing any further and deciding to hang up the gloves
I always find it really interesting to see how people react and to see if they’re able to bounce back from a temporary setback, or whether or not they allow a loss to defeat them for good…
Which brings me on to my main point and the title of this article – “It Ain’t Easy” – this is the motto at Freddie Roach’s gym, The Wildcard Boxing Club, and it sure has hit the nail on the head!
Boxing is not easy. It requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice, it makes us call upon our willpower so that we don’t make up excuses, it takes a lot of effort to learn and it won’t always go your way, but that is the beauty of the sport. It tests you as an athlete and as a human being, whilst also making you remember that “It Ain’t Easy” – neither in boxing or in life, but that’s all part of the fun.
“It Ain’t Easy”, but it’s worth it!
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