Ten-year-old Baylee Kivela sits quietly on the couch, swinging her legs, her hands resting quietly in her lap while her coach roots through a box looking for a particular roll of tape.
On the wall behind her just above her is the word Commitment.
A reminder to those that come through the door about what it takes to succeed here and beyond, and an apt description of the young girl on the couch.
“I call her Tiger,” chuckled Rick Rae, the driving force behind Genesis Boxing and Fitness, said recently in between classes.
“She’s the hardest young working kid in the club, period,” said Rae, pointing out, “she loves to box but she boxes to better her skills at hockey and lacrosse.”
“I like it a lot,” Baylee said with a smile that says it’s true.
She joined the youth class at Genesis shortly after the club opened almost a year ago, and has been coming three times a week every week since.
Like her stablemates, Baylee has been training hard in the buildup to the upcoming BC Bronze Gloves slated for Oceanside Place in May.
The sparkplug won’t be able to compete in the Broze Gloves as she’ll be away competing in a big hockey tournament, but she will be taking to the ring to spar in front of family and friends at the club’s Road to Glory open house this Saturday.
“It’s going to be fun,” she smiled as her coach wrapped her hands.
Rae has a group of about 18 fighters ranging in age from 11-21 that will be competing in the Bronze clubs — he has 32 in all registered at the club.
As for the big picture, that task at hand is bigger than preparing the local stable of boxers for competition.
“For sure. Much bigger. Getting (awarded) the tournament is one thing but then you have to go through all the red tape. It’s not an easy deal to pull together.”
As for the mood around the gym, Rae said the mood is upbeat and the work ethic serious.
Some of the kids in the group have said they want to stick with the program and take a run at the nationals, which would mean a two year journey for the older kids.
SATURDAY’S
OPEN HOUSE
Genesis Boxing and Fitness will open the doors at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will be accepting non-perishable food items and cash donations for the local MS chapter all day through to 5 p.m.
The public sparring session runs from 3 – 5 p.m.
sports@pqbnews.com
