Thunder Bay Police Service
The Thunder Bay Police Service wants to send its Boxing for Badges program in for a second round.
The eight-week introductory boxing class was established collectively by Thunder Bay Police Service Cst. Frank Tropea, Cst. Matt Veal and Sgt. Julie Tilbury and designed specifically for at-risk youths who might not otherwise have a chance to try the sport.
Local martial arts school Leading Edge Gym provided the venue while a grant through Canadian Tire’s Jump Start program equipped the 22 students with gloves, skipping ropes, hand wraps and T-shirts.
“It’s an amazing program,” said Cst. Tropea. “Those eight weeks were amazing, and the time we had with the kids was just such a great experience.”
Police reached out to area schools and community centres to help identify youths who would likely benefit from a weekly boxing program. For kids who struggled with reliable transportation, Sgt. Tilbury made arrangements to have taxi cabs handle pick up and drop offs at several pre-determined locations.
The program filled within days and a sizeable waiting list formed before the first class in late September 2018. The initial excitement never faded throughout the eight weeks and nearly every graduate had finished the program with perfect attendance.
Cst. Veal and Tropea coached the eight-week program. Both have extensive experience in combat sports – Cst. Veal, having competed in mixed martial arts, holds a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and is a regular coach for the Muay Thai kickboxing program at Leading Edge gym; Cst. Tropea held international and world kickboxing titles at both the amateur and professional level, and has coached boxing and kickboxing for more than 25 years.
Boxing remains a hobby, but being one of the police service’s two school resource officers is how Cst. Tropea makes his living. The nature of his duties allows him to occasionally reconnect with some of the students who graduated Boxing for Badges, which is what he did recently when he stopped by McKellar Park public school.
“I liked learning new things,” said Sylvana, a Boxing for Badges graduate and McKellar Park student, during a conversation she had with her former coach. “I had never even tried boxing before. It was fun to try new stuff and meet new friends.”
When students reminisce about the program like this, it provides the constable with further motivation to re-establish the program.
Right now officers are re-evaluating the program to figure out what, if any, changes should be made to help improve it. The next step will be to secure funding before finalizing scheduling.
“It means a lot to know this program had such an impact on these kids,” Cst. Tropea said. “I loved the program, the kids loved it too, so I really want to try and do this again.”
McKellar Park School principal Joanne Giertuga says she’s eager for an announcement about the program’s second round.
Her Southside school had nearly a dozen students in the pilot program, and she says she witnessed first-hand the positive impact it had on them.
“You’ve made our kids very happy,” Giertuga said directly to the officers who coached and administrated Boxing for Badges. “You see their eyes sparkle when they come in on Monday morning and they’re just so excited to share their news with you, especially for those students who can be very reluctant and very shy. This has really opened up another world for them.”
The principal said she noticed many students who may have avoided putting themselves in leadership roles before attending Boxing for Badges have become more active and involved with school activities and clubs.
Giertuga believes this is a direct result of their time with the Boxing for Badges program.
“This program really does help,” said Megan Froebe, another student who was willing to give boxing a try. “I’ve even had people tell me that I’m more confident, less shy, and it’s made me feel really good actually.
“It has made me see more of the bright side of things and less of the darker side of things, or the sadder side of things.”
Following the Boxing for Badges conclusion, Leading Edge Gym donated one-year boxing memberships to four students who had excelled in the program, had perfect attendance and showed an interest in continuing their training.
“It was really emotional,” Cst. Tropea said, recalling the moments he informed the students about the gym’s gift. “They were really happy, and there were some tears.”
