Dalby PCYC Boxing Club teaching life lessons and building confidence

In a small room up a flight of stairs, Dalby PCYC Boxing Club welcomes people from all walks of life to punch away their troubles and learn important life skills. Here’s how the club is turning lives around.

In a small room up a flight of stairs at the Dalby PCYC the sounds of punches hitting heavy bags ring out.

Sweat drips off the foreheads of boxers from ages 10 to 50 as skipping ropes whip expertly beneath their nimble feet, while others face off in long mirrors throwing lightning fast punches fighting battles against invisible opponents, and more importantly themselves.

For many who have never ventured into the realm of boxing there exists a belief about pugilists that they are brutish thugs, but coach Andrew Alderton says boxing is less about violence and more about learning the skills to navigate life.

“I teach boxing but I don't just teach them to be boxers, I teach them to be fighters,” he said.

“I don't like to give them a name like a boxer because if you’re not boxing anymore that status is gone but if I teach them to be a fighter they can take that with them for the rest of their lives.

“They can fight for everything, fight for their jobs, fight to solve problems, we teach them life skills, I teach them how to defend themselves, have control, problem solve and create skills through their lives.

“For some of these guys when they walk through the door they haven't got any idea how they are going to fight their way through life and you give them a bit of time and they start to learn how to fight so they don't have to (worry about how they’ll get through life).

“They get a release from the bags and they are able to get rid of all of the negativity they had in their heads that day and walk out of here with a smile on their face not worrying about the small things that happened that day.”

PCYC boxing club changing lives

Mr Alderton said he had seen many lost people walk through his doors and change their lives.

“Some of them come from pretty bad backgrounds,” he said.

“We are a PCYC, so we get some people who get bullied at school, we get guys who don't have a good home life and you give them six weeks to six months and they aren't getting bullied anymore.

“Their confidence is growing, they don't fight back at school because their confidence shines, they pick up on their school work, they get more friends. We get teachers, headmasters and police officers all comment and say (to us) whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.

“It’s the discipline in boxing, you have to be so fit to be a boxer you have to make it a lifestyle, you have to have control at home, at school, at work, out on the town. You have to have control in everything, you can’t let your emotions overwhelm you and next thing you’re becoming a fighter.

“Most of the guys and girls who walk through these doors leave here in tradesman positions, the army, navy, air force, we’ve got guys you wouldn’t have thought that they'd do anything and now they are working as boiler makers or accountants, so I get a kick out of that.”

Dalby's Chase Alderton in action.

Andrew’s son Chase Alderton is just one of many of those successes.

“One of my mates wanted to come up and he invited me along because it was a troubled kids program and I was having trouble with school with learning problems and authority problems,” he said.

“I went from footy where I wasn't doing very well or getting along with people and I came here and I really liked it.

“My concentration in school improved, my grades improved, I was more social with people, my confidence went up, I used to have no confidence at all.

“A lot of people who don't do the sport, think that people who box aren't the greatest people and they end up in jail but if you look at me I’ve come a long way, all because of this sport.”

Monique Barker, who recently moved to Dalby from Ipswich, said for her learning to box started as a means of survival.

“When we were kids we always wanted to fight and we always had a lot of beef out in the street so we thought we’ve got to learn how to protect ourselves, particularly as a woman,” she said.

“Since I started boxing I’ve been getting into less trouble. I feel like it has made me a better person and more calm.

“I don't need to get into stupid fights anymore because I know I have more experience than them so I can just turn around, walk away and let it be.

“I fell in love with the thrill of boxing and training and ultimately decided to go into competition.”

For Yusuf Hassan, he first got into boxing for his 16-year-old son but never expected the salvation he would also find within the sport.

“I put my son in here because he was going off the rails and saw the benefits for him almost straight away,” he said.

“I shudder to think where he would be without boxing, the discipline of coming and training three times a week, then doing sparring and getting found out if you're lazy has given him discipline he wouldn’t have had if he wasn’t doing boxing.

“It’s the only place where you have all generations in the same place. We have 10-year-olds, 25-year-olds and 50-year-olds all sweating and doing an activity together.

“There is a direct correlation between what you put in and what you get out. It means everything to do this with my son, it is one of the most important things to me.”

Classes run from 5.30pm to 7pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday at the Dalby PCYC.

Originally published as Dalby PCYC Boxing Club teaching life lessons and building confidence