Numbers surge for youth boxing club after makeover

A youth boxing club has gone "from strength to strength" after receiving a grant and buying a brand new ring, organisers say.

Damon Croft, who runs Bell Green Amateur Boxing Club in Coventry, joined the group almost a year ago and said at the time there were only two children who regularly came.

The club has since received £5,000 from the Heart of England Community Foundation and chose to use the money to give the facility a makeover.

Mr Croft said the gym was once like "walking into the seventies" but now, with the new boxing ring and a lick of paint, each session attracts up to 50 children.

"Now we have three classes and we even had a child reach the final of the Midlands Championships, it's been brilliant for the kids", he added.

The club received the funding after the grant-giving organisation joined forces with the city council in a bid to restore "dormant assets" to benefit the city's voluntary and community sector.

The gym, based at Bell Green Working Men's Club, was the first recipient of a grant and Tina Costello, chief executive of the foundation, said the club had had a "significant positive impact on the Bell Green community".

Mr Croft added that he hoped the new ring would see even more children take up the sport.

"Boxing has so many benefits for young people, it not only helps with fitness, but also improves their focus, self-discipline and confidence," he added.

"We've had so many parents comment on how much their child's behaviour and manners have improved since being with us."

Charlene decided to take her eight-year-old son Ellis to the boxing class.

"He'd probably live there if he had the chance", she said.

"He's met so many new friends and they're like a family now."

Mr Croft added that the gym provided young people with a safe space, where they could hang out with their friends rather than being in front of screens or on the streets.

"It looks really inviting now. We're definitely going in the right direction," he said.

Despite his role being voluntary, he said it was "really rewarding".

"To see a child that's not very confident coming into the gym and the next thing they're walking into a boxing ring and achieving their goals, it's brilliant to watch," Mr Croft added.

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