A coach like Dave Schuck contradicts himself. A former boxer who now runs an amateur club that includes teenagers as young as 13, Schuck knows the sport can inflict irreparable, long-term damage and brain deterioration. So he does his best to mitigate those risks. In addition to teaching defensive techniques, he prevents kids from sparring too frequently and keeps kids from regular bouts and other ring encounters that leave them vulnerable.
Schuck remembers a teenage peer from his own earliest days in the ring. "Ron is now deaf and he's blind and that was boxing related," he said. Ron was a poor boxer with no defensive skills, according to Schuck. "What happened to him was irresponsible coaching."
The head trainer at the Astoria Boxing Club knows the risks. Coaching a sport that rewards blows to the head-Schuck says none of his young boxers has ever been knocked out although adult contenders have been dropped-appears to contradict his emphasis on athlete safety. However, he's correct in arguing this paradox also exists in football, rugby, hockey and other contact sports. It's the responsibility of coaches and athletic administrations to balance the benefits of sport and competition with the inherent dangers of full-body contact. With boxing, the risk is as obvious as a bloody nose, giving any call for prohibition an unarticulated, "Duh."
The call from the Canadian Pediatric Society to ban boxing is powerless but does emphasize how little we know about concussions. Kids, teens and adults will be drawn to a place they can work out and gain the confidence, camaraderie and sense of self that develops with sport.
Would you prevent your child from boxing? Email me at [email protected].
