Kids keep Spruce Capital coach coming back for more
For more than a half-century, Wayne Sponagle has been the man in the corner for hundreds of young sluggers wanting to make their mark in the boxing ring.
It all began in 1967 when he started working with his brother Barry in his gym in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Before long, older brother Wayne had paved the way for “The Kid” to come out on top as a Canadian lightweight/bantamweight pro champion.
Fifty years later, on the opposite side of the country in Prince George – where he moved in 1978 – Sponagle is still doing what he does best: keeping teens and young adults occupied teaching them the sweet science of boxing as head coach of the Spruce Capital Warriors Boxing Club.
Four evenings a week, in a basement gym on the lower floor of the Brookwood Plaza retail building next to JYSK furniture store, the repetitious rhythm of leatherclad fists pounding the speed bag can be heard over the high-pitched whir of skipping ropes whipping the sweat-laden air.
In the sparring ring, two intent opponents try to land punches under Sponagle’s discerning eye, trying to prove themselves worthy of fighting for real in a sanctioned bout that’s likely hundreds of highway kilometres away in some casino in Edmonton or Vancouver.
For those weekend roadtrips, chances are it will be their 71-year-old coach behind the wheel of the van, paying his own way to help his young athletes climb the boxing ladder.
I guess I mostly do it to give kids something to do, I really like seeing kids trying to achieve and trying to make something out of themselves, whether it’s boxing or hockey or whatever, it intrigues me and makes me want to support these kids. — Wayne Sponagle
“I guess I mostly do it to give kids something to do, I really like seeing kids trying to achieve and trying to make something out of themselves, whether it’s boxing or hockey or whatever, it intrigues me and makes me want to support these kids,” said Sponagle, who has trained the likes of Laurie Mann, Allan Bayne, Todd Hatley, Tim Galeos, Marcus Hume, Thomas Speirs and Sponagle’s own son George to national and international achievements on the amateur and professional boxing stage.
“I can honestly say my love for the sport is kind of dying a bit, but it’s the kids that keep me going. At least I know in this town, any kids who want to box and they come to the Spruce Capital Boxing Club, they’re going to get the right start. They’re going to be taught the right stuff that’s going to benefit them in future, whether it’s me training them of somebody else.”
After the summer shutdown, the Warriors club is back in business as a hub of activity and sessions have already begun for the new season which gets underway in earnest in October. Sponagle says this will be the first time in five years he’s charging boxers a fee. He’s tried to keep costs down and the owner of the building, Gary Vale, makes it all possible.
“Gary sponsors the club and I couldn’t do it without his help, I would have packed it in a long time ago,” said Sponagle.
Cam Morris and Nathan Coole are helping Sponagle coach. Sessions run from 5:157:15 p.m.,Tuesday-Thursday evenings.
The cost is $30 per month for boxers under the age of 16 and $40 per month for those aged 16-or-older. Families can register as many kids as they have for $60 per month.
The club will send its fighters to events sanctioned by Boxing B.C., after four years with the British Columbia Combative Sports Association (Combsport).
For more information about the Spruce Capital club, call 250-612-1600.