SQUARING UP FOR CHANGE
Kingsley Goodison transforming youths through boxing
VOWING TO continue uplifting youths until the day he dies, Kingsley Goodison has dedicated his days to instructing and transforming approximately 300 boxers over the past decade through his boxing training.
Goodison, director of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control and manager of the Stanley Couch Gym, operates an annual boxing camp and daily training sessions for youths ranging from age eight to 17, free of charge.
Goodison’s passion for boxing and his love for children, strapped with the realisation that there was no youth boxing programme in Jamaica, led to the inception of the Kingsley Goodison Boxing Camp, held annually in the second week in August.
Since then, he has devoted his time to the betterment of his prospective boxers. They are not limited to just training at the annual camp. The gym is open daily after school hours and is free of charge to any student who wishes to train. Goodison also offers daily training to students looking for an extra-curricular activity or young boxers who need extra training.
MORE THAN BOXING
“Any young man or woman who feels like they want to get involved with the boxing and the discipline to it, you can just come and sign up, and there is no charge to it. You can just come and get a skill, and most time, down the years to come, will become a champion because of the teachings,” Goodison said.
Going above just training them physically, Goodison and his team of qualified coaches also teach the children skills and values to help them through school and life.
“Most of them come raw, and you have to also teach them hygiene because hygiene is big where boxing is concerned. We also teach them in terms of proper manners, how to take care of themselves and deportment, and how to carry themselves because the garment you are going to be boxing in has to be clean. We teach them everyday life experiences,” he said.
With most of his students having gone on to pursue boxing professionally, Goodison said he is exceptionally pleased with the work he has been doing to inspire the children, some of whom have no other source of inspiration.
MENTORING A NEW GENERATION OF BOXERS
One boxer who also lauded the work that Goodison has been doing over the past decade is Sakima Mullings, a two-time Wray & Nephew Contender champion in 2014 and 2017, 2013 Caribbean Boxing Federation champion, and 2011 Commonwealth Boxing Council Zonal middleweight champion. Mullings said he met Goodison because of the Stanley Couch Gym’s popularity when he was searching for a gym to train in, in Jamaica. Having heard about his boxing knowledge, the decorated boxer was invited by Goodison to become an instructor for the youth camp.
“I have been involved with the programme for about seven or eight years now, not from the beginning, but from a year or two after, and I have been an instructor at the youth camp, bringing in young boxers and passing the information down to them,” Mullings shared, noting that he is grateful to be in a position to pass on knowledge to the next generation of boxers.
One product of the knowledge that has been passed on by all the talented instructors of the Stanley Couch Gym is 19-year-old Daniel Hylton, top boxer in the 2019 Wray & Nephew Rum Punch Boxing Series, two-time Wray & Nephew Contender champion, and the Caribbean Boxing Development silver medallist in 2015 and bronze medallist in 2016.
Being under Goodison’s wing since he was a 10-year-old, Hylton said that through boxing, he has not only learnt respect, but also how to relate to those around him and how to behave in a public space.
“Boxing has taught me a lot: to be disciplined, have self-confidence, and also to help others around me, leading them in the right path and giving good advice,” Hylton said.
With his experience, Hylton also donates his time and knowledge to teaching the younger boxing generation at the Kingsley Goodison’s Boxing Camp.
Although one of Goodison’s dreams is to see his camp expand so that he can train more children, he also hopes to see all of the children who have passed through his camp represent Jamaica at the various levels.
■ To donate or learn more about the Stanley Couch Gym, call Kingsley Goodison at (876) 858-4286. Have a good story you’d like to share? Email us at goodheart@ gleanerjm.com.