Cardenas gets elite training
About two months ago, Aidyl Cardenas was notified she had been selected to attend USA Boxing’s prestigious National Team Training Camp.
“My trainer got a call, then my mom received an email that I had been selected,” explained the 17-year-old. “I was so excited.”
Cardenas is the defending Junior Olympic champion in the 141-pound weight class and earned a silver medal in the Kansas National Youth Elite Tournament back in December.
The results gave Cardenas the No. 2 ranking in the national standings, and a spot on the camp’s roster.
“When I won (the Junior Olympics) in Texas, that helped me get points,” said Cardenas regarding her ranking.
In preparation for the event, Cardenas said she moved forward with her regular training at Baja Boxing in Calexico in order to be prepared as possible for the week-long camp, which was held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
During her stay in Colorado, Cardenas and the other participants were under the direction of National Team Head Coach Billy Walsh, who was recently named Coach of the Year by the International Boxing Association.
“In the morning we’d run five miles then we’d work on strength and conditioning,” recalled Cardenas.
The Calexico High School junior said the first few days were a bit rough physically as Colorado Springs has an altitude higher than 6,000 feet.
“It was hard, but we got used it after a few days,” she said.
Cardenas returned from the camp on Easter Sunday and recalled the positive impact the experience had on her as an individual and a boxer.
“I liked meeting the other girls and just being around people that enjoy this sport as much as I do,” she said. “I learned a lot of things.”
Cardenas said she first began boxing at the age of 12 simply because it was a unique sport.
“It was different and there weren’t any girls doing it, so I decided to give it a try,” she said. “I never thought it would take me to where I am now.”
While Cardenas never imagined the sport would land her a spot in the National Team camp, now that it has, she has set her sights on the Olympics.
“If I can keep my ranking and move up I could go to Japan in 2020 or the 2024 Olympics, so my goal is to be in one of those two,” she explained.
Until then, Cardenas will continue to compete in local and out-of-town tournaments beginning with the Guerra en la Frontera in Mexicali in a few weeks and hopefully a back-to-back gold medal performance at the Junior Olympics later this year.
“I want to make this a good year,” Cardenas said. “I’m almost 18, so I just want to keep working hard and doing well.”
Cardenas expressed her gratitude to her father, Armando Cardenas and Raul Lau, who help her train, as well as her career-long trainer, Nacho Sanchez.
“(Sanchez) has helped me since the first day,” she said. “He always motivates me and has taught me everything I know. He’s always believed in me.”