Boxers get to work on new punch bags
A new sponsorship boost has allowed Lochaber Phoenix Boxing Club to buy a new set of punch bags which will improve young boxers’ training.
The club, which has a thriving junior and senior section competing at regional, national and international levels, found that the cheaper punch bags they had to buy due to financial constraints were not only wearing out quickly due to continual use, but many were just too short for the youngest boxers to use.
Some of the youngest boxers, who start from age nine, are extremely talented and dedicated in learning the moves and co-ordinating the action, but while they may be big hitters, they can also be quite small in stature. This means that while practising combinations of the bags, they are often only able to reach the very bottom of them, which due to compacting of the filling became more solid, with little of the “give” which can expected further up the bag.
This was remedied with a donation from Liberty British Aluminium to buy and install two new much longer high quality leather punch bag, which will not only last a long time, but when mounted on supports on the ceiling, mean even the smallest boxer can reach an area of similar cushioning as their taller colleagues.
Checking out just how much of an improvement the new bags are, Rosie Flannigan and Kerry MacDonald of the Lochaber smelter donned gloves and under the guidance of their two young coaches, landed a few punches on the new bags.