San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
FIRST ‘BOX WITH A COP’ A HIT WITH YOUTH
National City police connect with kids in inaugural event
Left jab, left jab, right hook.
Right jab, right jab, left hook.
It was an epic mismatch, this bout between Emily Serapio, a 14-year-old Sweetwater High School freshman, and Antonio Ybarra, a 49-year-old National City police lieutenant. Ybarra was doomed.
“Don’t hurt me, girl!” he called out. Serapio smiled and — pop! pop! pop! — unleashed another rapid-fire combination.
Saturday’s “Box With a Cop” brought 18 local kids and 14 police officers to National City’s Community Youth Athletic Center, a gym dominated by a regulation-size boxing ring. The inaugural event was hosted by the National City Police Department, on the suggestion of Officer Ashley “Smashley” Cummins, 32, a veteran cop and professional mixed martial artist who often trains there.
“We’ll definitely do this again next year,” she said.
In pop culture, this is a common plot: A youngster from the ’hood turns away from trouble, gaining pride and purpose by strapping on a pair of gloves and going toe-to-toe with a grizzled mentor. A cliche, perhaps, but with elements of truth — George Foreman, to cite one example, was a high school dropout and small-time hood when he was introduced to this sport. He went on to become a two-time heavyweight world champion.
Few ever enjoy Foreman’s level of success in the ring.
But boxing, insists Youth Athletic Center executive director Clemente Casillas, instills self-confidence and a will to overcome obstacles.
“If you can do this, if you can can compete, if you can box, anything else that comes at you in the street is easy,” said Casillas, 56, a Southeast San Diego native with 70 amateur bouts under his belt. “If you have the discipline to do 500 to 1,000 situps in the morning, then you can pick up a book and read it, even if you have to force yourself.”
The youth sparring with cops Saturday were all members of this nonprofit gym, some with weeks of training in the “sweet science,” others with years. Inside the center, they find mentors like Cummins and Edgar Sandoval, the head coach and a Border Patrol agent. Lessons go far beyond learning how to throw — and take — a punch. There’s also academic tutoring, and students with failing grades cannot box.
That’s no barrier to Betbirai Arista, 17, a senior at Sweetwater High School. After five months at this gym, she’s a brawler and a scholar, having been accepted for the fall term at Cal State San Marcos and UC Santa Barbara.
“This is good for fitness,” she said, working the heavy bag with police Lt. Derek Aydelotte. “I just really enjoy it.”
The session was a chance for local youth to get to know National City cops, not as remote authority figures, but as sparring partners with unique personalities.
“You know,” Ybarra said during a short break, “it’s just as important for my officers to get to know the kids. Most of their contacts are with the 3 to 5 percent who are causing problems. But this — this is so important.”
And boxing is a universal language, able to break down barriers and build relationships around the world.
Prisca Vicot, a Paris police officer and professional boxer, came to National City last month to train. She narrowly lost a 10-round decision Feb. 8 loss to a Dominican fighter, Christina Linadartou, and came to the Youth Athletic Center to sharpen her skills. When she heard of “Box With a Cop,” Vicot extended her stay to take part.
“Boxing with children,” she said in lightly accented English, “is a very good idea.”
A good idea that will pay dividends, insisted “Smashley” Cummins. “Some of the kids come from tough backgrounds,” she said. “They just need a little guidance, and there’s no one better to have than police as mentors.”