Making a difference at Market Drayton ABC

Posted on by Maverick Stars Trust

It’s been a busy time for Market Drayton Boxing after the club has secured investment from Maverick Stars Trust to deliver an after-school project alongside the town’s Grove School in Market Drayton itself.

Improving School attendance and behaviour

Shropshire-based club Market Drayton Boxing has been able to deliver some boxing sessions to youngsters that have really made a difference.

Chris Blasé, the lead coach at club, was approached by the school to deliver a programme to seven to 11-year-olds as some similar activity for their pupils had shown very good results in terms of attendance and behaviour.

Crucial Maverick funding

Unfortunately, the school did not have any funds available to facilitate the running of the activity but Maverick Stars Trust, via England Boxing’s Club Support Officer Mick Maguire, stepped in to ensure the project went ahead.

Blasé added: “Mick very kindly helped us with our application and the planning of the programme delivery of the programme, but Maverick were brilliant and came through with a grant, without which we wouldn’t have been able to do this work with the kids.

More than 40 children have taken part

“Several of the group are now registered with England Boxing to compete and indeed one of our youngsters recently took part in his first skills bout and loved every second of it.

“With over 40 young people taking part we are delighted with the programme so far.

The pictures show some of the members of the group training at the boxing club and the whole group taking part in the programme on the Sports Field.

Maverick Stars Trust boxing project nine – The Bar ABC

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England Boxing-affiliated The Bar ABC’s outreach project has been given a timely boost thanks to a funding boost from the Maverick Stars Trust.

In 2015, as part of a disability boxing project, England Boxing Club Support Officer Avoen Perryman worked in partnership with Sussex charity Outreach 3Way and Crawley ABC to deliver a series of inclusive sessions in Crawley.

After they proved to be a big success and very well attended, both parties were keen to see what other similar initiatives could be put in place on the South Coast.

And so it was that in October last year Worthing-based The Bar ABC teamed up with Outreach 3Way to help support young adults with learning disabilities to lead fulfilling and active lives.

The club’s Adrian Clark was keen for an opportunity to deliver some boxing training to young disabled people in Chichester, and Bob Leeves, Manager at Outreach 3Way, was only too happy to help him implement the project.

Helped my funding from Maverick Stars Trust to pay for the sessions, they have been an undoubted success and helped inspire those youngsters who have participated.

Leeves said: “The guys from our group are really enjoying the sessions and it is really great to see how much their confidence has grown since accessing the sessions last October.

“Some of them where a little worried about taking part in boxing, but all have taken to it and are really looking forwards to each of the sessions.

“I am also very impressed with Ady and the lads that coach the sessions. They have also taken to working with the group very quickly and it good to see the banter and relationships that have developed.

“Having something new to take part in and experience is a great opportunity for those who have taken part.”

Additionally, Adrian has linked up with several of the current DiSE academy students from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, to get their help in delivering the sessions.

These 16 and 17-year-olds are gaining practical inclusive coaching experience, whilst also giving something back to their communities.

Clark said: “I would like to say a big thank you to the DISE students at MET Brighton, who have helped me run the sessions and who will continue to support and be part of future sessions.

“I am a firm believer that Boxing can and is for everyone regardless of age sex and disability.  It’s been fantastic working with Outreach 3Way and the amazing young adults who have attended the sessions.

“Over the course of the last 10 months, watching the confidence grow within the group has been a pleasure to see and be part of. Hopefully in the future we will carry on and continue the sessions offering boxing fitness to the group.

Bar Boxing club literally have no form of income and so far has been financed by myself, so the funding from Maverick Stars Trust has been been extremely valuable to the club in helping us buy much needed equipment for the project.”

Wimborne ABC – Girl’s in gloves

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The Maverick Stars Trust is supporting Wimborne Amateur Boxing Club to deliver its Girls in Gloves project, which aims to tackle mental health problems and raise female participation levels in boxing.

What Wimborne ABC stands for

Wimborne Amateur Boxing Club was set up to bring boxing to the local community in Dorset and help educate youth through sport.

It is a not-for-profit club that has boxers from 10 to 40 years old competing across the south and nationally.

There is also the chance to take part in the GB Boxing Awards programme, which gives youngsters a chance to gain recognised certificates they put towards their education.

Dave Rimmer is the Head Coach and is a qualified Level 2 England Boxing Coach, Professional Boxing Trainer and a Level 3 Personal Trainer.

He is keen to continue the growth of Wimborne and offer top-class sessions for boxers of all ages.

Supported by £2,500 of funding from the Maverick Stars Trust, the Girls in Gloves project, as explained below, is one way of engaging with young people.

 

The Girls in Gloves project

The Girls in Gloves (GIG) Project has been initiated with two aims:

– To help tackle the rise in mental health problems among young women and girls

– To increase female participation in boxing.

In today’s world, young girls have to contend with countless pressures, stresses and potentially negative influences including bullying, peer pressure and feeling excluded, which can leave them feeling depressed, anxious, lonely and with low self-esteem.

The GIG program is trying to address these issues within schools by promoting wellness and positive mental health through boxing and fitness.

The proactive approach to mental health gives girls the chance to focus on something positive, be a part of a team and be able to talk about anything they feel is bothering them.

The GIG program is also trying to address and change the stereotype that boxing is a man’s sport. Women’s boxing is on the rise, and, although still behind in numbers to men in terms of participation, more and more girls are picking up the gloves, which the project aims to capitalise on.

Aimed at nine to 16 year old girls

The project’s target audience is girls aged nine to 16 years old. The aim is to have a minimum of 20 girls for each six-week project initiated within schools.

 

What will the girls get out of it?

Over the six weeks the students will learn basic boxing skills:

– How to wrap their hands

– How to adopt their stance

– How to move correctly

– How to throw and defend the basic punches.

But they will also learn vital skills to aid their ongoing wellbeing:

– How to deal with stress

– Talking about problems

– How to deal with bullies on and offline

– How to spot possible problems in others.

A project with long-term sustainability

As Wimborne Amateur Boxing club is not-for-profit, they are also holding fundraising events to support the project, in addition to applying for funding from the Maverick Stars Trust. The club also host regular boxing shows, sparring days and holiday camps to support their activities.

A very successful all-female show was held on Friday 12th April with girls from clubs around the country travelling to take part – and the evening was a huge success. The club intend to make this an annual event, with all proceeds going towards our Girls In Gloves project.

There are also sponsorship packages available should small business wish to get involved.

Find out more via social media

You can find out more about Girls In Gloves via the following social media links:

Facebook – Wimborne Amateur Boxing Club – https://www.facebook.com/wimbabc/

Instagram – wimborne_amateur_boxing – https://www.instagram.com/wimborne_amateur_boxing/

Unity Boxing Academy – Summer holiday camp

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Thanks to significant support from The Maverick Stars Trust, England Boxing-affiliated Unity Boxing Academy of Bradford was able to run an engaging summer holiday camp that hopes to bring long-term benefits.

Physical activity in the holidays

Unity Boxing Academy ran a summer camp over the holidays for young people aged 11 to 19 years old.

The programme allowed young people from the local area to take part in physical activity sessions Monday to Friday for three weeks of the summer holidays.

As well as the physical activity sessions, the club also incorporated educational workshops on issues such as knife crime, gang crime and drug misuse.

Tackling anti-social behaviour

This age group was targeted as there is often a gap in provision for those too old to attend many summer activities, but too young to be disengaged in structured activity for the whole summer.

These young people are most at risk of becoming involved with anti-social behaviour and crime and the programme was a very successful diversionary activity.

The programme was so popular that the club added a session on a Sunday morning to cater for all participants.

It engaged 115 young people in total including 30 females and 85 males.

Mentoring opportunities

The programme also offered mentoring for four older participants to lead elements of the sessions improving their communication and leadership skills. The club will be looking to mentor these young people through coaching qualifications over the next few years.

The Manchester Superstore, a supermarket next to the club, also sponsored the project with free fruit and water, which was greatly appreciated by the club and participants.

Welcome Maverick support

The club would like to thank Mavericks Stars Trust for their support in running a successful project that benefited so many young people over the summer holidays.

They are looking forward to working with them again over the Christmas period running a Fit and Fed project for young people.

Aldershot ABC – #No knives in the SHOT

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The Maverick Stars Trust has put £2,500 towards Aldershot ABC’s Stay Safe #No knives in the SHOT project.  Here’s what it’s all about…

The set-up at Aldershot ABC

Aldershot ABC are are based at Alderwood Leisure Centre, which sits on the same site as Alderwood School.

The club have an entire gymnasium to themselves with a full-size competition ring and bags permanently in-place.

Their Maverick Stars Trust project

The project the club are going to deliver is called ‘Stay Safe #No knives in the SHOT’. They club are looking to engage a group of young people at risk of offending, with a particular focus around reducing knife crime in the local area.

The target audience

The club are aiming to engage a group of 20 to 40 young people aged 10-22.

How the project will work

The young people will go through a structured training programme (GB Boxing Awards) for just less than a year to give them key goals to work towards, instil a sense of achievement and to help retain the young people in the sport for the long-term as a suitable diversion from offending.

The young people will also take part in a talk from an anti-knife crime campaigner and former gang member to expose them to the realities of knife crime and aid in deterring them from becoming involved.

What will be achieved

The expected outcomes are a reduction in gang-involvement in the local area, as well as a reduction in knife crime and anti-social behaviour, together with an increase of membership at Aldershot ABC.

How will the project be sustained?

The long-term sustainability for the project will come from the participants being encouraged to join the club upon completion of the funded sessions.

It is also hoped that the successes of this project will lead to further future partnerships and projects with similar aims.

Get in touch with Aldershot ABC

Go to the club’s website at www.aldershotabc.com/, email aldershotabc@gmail.com or call 01252 542144.

East Brighton ABC – School Holiday Programme

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Recently-established East Brighton ABC in Sussex is the second club to be given support from the Maverick Stars Trust as they bid to engage young people during the 2019 school holidays.

East Brighton ABC’s bid to engage – and feed – young people

East Brighton ABC operate out of the Crew Club youth centre in the Whitehawk ward, on the outskirts of the city, and an area that is unfortunately one of significant deprivation.

The club was created by centre staff just over three years ago, when a growing number of young people highlighted that they would like to take up the sport.

Darren Snow MBE, Crew Club Manager, took up the challenge – and has been leading the club ever since.

In partnership with The Maverick Stars Trust and England Boxing, East Brighton ABC are looking to engage a group of young people throughout the schools holidays of 2019 – Easter, Summer and Autumn.

They will be looking to upskill a young and engaged boxer from the club to assist with coaching and develop their leadership skills, while also providing a group of young people the opportunity to learn a new sport through the GB Boxing Awards programme.

The young people will also get a healthy meal at the end of each training session, at a time when many of them – having usually received free school meals during term time – would otherwise be inactive, disengaged and hungry.

The target audience

The target audience is 20-plus young disadvantaged people from the East Brighton area, aged 10 to 16.

What will the project achieve?

To engage new participants in the sport of boxing, relieve anti-social behaviour and disengagement of young people during school holiday periods, and to alleviate holiday hunger among the participants.

Additionally, a young boxer will gain skills in coaching and leadership throughout the programme and their subsequent Level 1 qualification.

The long-term sustainability of the project

Long-term, the club will seek to raise funds with the 20-plus young people involved, by hosting community events that will ensure the holiday sessions can continue into the future.

The club will also use this project as a starting point to apply for future funding from other grant providers, who believe in the outcomes and can see the value of the project in 2019.

Contact East Brighton ABC

If you want to box at East Brighton, or get involved as a volunteer, you can email contact@eastbrightonabc.co.uk or call 0127 3608607.

Off to a winner for Wimborne ABC girls!

Posted on by Maverick Stars Trust

It was a successful weekend for Wimbourne ABC with two of their 'Girls in Gloves' participants climbing through the ropes to make their boxing bow.

Thirteen year old Grace Shire put in a strong performance in her first competitive bout to win via unanimous decision. There was a skills bout debut for Gabby Strange, 14, who defied her inexperience (she only took up boxing five months ago) to box superbly.

Both girls are the product of the GIG initiative - funded by Maverick Stars - which aims to help tackle mental health problems and raise female participation levels in boxing. More girls than ever are now competing in the sport.

 

GEMINI FIT AND FED

Gemini FIT AND FED

Posted on by Maverick Stars Trust

 

Based at Gemini Amateur Boxing Club in Speke, the project will take place throughout the summer holidays and provide activities and nutrition for youngsters aged from eight to sixteen. For five hours each day, children will be enjoying sports and games including: boxing, football, basketball, drama, street dance and arts and crafts. There will also be leadership and mentoring sessions.

The programme has been designed to help overcome the combined problems of hunger, inactivity and isolation that some young people suffer when away from the structure and routine of school. Parents will also be encouraged to come along and get involved and also learn more about eating healthily on a budget.

Gemini ABC Head Coach John Rice said: “Unfortunately the holidays can be really hard for a lot of families that are struggling financially. There is nothing for kids to do and with no free school meals, there’s often a shortage of food as well.

“The programme will keep our young people engaged and off the streets. They’ll have fun, learn about nutrition and learn new skills. They’ll also get the chance to go to a local festival where they can interact with their peers from different areas and cultures.”To prepare for the summer, Gemini ABC ran a hugely successful ‘Fit and Fed’ pilot project over the Easter holidays (images attached).

The ‘Fit and Fed’ programme is one of a series of initiatives supported by Maverick Stars. Charity founder Charlotte Gilley said: “We’re helping and advising boxing clubs and individuals throughout the north west and beyond. We want young people to get the best opportunities through boxing, so our partnership with Gemini is a perfect fit.”For more information about Gemini ABC’s ‘Fit and Fed’ programme, contact Mark O’Brien on 07943 215985.

MAVERICK WINNERS

Maverick’s Award Winners

Posted on by Maverick Stars Trust

Twenty-four young boxers from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout the UK are set to benefit from a unique award - courtesy of Maverick Stars Trust.

The fighters all competed at the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs Championships. Former competitors in the tournament include Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, Tyson Fury and current GB Boxer Will Cawley.

More than 2,000 boxers started the journey in 2019 at local county-rounds across the country – that number eventually whittled down to the winners.

The Maverick Stars ‘Boxing Development Award’ consists of a package of prizes including: club subs paid for a year, team building days, JD Sports voucher, training kit and boxing gloves along with and a masterclass at GB Boxing Headquarters in Sheffield with lead performance coach Micky Driscoll.

Pictured: Kieran McDaid (second right) from Jimmy Egan’s Boxing Academy. Winner of both the Class B finals and a Maverick Award.

Walkden ABC – Doors Opening Soon!

Posted on by Maverick Stars Trust

 

A new gym in the Walkden area of Salford is nearing completion and set to open before the end of the January.

The facility will include a boxing gym and multi-activity hub for young people.  Based at Walkden Town Centre, Walkden Amateur Boxing Club – in partnership with Maverick Stars Trust - will operate alongside a series of sport and leisure programmes delivered by Salford Community Leisure, Integrated Youth Support Services and Salford Youth Alliance. The project is also backed by Greater Manchester Police and ForHousing.

Maverick ambassador and former British, Commonwealth and European champion Jamie Moore is heading up the boxing gym. Now a hugely successful trainer, Jamie’s been keen to put something back into the area he grew up in, and the new facility provides the perfect opportunity to inspire the next generation.

“It's fantastic to see it all take shape and I can't wait for Walkden to finally have its own boxing club.  I had to go to Little Hulton to box when I was a kid, but that closed years ago.

Boxing instils discipline, self-confidence and can present all sorts of opportunities. I know, I was that kid without direction and focus. Boxing changed all that for me. It’s not an exaggeration to say it saves lives, it’s a fact.”

Maverick Stars founder Charlotte Gilley believes the scheme will transform the area. "We’ve analysed data from other areas, many of which have serious problems with anti-social behaviour, and it’s clear that a boxing gym can have a massively positive impact." she said.

“Maverick Stars is all about giving young people a chance through sport and we want those young people to show their true potential. This initiative will be a major plus for the area and having Jamie on board is fantastic. There’s no better Salford role model.”

Walkden ABC will be housed in one half of a unit that will also deliver programmes including multi-sports, drama, dance and a variety of leadership initiatives. The hub will provide opportunities for young people to take part in activities, but will also provide a safe haven for those that simply want somewhere to go to meet friends.

Along with the many opportunities provided for young people, the new facility will also provide employment for full-time and part-time boxing coaches and youth workers.