Report to the People
16th February 2004
Boxing Clever
Back
in the swinging sixties, my pals and I were denounced by our elders as layabouts
in need of a decent haircut and a few years National Service.
And,
despite our solemn vow that we would never become such bitter old nuisances,
it’s now our generation’s turn to grumble into our beer about the bone-idle,
square-eyed, spoilt lard-buckets who represent the country’s future.
It’s
a long-standing tradition that every generation despairs of the next – but
I’m not sure the current panic about young people’s inactivity is just
another manifestation of that. We’re
certainly worried enough to spend time and effort encouraging them to actually
use their trainers for training.
I
wonder, though, whether this approaches the issue from the right angle.
For
such a strategy to be effective, the underlying assumption – that our children
need a good kick up the backside to do anything more energetic than waddle to
the tuck shop – must be correct. And,
following my visit to the Greenock Amateur Boxing Club in Bawhirley Road last
Monday night, I’m not sure it is.
It
was full of these supposedly lazy young people – including one young girl who
packed a pretty tidy left jab – training their hearts out.
In fact, the club has become so popular that it has been forced, for the
moment, to close its books to new members.
Not
only does this club get the kids fit, it teaches them a host of skills from
self-discipline to how to eat properly. Under
the watchful eye of the renowned Danny Lee – coach to John Simpson, the
Greenock featherweight who’s being tipped to win a Lonsdale Belt this year –
club members also learn how their bodies work and how to look after them.
And there is no doubt that being in such an environment boosts their
self-esteem and confidence.
If
I learned anything from my visit, it was that branding young people indolent is
simplistic and unfair. They don’t
so much need to be bribed or bullied into getting off the couch, as they need
safe, accessible facilities and professional support from experts who love their
sport.
I
have therefore been in contact with sportscotland and the Sports Minister asking
what part the Scottish Parliament can play in bringing this about.
If
we give our young people the chance to become a bit more active, we give them
the satisfaction of enjoying a sport, or the satisfaction of being a bit fitter,
or just the satisfaction of forcing miserable grumps of a certain age to find
something else to moan about.
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