Ritzville Youth Boxing teaches discipline, boxing fundamentals

Residents and visitors who step inside the Ritzville Fitness Center on Monday through Thursday at around 5 p.m., will notice a group of children practicing boxing maneuvers or engaging in a cardio workout.

On other nights, they may see the same group of children jogging along Main Avenue.

These exercises are a couple of aspects from the youth mixed martial arts classes the Fitness Center teaches from Monday through Thursday, from 5-6 p.m. From those classes, Ritzville Youth Boxing has been formed.

Ritzville Youth Boxing is an organization hoping to offer athletic opportunities to local children, particularly those who cannot afford to participate in sports.

Valentino Beatty and Danny Cabrillo de Bacca are the trainers for the program.

Beatty has boxing experience while Cabrillo de Bacca has a background in boxing and mixed martial arts.

The trainers started the classes as a way to interact with local youth by teaching them self-defense and helping them stay active. They also want to have a positive experience within the community.

Cabrillo de Bacca explained the youth boxing program is not promoting violence, but rather helping teach kids discipline, build their confidence and keep them out of trouble.

The trainers have a philosophy of no bullying, and kids who are hurtful to others are asked to leave the program.

During the class, the trainers spend the hour teaching kids different boxing fundamentals, such as head, feet and punching movements, as well as some sparring. They also spend time working on conditioning and quickness drills, and sometimes wrestling and other forms of grappling.

As an organization, Ritzville Youth Boxing is in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit program and already has established a board of directors.

Pete Spain, one of the board of directors, said the program and classes are funded through donations and have few local businesses as sponsors.

Spain added the organization has been in contact with Rick Welliver, a former professional boxer who owns Spokane Boxing Gym who is helping sponsor the program.

The organization is also actively seeking sponsors to help cover travel, lodging and registration costs for tournaments. They created an account at Ritzville Umpqua Bank, “Ritzville Youth Boxing,” where prospective donors can contribute funds to the program.

Spain said he in the process of reaching out to more businesses about sponsorship opportunities.

The organization is hoping to send three local athletes, Pete Spain Jr., Kaleb Kuykendall and Kayden Kuykendall, to compete in a future amateur boxing tournament in Wallace, Idaho in April 2018.

Silver Valley Boxing Club organizes the Wallace Fight Night events, which are sanctioned by USA Boxing and will feature competitors from the Northwest and Canada. All of the bouts in the tournaments are three, one-minute rounds.

Spain said the organization is hoping to raise funds for travel, lodging and registration fees for the upcoming tournaments.

Cabrillo de Bacca said if the athletes have a good experience in Wallace and want to continue competing in boxing tournaments, the organization will register them for future competitions.

In the future, Beatty and Cabrillo de Bacca hope to create a free beginning youth boxing class during the week from 4-5 p.m.

Athletes who want to compete in boxing tournaments would start in the beginner’s class then move up to the advanced class, which will still be from 5-6 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.

Cabrillo de Bacca said competing in tournaments is a not a requirement for joining the program.

Students who want to register for the class need to come to the Fitness Center and complete an application.

For more information about Ritzville Youth Boxing, contact the Fitness Center at 509-659-0655 or visit the business at 202 West Main Avenue.