CORPUS CHRISTI, Tecas — At the Valor Boxing Club located on the city's Westside, they don't just focus on teaching the art of boxing but on discipline, respect, and life skills.
Valor opened its doors in 2022 for at-risk youth, and the program works hard to do fundraisers to be able to provide a safe space for the kids.
Pete Trevino one of the coaches, said that programs like this are extremely vital to have, especially in the Westside community.
Sometimes, families might not have the opportunity to be able to provide their children with extracurricular activities. So, this program was put in play to be able to support the youth.
"We teach discipline, respect, and life skills, you know they could come to learn that as well without having to worry about putting on a pair of boxing gloves, we are real big on trying to make sure that the kids understand and feel that they could come here and not feel judged," Trevino said.
The boxing club recently teamed up with the YMCA of Coastal Bend to implement a new program that will teach kids around the Coastal Bend about the mission of the Valor Boxing Club and what they stand for.
Now, the opportunity will be opened to the members of the YMCA.
Gwen Ruppert, the interim CEO of the YMCA, is excited about this new program and said she knows this will benefit the kids in a positive way.
"I really believe in Valor Boxing. I believe in their coaches that they have there. You know they're going to provide a mentorship for youth," she said. "They are going to teach self-discipline for these kids, they are going to teach self-confidence, they are going to provide something for these youth that they're hungry for."
Trevino added that he hopes the club will continue to expand.
"The main thing is that there is nothing in that (downtown) community for kids, so that was one of the biggest things she was happy about," he said. "That we were willing to go in there and open up to that community where YMCA is at and bring them kids and let them know that they have a safe zone and they have somewhere where they could come in."
Valeria Morales has been going to the gym for almost a year now, and she says it's become something that she really enjoys doing. And that other kids in the community could definitely benefit from a program like this.
"A bunch of kids could come here, and they could see as a way to learn self-defense or a way to actually find some sort of like a hobby into this, they get to find it as a way out of what they are dealing with, and all the stress they have been through," Morales said.
Trevino hopes to continue to impact the lives of these kids. The club will have a tournament on Nov. 4 at Moody High School.
Coach Trevino and Ryan said none of this would be possible without coach Enrique Flores, who is a big mentor at their club and the boxing community.
