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“Fighters are made in the gym.”
The sounds of pounding speed bags, thumping heavy bags, the scratching of the jump ropes sweeping the floor simultaneously with grunts, groans and the smell of sweat while fighters shadowbox trying to hone their skills, repetitious workouts to better their combinations, utilizing the numbers on the mitts with sparring and a whole lot of useful pain, the place where it all comes together, where dreams begin and materialize, where boxers are bred into warriors of the ring. Novices, amateurs, professionals, prospects, journeyman and champions do the routine, before you step in the ring you have to step into…
The boxing gym!
There is nothing like walking into the doors of your local boxing gym, to see the youngsters being taught the tricks of the trade of the ‘sweet science’. “Keep your hands up, step to your right and set down on your punches,” the old timers yell out. You have to start somewhere and the foundation of every fighter is a great work ethic which begins in the gym.
The boxing gym isn’t just used for putting together fighters, but it is also a tool for building character, keeping the youth off the streets, a safe haven creating discipline for the ones who may not get that at home. A coach or trainer can be a father figure, a mentor, or just a buddy you can talk with and count on. And although the Greenbrier Gym doesn’t stand out like Kronk, Gleason’s or the Wild Card Boxing Club it is well worthy of mentioning, so I offer up a look at the Greenbrier Boxing Gym.
Six miles north of Conway, Arkansas in the little community of Greenbrier with a population of around thirty-five hundred, throughout the week you can find the Greenbrier Gym at full swing. Youth and elders from all around come to try their hand in the ‘sweet science’ developing boxing skill while picking up the ins and outs of sport. But what makes the Greenbrier story such a noteworthy read isn’t because of the gym itself, but the two men who brought it all together.
Two men with one big dream to bring the science to the small country town in an attempt to not only teach the manly art of self defense but to have an outlet for kids of all ages to develop discipline and stay off the streets.
Harold Smith and Jason Bell both employed with Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department and both boxing enthusiasts befriended one another and after months of traveling fifty miles one way for workouts the two decided to start their own gym and their dream became reality two years ago when the Greenbrier Gym went into full operation. Not the easiest task to run a gym with hardships and multiple highs and lows but the bumps in the road and scrapping to get by is for a positive reason and is well worth the fight. “Boxing builds self-esteem, self-confidence and character, above all if a kid is sweating in the gym he’s not bleeding on the streets,” Harold Smith explained to the Doghouse.
Not just building fighters but evolving youngster’s into better classmates to better themselves in school so as they grow older and walk the road as an adult they will have the education and confidence to succeed.
Harold Smith knows a thing or two on the ‘sweet science’. Lacing up the gloves at the tender age of six years old Harold began his walk on the pugilistic side. A competitor in the Arkansas Golden Gloves, Smith learned the ins and outs of the sport and after fiddling around with it at times his dream of teaching the sport came into full swing when he teamed up with Jason Bell. Bell is a former Tough Man contestant who made his pro debut in the bang for your buck sport in the Spring of ’05 and at this time has a 2-0 (2) record as a heavyweight.
Now the gym is full with amateur and professional boxers and with both handing out lessons the Greenbrier Gym is making a splash with the community and giving people the chance to step in the ring and realize their dream of fighting, and even more so keeping the kids off the streets and in the gyms.
So although The Greenbrier Gym isn’t nationally known and there are no world champions training there at this time, there may possibly be some future stars in the mix. And both Harold Smith and Jason Bell should be commended for their support with the gym and with keeping the kids off the streets and giving them discipline. Job well done from the Doghouse.
Writer's Note:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jason Bell, a Sergeant at the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department who was shot in the line duty while saving the lives of an entire family December 16th by a crazed gunman. Because of Bell a family was able to spend Christmas together. Thank you for your sacrifice.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr. (January 9, 2006)
