JAMESTOWN, N.C. — Boxing is called the Sport of Kings, and one Triad school is offering a boxing class for third graders through high school to learn the ins and outs of the sport.
Several students at Point College Prep in Jamestown stay busy outside of the classroom by participating in sports.
Prep senior Terry Jones thinks about the outlet boxing gives him each time he steps into the boxing ring in the school’s back hallway.
“This school is a really positive thing, but outside of school, it’s not so positive,” Jones said.
Over fifty students from 3rd grade through high school have chosen to take the elective class. The class starts with warmups and stretches before students wear head protection and gloves.
Steven Matthews is a former professional boxer who brought the elective class to the school this year with the goal of teaching students about adversity. An added benefit has been behavioral changes from his students outside his class.
Jeffery Surgeon, Dean of Students Culture for 6th to 8th graders, said, “The last thing the students in boxing do is something aggressive in class; they wait till they get around the coach and they are able to express themselves.”
However, for Jones, there has been an even bigger life-changing side effect from the class.
“I have been fighting my own personal battles, I’ve been fighting a personal battle with drug addiction, but boxing has helped me value myself and shows me I can be something,” Jones said.
In the ring, “Be first” is shouted when two students dance around the ring to encourage them to be aggressive and make the first move.
The school plans to present an exhibition for the whole school and the community in mid-May.