Page 9 - Sanger Herald 8-9-18 E-edition

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SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018
Young boxer intends to pursue the sport more seriously
Editor’s note: This story is the fourth in a series about the young people who have joined the Sanger Boxing Club, which works out most days starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanger Youth Center, 818 L St.
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Johnny Hernandez started boxing when he was 8 years old.
“I just liked fighting,” he said. “I wanted to be a boxer.”
Plus, he said, his tio, or uncle, liked the sport.
Hernandez, 14, is among the young boxers who train daily and belong to the Sanger Boxing Club. The group works out at the Sanger Youth Center, east of the railroad tracks in an older part of Sanger.
Hernandez trains alongside older boxers, too. The location is the same place Sanger boxer Manuel “Chaparrito” Cortes works out. He graduated to larger venues with the latest being July 7 at the Save Mart Center, part of the undercard to the main bouts, which aired on ESPN.
The more seasoned boxers mentor the younger athletes and provide a ready example
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Johnny Hernandez squares off against his coach, Ernesto Betancourt, recently.
said. “We used to live in Oakland. His uncle, Peter Lopez, was a boxer.”
Daysi said Johnny would watch Lopez train every day. She said when they moved to Sanger, they heard about the boxing gym and took advantage of the opportunity it presented.
“He works every day,” she said of Johnny. “He’s a great kid. He listens to me all the time. It keeps him out of trouble. (And) I like him to be in a sport. It’s better for them to be focused when they’re that age. Better for them than going out on the streets.”
Daysi Hernandez said it’s tough but worth her own investment of time. “I have four kids,” she said. “I work, then I come home. But every day I’m here with him.”
Coach Ernesto Betancourt said he likes what he sees in Johnny Hernandez. “He’s a good boy,” Betancourt said. “He punches hard. He works hard. And he comes every day to train.”
Betancourt, who was in Cortes’ corner for his latest fight, also said he believes Hernandez is ready to register and begin boxing officially in judged matches. “He’s going to be very good,” Betancourt said. “Very good. And he’s fast and
strong.”
Boxing has gained
popularity over the past few years, creating opportunities. And Sanger’s program has
a lot of history. Boxing coach Mario Irazoqui wasn’t surprised by its resurgence and has long discussed Sanger’s historic place in the sport.
Irazoqui said Sanger has talent. He’s also
said that many boxers gain confidence with regular workouts and skilled direction from good coaching. “They all believe the same thing,” he said. “They want to be champions. But it’s not just boxing. It’s about life — to be champions.”
The central San Joaquin Valley may be in store
for a boxing renaissance. “Fresno and the Central Valley have so much talent,” said Alonso Morelos, owner of About Millions Promotions, a Fresno-based promotions company that represents Cortes. “It’s all due
to (fighters like Jose) Ramirez (of Avenal). They are creating more opportunities for our fighters.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
of how to train, how to move around a boxing ring and how to handle the concept of going at somebody one-on-one.
Hernandez, who will
be an eighth-grader this fall, said he’s planning
to get registered again and pursue boxing more seriously — getting back in the ring and competing.
“Learning how to fight,” he said.
Really fight. Hernandez
said he feels his confidence increasing. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m ready.”
All 105 pounds of him.
Hernandez took some time out of his workout this particular late afternoon to talk about his chosen sport. He looked up briefly to watch fellow club member Cristal Cuellar pummel the heavy bag. “She’s good,” he said.
Cuellar, 13, is part of
a small but dedicated contingent of girls who put on the gloves every day and pursue the sport at the youth center. Hernandez said he draws on his experience over the years and helps them out if they ask.
“I try to show them how to do their jabs,” he said.
Daysi Hernandez, Johnny’s mom, sat quietly while her son worked out. “He’s a great boxer,” she
Coaches offer tips for better wrestling
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Wrestling requires facing off with an opponent, grappling effectively and pinning him or her to the ground for the win — all while following a strict set of rules.
It’s about making the right moves, employing them quickly and outsmarting the other guy, or girl.
It has very little to do with some of the biggest names in the sport like Dwayne Johnson, Randy Savage or Steve Austin. Nor does it involve the bombastic styles of the more recently successful John Cena, former UFC fighter Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns.
Nope. Sanger High wrestling coach Narciso Juarez and his three clinicians from the On the Warpath Wrestling Camp at the school’s small gym on June 30 collaborated to bring together these top 10 tips to be a better wrestler. Nowhere on the list do they advise a high school wrestler to get worked up, rip his T-shirt off and yell, “Hulkamania is running wild, brother!” or “I fear no man, beast or evil, brother!”
No. 1 Discipline
— “You’ve gotta be dedicated. You can’t put junk in your body. You’ve got to eat healthy,” Juarez said.
No. 2 Dedication — “You have to go to practice every day,” Juarez said. “You have to focus on the moves your coaches tell you.” Then he explained
a story about toast that he often tells his athletes to illustrate why details
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
A couple of young wrestlers practice the fireman's carry early this summer with help from coach AJ Valles. Valles and coaches Narciso Juarez, Spencer Hill and Jose Mendoza trained wrestlers at the Warpath Wrestling Camp.
men’s wrestling coach at Menlo College and two- time NAIA All-American. “A lot of times we put in the work, but we don’t get the result we want. (A champion is) just being able to take what we’ve learned and go back to the drawing board. Just continue showing up. That’s half the battle.”
No. 8 Relentless —“Therehastobea constant relentless pursuit of what you want to accomplish,” Valles said. “You’ve got to go after what you want at all costs. (And you have to think) ‘If you’re on my side cool, but if you’re in my way that’s fine, I’ll pass you.’”
No. 9 Support — “Having support, whether it’s a club, family or extended family (and friends), that’s huge in being successful,” said Jose “Pepe” Mendoza, assistant wrestling coach at Selma High and former CSU Bakersfield wrestler with Hill. “Within our club, Team Selma, we do a really good job at giving off a family-like vibe.
We consider everybody a brother or sister.”
No. 10 Experience
or Exposure — “Being comfortable going out
of your comfort zone to improve (is invaluable),” Mendoza said. “Using other clubs to make yours better. Over time you become more comfortable with the process.” This include wrestling others, learning from them and doing it in front of an audience.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
matter.
It went something like
this: “Say you get up in the morning wanting toast and the only pieces of bread left are the ends of the loaf. in the toaster, they curl and get stuck. Before using the metal tongs to extract the stuck pieces, you must unplug the machine or get shocked. Wrestling is like that,
miss a step and you’ll get shocked, or pinned.”
No. 3 Physiology — “Know your body really well,” Juarez said. “So you’re not having to cut weight every week.”
No. 4 Nutrition —
“You’ve got to learn about food,” Juarez said. He said he likes to bring a nutritionist to speak to his wrestlers so they know how to drop pounds, maintain weight and stay healthy while doing it.
He said a wrestler who feels hungry at maybe
10 p.m. has to make the right choices. In that case, “You want to eat protein, a little chicken (maybe),” he said. “The protein will help your body while you sleep.” And it will burn off more quickly than carbohydrates.
No. 5 Perseverance — “Because in this sport
not everything goes your way every time,” said Spencer Hill, Shafter High assistant wrestling coach, former Division I wrestler at California State University Bakersfield, two-time PAC-12 place winner and All American. “You’ve got to stick with it. Get better in every single aspect (of the sport). Some kids will pick it up faster than others. So you’ve got to stick with it. That goes for competition, too. You don’t always win, but those who persevere find out the winning comes.”
No. 6 Sacrifice — “Just in everything,” Hill
said, referring to what a wrestler has to give up
to be good or great in the sport. “Obviously, social life. Work on what you need to be doing during the summer. Go to camps like this one. Christmas, Thanksgiving. You’ve
got to sacrifice eating. And school dances. The dance formal is typically around January. The more successful kids make the sacrifices and do what they have to do.”
No. 7 Belief — “You need to believe in yourself, your capabilities and who you are as an athlete,”
said AJ Valles, assistant