Photos at Naenae Boxing Academy
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Billy’s Original Vision
“To make a difference in boy’s lives and to give them a place of refuge. Dick Dunn, my boxing coach made me feel secure; he gave me one-on-one time, there was no alcohol or cigarettes on his breath and he never used bad language – these three things were completely different from what I was used to, from my dysfunctional home environment. Mr Dunn made me feel special which is very important for boys at a young age. I did everything I could to impress him. I trained as hard as I could and believed I would be a champion one day because Mr Dunn said I could be. Tuesday and Thursday nights were the worst nights because there was no training. Most weekends we were away boxing somewhere. My life was exercising in the gym, running the hills and competing. The discipline I have learnt in my 20 years in the boxing ring gave me the confidence and assurance that I could succeed in any area I worked hard at. I have had a full and exciting life and wouldn’t trade it for anything. My life now: The Naenae Boxing Academy is my replica of the facility that Dick Dunn made for me. I want to make that facility available for boys throughout New Zealand and I believe there are people in New Zealand who want to make a difference as I do.
The rules are simple; shake hands with everyone, look them in the eye and use their names when talking with them, train together in pairs whenever possible and change partners regularly. It makes the individual sport of boxing into a team sport. ‘Train together, play together, stay together’.
It takes 10 years to become a champion. We want to keep young men off the street for 10 years and if we do that we will change their attitude, their direction and give them choices for their future. Boxing uses supreme training concepts, not the average.
The bonus for all of our boys is that on the journey they develop a strong mind, a powerful body and can conquer their fears; they can stand on their own two feet. If these goals are achieved we have set young men up to be leaders in their families and their communities.”
In 2016 we piloted girls’ classes at our Cannons Creek Boxing Academy and in mid-2017 we opened girl’s classes at the Naenae Boxing Academy.
We are convinced that the disciplines of boxing training with a committed caring coach, within the healthy environment created at our Academy, is just as beneficial and impactful for girls as it is for boys.
Our young people are testament to this!
The goals of Billy’s vision are twofold:
The rules are simple; shake hands with everyone, look them in the eye and use their names when talking with them, train together in pairs whenever possible and change partners regularly. It makes the individual sport of boxing into a team sport. ‘Train together, play together, stay together’.
It takes 10 years to become a champion. We want to keep young men off the street for 10 years and if we do that we will change their attitude, their direction and give them choices for their future. Boxing uses supreme training concepts, not the average.
The bonus for all of our boys is that on the journey they develop a strong mind, a powerful body and can conquer their fears; they can stand on their own two feet. If these goals are achieved we have set young men up to be leaders in their families and their communities.”
In 2016 we piloted girls’ classes at our Cannons Creek Boxing Academy and in mid-2017 we opened girl’s classes at the Naenae Boxing Academy.
We are convinced that the disciplines of boxing training with a committed caring coach, within the healthy environment created at our Academy, is just as beneficial and impactful for girls as it is for boys.
Our young people are testament to this!
The goals of Billy’s vision are twofold:
- To change young people’s lives and enable them to become ‘Champion People’
- To develop Master Coaches from our ‘Champion People’ who can carry on enabling others.