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Warren center boxes guidance, sport to youth

Staff photo / Bob Coupland Luke Whitmore, 14, of Cortland, left, practices his boxing skills at the Zulu Boxing Club off Niles Road in Warren under the guidance of coach Myles Jay of Warren. Jay is a community organizer for Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership and said he wants to be a role model for area youth.

WARREN — Warren resident Myles Jay said when he was growing up, others helped steer him in the right direction, and now he is doing the same for local youth.

Jay is a community organizer at Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership and has received numerous honors for his community service, including a Community Star award from the Tribune Chronicle. He opened the Zulu Boxing Club in Warren off Niles Road.

The center began to come to fruition in 2019 and then started last year, local youth ages 8 to 18 and some young adults have attended for exercise and boxing instruction.

“I boxed as a youth, and I saw how it helped me stay out of trouble. Boxing helped me to stay focused in my life, and that is what I want to do to help others,” Jay said.

Jay serves as one of the head boxing instructors as well as coaches Les Parkey and Nate Adams.

Jay said in addition to health and physical fitness, the center also helps youth use their concentration and dedication skills.

“I encourage them to believe in themselves. That is very important to believe in yourself. If you are not willing to believe in yourself, then you probably are not going to go forward,” Jay said.

He said while some individuals come to train and prepare for boxing matches, others come for exercise and fitness.

“I want to be a role model to them,” Jay said.

Luke Whitmore, 14, of Cortland, said he wanted to try boxing because it was something new.

“This was something different that I had not tried and wanted to see what it was like,” said Whitmore, who competed in Youngstown at a recent USA Boxing event.

He said he stays physically active with boxing, as well as soccer and other sports.

Whitmore said he is learning to be dedicated and have good concentration skills not only in boxing and sports, but in school and other things.

Whitmore, who has been boxing for the past three years starting in junior high, said, “When my dad and I were looking for a place for me to train, this was the first place we looked at.”

Gregory Simmons, 24, of Warren, said he started fighting when he was 15. He said he met Jay and heard the center had opened, so he started attending to train.

“Boxing was always something I wanted to try since I was a kid. This is something I love and my passion. I am doing something that I love. I like the discipline of learning,” Simmons, a Erie, Pa., native, said.

Simmons competes in the 135-pound weight division and now lives not far from the center.

Josh Whitmore of Cortland, Luke’s father, said his son enjoys being able to come to the center and he himself will stay there, too.

“It is nice to have a local place like this where he can come after school and on the weekends to practice and train,” he said.

Josh Whitmore said his son not only is training on boxing, but also to become responsible in his life.

“Myles treats him and the others with respect and like adults,” he said.

Jay said he is putting the skills he learned years ago to help others.

“What I like is seeing the determination and dedication in the participants. You can see that they want to learn and become successful,” he said.

Jay said in today’s world, many youth simply need guidance to help them focus on doing what is right and becoming not only responsible, but successful, no matter what they do.

“I thank all of those who helped provide me with guidance and helped me to do what was right. I feel that what others did for me helped me to become successful in my life and I want to do the same for others,” Jay said.

He also has served as a mentor with the Men of Distinction program for students at Jefferson PK-8 and is co-creator of “Chess is Life,” which provides free chess lessons in several area schools and to the public at the Eastwood Mall in Niles.

“I do this because I want to give back to the community that helped me to reach and achieve my goals,” he said, noting people should support the youth in their agendas.

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