Throwing punches and landing tackles are newly approved after-school activities after two grants have allowed Jordan Baumgartner and Brandie Stickler to start wrestling and boxing clubs.
Baumgartner, a lifelong wrestler, was awarded an $11,000 Crossett Fund grant to begin a middle school sports program, which he has implemented with wrestling and will eventually include cross country. The grant has paid for new singlets, uniforms, headgear and other equipment, he said.
Baumgartner is running a five-week clinic to bolster the wrestling program, using 30 middle school students to help instruct 16 elementary school students from kindergarten to fourth grade.
Dawson Holms, seventh grader, has been wrestling for more than a year and said teaching at the Friday clinic was fun. “I think it’s great because we get to help these kids come to where we are at the middle school level,” he said.
Third graders Corwin Sundberg and Orion Grimes said that the workshop was “pretty easy,” though the hardest part was getting out of a headlock, which they hadn’t yet learned, Sundberg said.
The coach said that the sessions were beneficial to the middle school students as well as the younger kids they’re instructing. “If you can show a move, it shows that you’ve mastered the concept,” Baumgartner said.
The clinic costs $3 per student-which is re-invested into the middle school wrestling program-and will run for another two Fridays.
Haines Borough School District’s nutritional program director, Brandie Stickler, was granted $15,000 from the Center for Disease Control to start a boxing club. Stickler learned boxing from former resident and Golden Glove champ, Rosalie Loewen, and has an upcoming fight at the Egan Center in Anchorage. Stickler will be assisted by Mark Fontenot and Greg Brittenham, who both have boxing experience.
A start date is pending equipment delivery, which Stickler anticipates by early February.
Stickler said the club will be open to high school students, and will eventually expand to the younger students. She expects to run the program weekly through the end of the school year, though no schedule has been set.
“This will not only help these kids with boxing, but it will help them in all other sports, as well” she said. “You’ve got anaerobic, aerobic, muscle endurance, power, strength, agility, footwork, hand-eye coordination. It’s just endless.”
Beyond physical improvement, Stickler hopes to see enhanced discipline and scholastics in the boxing students, as well. She believes “this will help build confidence in students that are intimidated by team sports”.
According to Stickler, an elementary school in Boston, Mass. saw behavioral issues drop by 30 percent after implementing a boxing program, which she says she’s hoping to see happen at Haines.
The novice boxers won’t be sparring, Stickler said, but instead will be learning technique and practice punching on “punch mitts, bags and me.”
Interested participants can contact Baumgartner or Stickler during school hours.