STARKVILLE — The sound of gloves hitting a punching bag, the taps of a jump rope on the floor and the buzzer signaling the end of a workout all fill a gym off of Lynn Lane on the Starkville Community Church property.
Students from Partnership Middle School and Armstrong Junior High School listen raptly to their instructor, Charles Clark, a Macon native and former professional boxer out of Baltimore, Maryland. In Clark’s gym, boxing and self-discipline lessons are peppered with nuggets of shared wisdom.
“I called (Starkville Police Department’s Chief Mark Ballard) and asked if they could use my services because I’m connected with the USA amateur boxing organization,” Clark said. “Every child, actually, needs to box. It teaches them discipline and definitely will teach them control. You hear it every day that somebody has lost control, and it will definitely teach them (control).”
As part of the SPD’s new Police Athletics/Activities League (PAL), students from sixth to 12th grade can participate in boxing after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. PAL launched in February after being approved by the board of aldermen, but the idea began last year at the community action meetings local leaders held before the rise in cases from COVID-19’s Delta variant.
“We got the letter (of intent) sent out and got everyone to sign it, then got it approved,” said Cpl. Kenya Bibbs, one of the officers involved with PAL and a former educator in Starkville. “When we got it approved, we were all hugging and so excited for this program to finally take off. It has the capacity to impact so many young people positively.”
Bibbs joins Sgt. Donte’ Thomas, who is the Starkville PAL director, as mentors and liaisons for the police department with PAL. Either Bibbs or Thomas attend the twice-a-week practices. More community leaders are involved with the program, but the two main officers taking the charge are Bibbs and Thomas.
“There have been a lot of community leaders to come forward to help us with this project,” Ballard said. “It’s new, but the foundations are strong.”
The hope for students in the program is to keep them busy and out of trouble, as Starkville has had an uptick in juvenile crime specifically in regards to stolen guns in auto burglaries. SPD is looking to get involved with youth in the community before they ever enter the justice system, and they are wanting to build the relationships with the students involved.
“(This is about) building relationships, without a doubt,” Ballard said. “This is coming from Bibbs who is a (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer, we already have the DARE program. This is something direct and more towards children that need more. That’s what this is about, and it’s the perfect solution as we continue along with every other community to address juvenile crime, but mostly juvenile violence.”
‘That girl picked up quick’
Any student from sixth to 12th grade, regardless of gender, can participate in the program, but SPD is encouraging students who may have more behavioral issues within the schools to get involved to give them something to do.
There are currently 12 students taking part in boxing, and most of them attend Armstrong. After school ends, a bus picks them up and takes them to their destination. After practice is over around 5:30 p.m. each day, they must have a ride arranged.
“This is mainly for the kids — education-wise, get them academically (and) focus on that to keep them from even thinking about the criminal aspect of being out in the community,” Bibbs said. “No matter where they are from, it’s all about changing the channel in their mindset (and) this could be a great opportunity for the kids to grow. … They could play other sports and do this. They’ll be amazing. They won’t have time to even worry about any criminal activity.”
On Thursday the program welcomed its first female into the mix, and she wants to bring a few of her friends in with her. Clark said she took to the training quickly, and he was impressed with how immersed she was in the training.
“We have a girl who started (Thursday), and there’s supposed to be two more (girls) coming in who just turned in applications,” Clark said. “It’s awesome because that girl picked up quick. She kept up with some of the guys who have been here for a while.”
Moving toward competitions and beyond
The boxing program is strictly training at the moment since it only started roughly two and a half months ago, but organizers are looking to expand to having competitions in the future. Bibbs mentioned it is possible to make a career out of boxing, and students could eventually gain the opportunity to represent the country on an international stage.
“Right now we are looking to get them trained and later on they can go into competition,” Bibbs said. “At the moment, it is mostly getting them familiar with the fundamentals of boxing. … Children have the chance to make a career out of this and maybe even go to the Olympics. There is room for growth and change.”
The students attend with no cost to them or their caretakers. A board of directors for PAL funds operations, equipment and transportation, and eventually, it will look to have fundraisers to get the community involved with investing in the youth. The league is currently operating during the school year, but there are hopes to eventually make the program year-round to give the children more consistency, per Bibbs.
“We just got this off the ground, so we’re trying to come up with a plan to possibly have this year round,” Bibbs said. “We don’t have one in play right now, but that’s our next focus. We are going to try to keep it going. If you give them something to do in the summer, they’re going to work. If you are consistent with these kids, they’re going to continue to do it. … This is something that could go year round. (If) you keep them busy in the summertime, they won’t have time for criminal activity.”
If any students within the age group in Oktibbeha County are interested in attending boxing, they can contact Sgt. Thomas at 662-323-4131 or [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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