This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
(Written by Joe Bieker)
Dedication, commitment, honor, respect, discipline. Those words adorn the top glass wall of a former racquetball court within the Longmont YMCA. It is the home workout gym for the La Familia Boxing Club, an official member of US Boxing. La Familia struck a partnership with the YMCA last year, and provides a safe, coached environment for eight to sixteen year olds of both genders, in the sport of boxing.
La Familia is run by Randy Lopez. He describes himself as a former street kid from North Denver without a father figure present. He developed a passion for boxing and used it as a means to build some support and climb up to a better life. It is from deep in his soul and character that he is motivated to reach out to kids in need. He is driven to help them develop themselves and build the self esteem to be better citizens in our world.
It has been 14 years since Randy first rented a bare bones storage unit on the south side of Longmont, with only a small ring, some punching bags, and the tough grit of a determined kid from the streets, he began his dream to help others.
Gradually, with the 6-10 kids that would show up and commit to Randy’s “program”, they started having success in local, then regional tournaments by winning as the underdogs. It became clear after each victory or near loss, that the lives of the boxers were improved because of Randy's support, the support of other volunteers and the support supplied by the boxing team, keeping these kids away from a life of mischief and crime.
About a year and a half ago the YMCA heard of his club, and they approached Randy with the idea of housing the club at the YMCA.
Before accepting the offer, Randy wanted to make sure the YMCA understood what his program stood for and what potential circumstances could arise by welcoming his boxing group into the YMCA. One, “that these kids come from poor backgrounds, often a single parent or relative may be looking after them, so he didn’t want them to have to pay even one dollar. Secondly, that these kids could be off the streets and come from a rough background, and there might be some disruption at the YMCA. Lastly, that there would have to be a deep understanding by all parties of this, and perhaps the YMCA might expose itself in the clash of mixing two different cultures that some items might go missing, or a need to reprimand one of the members”. Randy wanted to be sure the YMCA went into the partnership with eyes wide open.
So far, all involved are benefiting and there are no major complaints. The club helps bring youth to the YMCA, which it had been struggling to attract, and there has been spill over to help the other youth activities. The club funds itself mainly through fundraisers, and tournaments. Sunday, February 18 they held a tournament in the main gym of the YMCA that attracted over six hundred people with an admittance fee of $15.00 per ticket. They pay the YMCA for rental of the space. Having a nice, large venue has helped the club when it “bids” to host tournaments within its region, which includes the four corner states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. The club members now have the best of uniforms and workout equipment, and one fighter has accompanied Randy to 27 states as he participates in different tournaments.
Randy did tell the story about when he was first opening the club in the YMCA. Some racquetball players next door walked by and remarked “there goes the Y selling out”. Randy invited them to have a direct conversation, and they followed up with more complaints, such as ”the noise of a speed bag being punched at 80 mph”. Randy agreed there was some noise, but certainly less than that of the racquet ball players. After some more venting, what really irked one of the racquet ball players was really his envy of someone hitting the speed bag that way. Randy then suggested that racquetball players have great footwork, and his fighters could use that workout too, so he offered to teach the racquetball player how to handle a speed bag if he’d help with some of the kids with racquetball. The deal was made and future benefits for both sides were gained as well as respect and friendships. Now a lot of the kids enjoy racquetball, something they never would have experienced before.
The Observer normally lists the websites of it’s businesses or organizations mentioned, and there isn’t one for La Familia as currently Randy doesn’t have the funds nor technical expertise to set one up. If anybody out there would be willing to help in that arena of website development, Randy’s number is 303-448-2352.
In the meantime, Randy is selflessly helping some of the youth of Longmont to not take a life path of destruction, but helping develop them into contributing members of society. Image if your whole life you’ve been told you’re no good and won’t amount to anything, and then, in front of 600 people, having a winning experience. It’s hard to believe if anybody’s a bigger winner than Randy.
