LIMA — Brick walls, wooden slats still marked by their time as a tire warehouse floor and two-foot-wide wooden pillars supporting a steel grille ceiling — welcome to 311 E. Market St., Suite 105, the new space of the Southside Spartans Boxing Gym.
Coach Lonnie Rettig is currently preparing to move the Southside Spartans from their space at 719 S. Main St. to the 311 building’s basement, which can be accessed on the east side alley near the train tracks. But first, he needs to raise $6,000 to bring it to at least 20th century standards.
At the moment, Rettig needs the funds to pay a commercial electrician to wire the building, which is just east of the health department. With that done, the gym can move on the expected date of April 1.
The Southside Spartan Boxing Gym works with 22 to 30 youths daily to train them how to find success in the ring. For the kids, the sport of boxing provides discipline and a sense of stability to those who may be in flux most of their lives due to a troubled homelife, Rettig said. It gets them off the streets and away from the dangers of crime, drugs and, sometimes, video games.
The 6,000 square foot space will allow Rettig to double the number of youths served from roughly 25 to roughly 50. Only a few punching bags hang from the ceiling now, but he is looking to cover the walls in boxing work stations, eventually install a sprinting area, create conference rooms and prepare study booths to ensure the kids have a one-stop shop after school to do their homework, eat dinner and get to training.
All of it will be done on a shoestring budget, but if individuals want to support the gym past the $6,000 goal, he welcomes it. Even something as simple as a gas card that pays for trips to competitions in- and out-of-state go a long way, he said.
Individuals interested in donating to the gym can contact Rettig at 419-234-0120 or email him at [email protected].
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