Meet the Team

Although it is absolutely a community effort, Jennifer, or Jen, is the brains behind Boddie Boxing. Although she claims she is “a simple mom with a daughter who loves boxing”, she has created this non-profit organization, obtained the Twin Rivers USD contract, designed the summer camp and is only just beginning.

“I think communication is key. Sometimes we just need a hug. [Or] someone to say, ‘Hey, I’m here. I’m listening.’” Jen has big plans for the kinds of services and activities BFBA will offer in the future.

Check back to see what we’re up to!

A seasoned athlete and coach, Alphonso, or “Coach AJ”, has played football and basketball, and coached all his kids teams when they played basketball, football, and baseball. “My daughter started boxing when she was six. I started coaching shortly after.” Now she is a three-time champion!

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“I just kinda seen how it affected her. How she was able to walk with confidence, defend herself, or just be herself without the repercussions of being bullied or being judged...It’s a fine line between tough love and understanding… We want to be tough and stern with them but at the same time everyone is different… Mainly, we want to make sure that, hopefully, the best part of their day is here.”

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Bio Coming Soon

Bio Coming Soon

“I grew up boxing. I started boxing when I was about 5 years old and I did it for around 12 years. I was training in Oxnard on a pro camp; I did that for awhile and then... I started wrestling [and] playing football.”

Now a 5th-grade teacher, Joe has his Masters from the University of Maine in organizational leadership. This education guides his coaching and teaching, helping him “understand kids on a different level.”

Joe says, “A lot of people don’t really see these kids as people. You have to understand that they all have feelings and we have to figure out why they’re expressing their emotions and how we can best deal with it.”

Drawn to the philosophy of Boddie Family Boxing Academy, Tyler joined our team to reach kids who spend their free time roaming the streets, pull them into something productive, and guide them toward better choices. 

Tyler tries to create an atmosphere of fun but every kid has a bad day once in a while. “The great thing about having so many coaches here, is that we have the ability to take that kid aside, and work with them one on one… Sometimes that’s all they really need to get out of their funk is to get a little bit of individual coaching with one of us.”

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Growing up in North Highlands, Tyler wrestled for 6 years, coached wrestling for two years, and played football, basketball and more. He is now working on his masters degree and teaching credentials. 

Motivated to be a leader to his younger siblings, Tyler believes that the strong role models he had growing up helped him shape his values and kept him on track. He tries to be someone the kids can look up to by walking the walk. 
 

Born and raised in Foothill Farms, Marina is proud to serve our community both inside and outside the gym. A 2nd grade teacher by day, she brings to our gym immense patience, thorough organization, and persistent passion for youth development. “I love mentoring our gym kids and helping them build confidence through boxing!”

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Marina’s long history playing soccer (recreationally and for her school), shaped how she leads our boxers. Having made life long friends in soccer, she hopes our students will find the same. On a team, as with our student boxers, you learn to help each other, support one another, and work together.

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“Every time we have a new kid in here, by the end of class there are always kids that are involved with them, saying, ‘Come play with me, come do this with me.’ No one ever feels left out.” Marina worries about each new kid being shy and slow to make friends, but our students “are always talking to each other; and they do so on their own [without prompting].” 

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Marina manages student relations, paperwork for each boxer, and parent communication. Married to Coach Joe, they enjoy all things outdoors, and their two dogs (Luna and Steve), who keep them moving and exploring.

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Scroll up to learn about Coach Joe!

Bio Coming Soon

Richard is here for “the family atmosphere but the thing that keeps me here is the camaraderie, the students, [and] the active learning; it's all just fun to me.” Richard started learning boxing in 7th grade. When he transitioned to football he found success, including a scholarship to Minnesota State. 

Richard’s patient approach to working with our boxers leaves room for kids to feel their feelings, as they do, and then get back to work. His calm demeanor makes him beloved by the students. “Be okay with repeating yourself. Be ok with [students] being frustrated and not understanding [the lesson]; we can work through those moments.”

A passionate member of our team, Matthew comes to us by way of family, but he was drawn to our gym to work with the kids. “Seeing them grow, really. Because when they come to us they don’t know anything about boxing, but then it’s cool to see them grow over the time, over weeks and weeks of working with us and just see what they become.”

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Matthew has always been active in general, with a focus on football and baseball. "I do really think exercise is a big thing especially with the youth growing up. It allows them to interact with other kids, especially if maybe they don’t have that friend group already at school, [then] they can create that friend group here... Make that safe space for them and that is how they are able to flourish, make new friends and get their friend group.”

“For me, I learned the best from coaches that did it as well. You can always point and tell a kid what to do, but it is better if you actually do it." Boxing is the best cross training you can do, because it applies to everything. “When you throw your 2 punch, you gotta rotate your hips and you gotta turn your foot and you know its kinda the same thing in baseball you gotta turn your hips when you hit the ball. Or even football, when you go to make a tackle, you have to shoot your hips and drive your hips and so everything is explosiveness. It all ties into one another.”