Coach Gabriel gives back in Chicago!

Gabriel Navarro grew up eight blocks from the Chicago Youth Boxing Center where he now works as a Coach Across America coach in Chicago. The neighborhood, Little Village, is plagued by one of the highest crime rates in the nation. “There are 200 kids living on my block,” he says. “Good kids, but there’s not a lot for them to do when the school doors close.”

The boxing center is changing that. Kids come there daily after school to learn, stay active, and be part of a community. And with a coach like Gabriel there, they have someone to talk to who understands them. “Kids come into the Chicago Youth Boxing Club and I’m there to listen and to teach kids to listen to each other. Together we become a family. That’s why I coach.”

At the end of the day, it’s respect that Gabriel tries to instill through Coach Across America. “They learn fear on the streets but I want them to learn respect, especially for their parents, teachers, and one another.”

Thank you, Ted and Pam, for supporting Gabriel so he can coach for another year!