COMMUNITY SAVER TEENS MAKE USE OF FITNESS PROGRAM.Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer GLENDALE - Five years ago, William Adamyan was a tough street kid who frequently got into fights. The Armenian immigrant's life turned around when he joined the Youth Boxing and Fitness Program started by the Glendale Police Department. ``I wouldn't be here today without this program. I would probably be somewhere I wouldn't want to be,'' said Adamyan, 19, now a Glendale Community College Glendale Community College can refer to one of two colleges in the United States.
``(The coaches) helped motivate me, helped me with schoolwork. They made sure I went to school and did the homework,'' he said. The 9-year-old program, currently based out of the gym at Roosevelt Middle School, is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of an expansion to provide a greater variety of activities for at-risk teens. In the near future, Ron Williams
In addition to boxing, the current program includes weight lifting weight lifting, international sport, also a training technique for athletes in other sports. From the earliest times men have lifted weights as a test of strength. and fitness Monday through Friday and basketball Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hours each day are 4:30-7:30 p.m. Williams, a Chicago native who credits a similar program for changing his life when he was growing up, also plans to expand basketball to five days a week. In January, the Glendale Police Department joined the state and national Police Activities League so it could network with similar organizations throughout the country on how to improve its program. As a PAL local chapter, Williams said Glendale police receive information on grants available to fund youth activities. About 200 youths are signed up in the program, which receives $32,000 a year in community development block grants to help hire professional trainers. Teens in the program are required to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average and must not smoke, drink, do drugs Verb 1. do drugs - use recreational drugs drug ingest, consume, have, take in, take - serve oneself to, or consume regularly; "Have another bowl of chicken soup!"; "I don't take sugar in my coffee" inject - take by injection; "inject heroin" or get into trouble with the police. On a recent afternoon, the only sounds in the gym were grunts, clanking clank n. A metallic sound, sharp and hard but not resonant: the clank of chains. intr.v. clanked, clank·ing, clanks To make a sharp, hard, metallic sound. metal and fists hitting punching bags, as a dozen or so sweaty sweat·y adj. sweat·i·er, sweat·i·est 1. Covered with or smelling of sweat. 2. Causing sweat: a sweaty job. teen-agers practiced their punches and pumped away at exercise machines. ``No one cusses. Everyone talks amongst themselves,'' said 18-year-old Juan Lobo, who lifts weights. James Arce, a seventh-grader at Roosevelt Middle School, said he's learned discipline in the weight-lifting program. ``I was in a lot of trouble, being loud in my class, disruptive, not doing my work,'' he said. ``I came here, it turned me back to the good side of me.'' Rolando Castillo, 13, a Toll Middle School student, credits the program for giving him a safe haven 1. Designated area(s) to which noncombatants of the United States Government's responsibility and commercial vehicles and materiel may be evacuated during a domestic or other valid emergency. 2. so he no longer roams the streets at night. ``I come here straight after school and then go home,'' he said. ``It's great. It's real fun. It's not about hurting people. It's about the art, technique,'' said Castillo, as he practiced on a speed bag. The program has also offered refuge for girls like Anna Martirosian, who participates in the boxing program and does not mind sparring spar 1 n. 1. Nautical A wooden or metal pole, such as a boom, yard, or bowsprit, used to support sails and rigging. 2. A usually metal pole used as part of a crane or derrick. 3. with the guys. ``Girls can be just as good as guys. Just because we are not guys doesn't mean we are not good,'' she said. She added, ``I love my coaches. They are very inspiring people. They will push you all the way. They won't let you stop or quit. They help you through everything they can.'' Adamyan, who has returned to the program to help younger kids, dreams of becoming a welterweight champion someday some·day adv. At an indefinite time in the future. Usage Note: The adverbs someday and sometime express future time indefinitely: We'll succeed someday. Come sometime. . ``When I become a champion, I told Ron (Williams), I am going to build another gym for the kids. I am going to do the same thing (the coaches) did for me,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Glendale Community College student and pro boxer William Adamyan, left, has his gloves laced on by trainer Ron Williams at Roosevelt Middle School, where the Glendale Police Department runs a boxing and fitness program. (2) Jason Diaz does curls in the Youth Boxing and Fitness Program, a 9-year-old community project run by Glendale police out of Roosevelt Middle School's gym. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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