Using boxing to teach kids discipline is not something new for coach Ruben Bajo. Back in the day, boxing saved his life and kept him off the streets.
“I am volunteering my time at the gym,” he said. “There are usually about 20 kids at the class. I volunteer to help keep the kids off the streets.”
The classes at this gym are fairly new and the gym is called Firehouse Boxing. It is at 1971 Pahrump Valley Blvd., Suite A.
Bajo has been there for about a month and says the number of kids varies. He is also a pastor at Full Armor of God Ministries and he became one because of boxing.
The coach got into boxing at an early age,
and for the most part, it kept him from getting into trouble.
“I got into boxing when I was 5-years-old and it has kept me out of trouble until 18,” he said. “I was 18 and the boxing classes had closed and so I got into trouble. I then had a near-death experience after being chased after by the cops and my vehicle hit a semi-truck. They said I was going 150 miles an hour.
“I was in a coma for 45 days, but I thought I was under for only a few seconds,” Bajo said. “God reached out to me. That experience turned my life around and that is when I became interested in being a pastor. God changed my heart and I didn’t want to hurt anyone after that.”
He said boxing has helped turn around a lot of kids’ lives. He used it in Moreno Valley, California where there were 50-70 kids in the program. He wants to do the same here in Pahrump.
“The kids today need discipline,” Bajo said. “I believe the major element missing in society is that. Kids get little of it. I think kids fall into drugs because they have no discipline. Boxing instills discipline. It shows kids what it takes to be successful in life.”
Bajo holds the classes at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“I want to help the kid that are unable to pay,” Bajo said. “I am even trying to get the NyE Communities Coalition to help us out.”
For more information on the classes, call Bajo at 951-227-3127.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com