Another KC Boxer going through the Olympics......
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A few days before he left for Colorado to try to box his way into the U.S. Olympic trials, José Saenz patiently answered questions from his older sister, Anamilet.
She wanted to know what his trip entailed, so he told her about the USA Boxing National Championships, which start today in Colorado Springs, Colo. He also mentioned another boxer in the competition backed by the financial support of a local gym.
Naturally, Anamilet asked her brother whether he had any such help. He said no. She asked whether he was representing Whatsoever, the hybrid gym/community center near the family’s home in east Kansas City. He said no.
He told his sister he paid for his own trip, to represent himself and go at it on his own.
“It was like somebody taking an exam in school that they taught themselves the things they needed to know,” Anamilet said. “He’s training himself; he’s deciding what time to get up, what he needs to work on. All on his own. He’s not depending on someone.
“Good or not, is it going to help him win? I don’t know. But the thing is: He’s going to keep going.”
Saenz, 21, will make the first step in the grueling process to qualify for the Olympics today during his first fight at nationals. To even qualify for the Olympic trials, he must first finish in the top four this week in the 141-pound weight class, which has 22 boxers competing.
“I really see him as one of the guys to beat in this tournament,” U.S. national coach Joe Zanders said.
If Saenz holds up to that, he will have done so as a mostly self-taught fighter who runs a mostly self-disciplined training schedule.
He spent last year in Los Angeles fighting in the World Series of Boxing, a tri-continental league where he received daily tutelage. But when he is home in Kansas City, he doesn’t have a coach. He hasn’t had one locally since he was 15.
“It’s certainly not a good thing,” Zanders said. “It’s sort of like, you don’t really want to represent yourself in court unless you have to as a last resort.”
This is something Saenz understands, but it also doesn’t faze him.
When he’s in town, he cooks all of his own meals so he can watch his intake. He goes to Whatsoever six times a week and hits the same bag he has hit since he started boxing at age 9.
“It’s just more of me dedicating myself to it,” Saenz said. “If I want it, I’ll go out there and get it done.”
Saenz grew up in east Kansas City with his mother, stepfather, two older sisters and older brother. He picked up boxing early and excelled at Van Horn High School, where he was class president and graduated eighth in his class. He then set his sights on Rockhurst University, where he’s currently enrolled as an accounting major.
It was the only school he applied to, because it was the only school he wanted to attend. He earned scholarships to pay for tuition, including one from the Golden Gloves of America.
All the while, Saenz has never blurred the picture of his two goals: to make a name for himself as a boxer and as an educated professional. One rarely receives more attention than the other.
“I’m actually thinking of going more in the business side of boxing instead of actually fighting so I can keep some brain cells,” Saenz said.
When he trained and boxed full time in Los Angeles last year, he often found himself bored after finishing workouts by 3 p.m. Then he returned to Rockhurst this summer to take two courses after initially wanting to sign up for four.
“Right now, with just school and boxing, it’s easy,” Saenz said. “I feel like I have a lot of free time right now. So I called my old work up and said, ‘Hey, I want to work a couple shifts a week now.’ ”
Saenz’s friends tease him that he doesn’t act his age. His sister doesn’t understand how he balances work, boxing and school — even after watching him do so for years.
While in Colorado this week, Saenz will also bring two books that have nothing to do with boxing. He will read these books about psychology and marketing partly because he has to for his summer classes, but mostly because he wants to.
“Boxing’s not always going to be there,” Saenz said. “I could break my hand and then not be able to do it anymore. I want to have that backup.”
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/19/2961609/local-boxer-saenz-balances-boxing.html#ixzz1Pp2V7aC9
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A few days before he left for Colorado to try to box his way into the U.S. Olympic trials, José Saenz patiently answered questions from his older sister, Anamilet.
She wanted to know what his trip entailed, so he told her about the USA Boxing National Championships, which start today in Colorado Springs, Colo. He also mentioned another boxer in the competition backed by the financial support of a local gym.
Naturally, Anamilet asked her brother whether he had any such help. He said no. She asked whether he was representing Whatsoever, the hybrid gym/community center near the family’s home in east Kansas City. He said no.
He told his sister he paid for his own trip, to represent himself and go at it on his own.
“It was like somebody taking an exam in school that they taught themselves the things they needed to know,” Anamilet said. “He’s training himself; he’s deciding what time to get up, what he needs to work on. All on his own. He’s not depending on someone.
“Good or not, is it going to help him win? I don’t know. But the thing is: He’s going to keep going.”
Saenz, 21, will make the first step in the grueling process to qualify for the Olympics today during his first fight at nationals. To even qualify for the Olympic trials, he must first finish in the top four this week in the 141-pound weight class, which has 22 boxers competing.
“I really see him as one of the guys to beat in this tournament,” U.S. national coach Joe Zanders said.
If Saenz holds up to that, he will have done so as a mostly self-taught fighter who runs a mostly self-disciplined training schedule.
He spent last year in Los Angeles fighting in the World Series of Boxing, a tri-continental league where he received daily tutelage. But when he is home in Kansas City, he doesn’t have a coach. He hasn’t had one locally since he was 15.
“It’s certainly not a good thing,” Zanders said. “It’s sort of like, you don’t really want to represent yourself in court unless you have to as a last resort.”
This is something Saenz understands, but it also doesn’t faze him.
When he’s in town, he cooks all of his own meals so he can watch his intake. He goes to Whatsoever six times a week and hits the same bag he has hit since he started boxing at age 9.
“It’s just more of me dedicating myself to it,” Saenz said. “If I want it, I’ll go out there and get it done.”
Saenz grew up in east Kansas City with his mother, stepfather, two older sisters and older brother. He picked up boxing early and excelled at Van Horn High School, where he was class president and graduated eighth in his class. He then set his sights on Rockhurst University, where he’s currently enrolled as an accounting major.
It was the only school he applied to, because it was the only school he wanted to attend. He earned scholarships to pay for tuition, including one from the Golden Gloves of America.
All the while, Saenz has never blurred the picture of his two goals: to make a name for himself as a boxer and as an educated professional. One rarely receives more attention than the other.
“I’m actually thinking of going more in the business side of boxing instead of actually fighting so I can keep some brain cells,” Saenz said.
When he trained and boxed full time in Los Angeles last year, he often found himself bored after finishing workouts by 3 p.m. Then he returned to Rockhurst this summer to take two courses after initially wanting to sign up for four.
“Right now, with just school and boxing, it’s easy,” Saenz said. “I feel like I have a lot of free time right now. So I called my old work up and said, ‘Hey, I want to work a couple shifts a week now.’ ”
Saenz’s friends tease him that he doesn’t act his age. His sister doesn’t understand how he balances work, boxing and school — even after watching him do so for years.
While in Colorado this week, Saenz will also bring two books that have nothing to do with boxing. He will read these books about psychology and marketing partly because he has to for his summer classes, but mostly because he wants to.
“Boxing’s not always going to be there,” Saenz said. “I could break my hand and then not be able to do it anymore. I want to have that backup.”
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/19/2961609/local-boxer-saenz-balances-boxing.html#ixzz1Pp2V7aC9