By: Sean Crose
Paul Norris told me, “We have a kid in the boxing gym right now. “He weighs 225 pounds. He pushed my tooth the day before.” We were standing in the middle of the basketball court of the Naugatuck, Connecticut YMCA, surrounded by kids being coached by professionals. The kids don’t practice basketball; However, they are practicing their boxing skills. Loops may be at each end of the field, but the young people here – both men and women – are focused on gloves, heavy bags and cushion work. And, in the midst of it all is Norris, his wife Angelica and his father-in-law, Perry, offering support – as well as trading tricks.
The Norris clan is the perfect family to run the Naugatuck YMCA boxing program. Paul, Angelica and Perry all have strong boxing backgrounds. Indeed, each still looked almost identical to the combat form. Maybe that’s why the gym was packed with future fighters when the 2022 show opened this past winter.
Mark LaFortune, CEO of the Naugatuck YMCA, expressed gratitude “to have a boxing program and instructors like us.” And in case you’re wondering, the show isn’t a paying gig for Norris’. “I volunteer and I love it,” says Paul. Angelica is the same mind. “I like it,” she said. “I carry on my legacy… my oldest son helps us and now my little one is doing it.” The family knows something that people from similar backgrounds can attest – that boxing is a sport that sticks with its participants long after the last fight. This is demonstrated by Perry. “Ever since I was thirteen, sixty something answered when I asked him how long he had been in the fighting game.
However, the Naugatuck YMCA boxing program is more than just a way for kids to pass the time. Those who do well and are old enough are sent to nearby Bridgeport, where they prepare for tougher competition. “We’re going to continue them,” Paul said. What makes the Norris family’s show unique is that it fits the adage that boxing is the sport of a bygone era. This is a local boxing program that not only exists but also offers less conventional training facilities. Norris’ works with children on the spectrum and people with Alzheimer’s disease. “I’ve just been asked to do the Parkinson’s (boxing) program,” says Paul.
Not only do the Norris family find competition good for young people, they know it can be useful beyond the gym, both psychologically and physically. “Our motto,” Paul said, “is not to start a war, but to always know how to end one.”
