Greensboro Reporter

City of Greensboro issued the following announcement on Jan. 10.

The Al Lowe Boxing Club sits tucked in the quaint Lindley Park neighborhood between Wendover Avenue and Spring Garden Street. Part of the Lindley Park Recreation Center, the City’s lone boxing facility looks largely the same as it did when it opened in 1978. The modest brick structure is packed with an Olympic-size ring, an assortment of heavy bags, speed bags, weights, and cardio equipment.

On any given day you’ll find club director Rob Chapman inside the club’s tiny office holding court with his family of coaches, helpers, and his boxing students. Chapman grew up in this facility under the mentorship of its namesake and carries on Lowe’s legacy of transforming the community through boxing and camaraderie.

“I enjoy helping people, especially young kids, stay off the streets,” Chapman said. “We’re in here doing something positive. You can’t help everybody, but if you can just help one or two, I know I’ve done my job, just like Al did for me.”

When he was eight or nine, Chapman followed his older brother into Lowe’s Greensboro Boxing Club. (Chapman says he grew jealous as his brother brought home boxing trophies.) Under Lowe’s direction, Chapman took to the sport in part because he could compete against people his size.

“I was always a small guy growing up,” Chapman said. “I tried to play football but was too small in high school. But in boxing, you fight against your weight class, which made me feel like that’s the sport for me.”

And it was. Chapman progressed through the local and regional amateur ranks. He won Carolina Golden Gloves titles in 1978 and 1979 and fought in the 1980 US Olympic trials.

After more than 100 career fights as an amateur, Chapman received an offer he couldn’t refuse. Lowe had an opening on his staff at the Greensboro Boxing Club and asked if Chapman would be interested. While he lacked training and coaching experience, Lowe taught him everything he needed to know.

“He said, ‘Let me teach you how to train fighters,’ and I said, ‘Ok,” Chapman recalled. “It started from there. He taught me everything: how to wrap hands, how to monitor the guys when they’re working out, and what to look for in fighters; different little things like that.”

Since 1987, Chapman has been teaching the basics of boxing, coaching a team of youth boxers, and working with individuals who have progressed into more advanced levels of training. Students start in a class where they learn the sport’s fundamental elements and those who show interest and progress are invited to join the club’s team, which travels to local and regional events. Chapman’s current squad has about 12 members who range in age from 12 years and older.

“What I like about coaching is getting to know people, getting to know the guys,” Chapman said. “I like seeing what I teach them, how they develop, and watching them do well when they compete. It makes me feel good that my coaching skills get those guys to compete on the highest level they can.”

He also likes introducing his students to new experiences, just as Lowe did for Chapman.

“When I was young, I had never been on an airplane or been to the beach,” Chapman recalled. “Coming here gave me the opportunity to accomplish some of those goals in life that I may not have otherwise had.”

So now, when Chapman’s team competes in an annual tournament in Wilmington, a trip to the beach is always in order. He knows it’s a special occasion for some team members and says they enjoy swimming in the ocean. “I couldn’t get them out of the water. They loved it,” he said of a recent trip. “It made me feel good because I could see myself in them.”

Tory Harris was one of Chapman’s students who had his first ocean experience as a member of the club’s traveling team. Like many others, he came to the club as a teenager who wanted to learn how to box. The kid they endearingly called Cheeseburger found more than that. Today, Harris serves in the US Army. When he returns home on leave, he always stops by the boxing club “because they’re like family.”

While Greensboro isn’t a hotbed for top-ranked boxers (although the club’s Joseph Jackson is 18-0 as a professional super welterweight), Chapman and his staff are making a difference in the community as young people find fitness, discipline, and even family. Entering his 36th year as a City employee, Chapman remains committed to carrying on his mentor’s mission of changing lives for the better for as long as he can.

Original source can be found here.