We have numerous young members at our boxing club, our mini Hulkies as I refer to them as, and their parents have entrusted us to not only train them but mentor them and treat them well. We do exactly that plus more. There have been numerous times where I have personally walked some mini-Hulkies home, helped them with their homework, and have fed them with food I've specifically cooked for them. This is in addition to training them at Hulk's and then spending some extra social time with them. Many of our mini-Hulkies stay longer than the average member; today two of them stayed at our club for four and a half hours. They trained, ate dinner here, played pool, and then they trained some more. Two other mini Hulkies have been given the extra title of "part time assistant" because they are exactly that -- they assist me in extra work at the club. Their list of "jobs" range from watering the plants and help hang the laundry to updating our club calendar every month. Today one of their tasks included measuring Balbao and then picking out a jacket for him from a list of pictures online. I'm not into buying clothes for a dog but he is Mexican -- he's a Chihuahua -- and his lack of body fat and size means he gets cold easily. Today they picked out a super cute, warm jacket for him and they insisted it be the colour green -- "Green like Hulk", they said.
Two other mini Hulkies have formed a couple here. They are the "Hulk couple" and they're super adorable. They both just entered high school but they met here a month ago and have been dating ever since. On Fridays when it is Free Train, they meet here and simply do laps around the club, walking hand-in-hand. The other week I let them use the TV remote and pick a movie from our Movie On Demand feature so they could watch together while I worked on the books in the side office. They're young, they think they're in love and they're innocent. Well, today the mother of the girlfriend called us and expressed she was concerned though I don't think the word "concerned" quite fits the bill here. Snickers took the phone call after I refused to part take in what I regarded as a total invasion of her daughter's privacy with what she was asking me to do. Her daughter is only 14, maybe 15, so while I can understand her concern in wanting to look out for her daughter, I don't think going though her bag while she's training or asking her personal questions about her relationship is my role as her coach. There is being concerned and then there is being downright nosey and invasive.
Many of my mini Hulkies share rather personal things with me and many have asked me to help them beyond just with training so my relationship with them is a very sensitive one that I take much pride in. I bought one mini Hulkie what I'm assuming was her very first training bra and I helped another with how to use a maxi pad yesterday. A lot of "situations" that our young Hulkies, in particular our female mini Hulkies, are experiencing have been shared with me. I used to think I'd feel like a mother to them but I'm beginning to feel like the cool aunt. Many of their parents do weekly phone call check-ups on them so I'm always quizzed about them. Whether it's simply being asked if their child is showing up or being asked the specific time they trained last week, parents are always expecting a full verbal report. I tell them what I think they need to know, a general idea, but I don't go into details of things shared to me in private or that I think my mini Hulkie would get upset about. And though my loyalty is to both them and their parents, my first priority is to my mini Hulkies and not their parents.
I don't have any problem with any of our mini Hulkies, I think they're all super great, but I think in their parents riding their backs about the who, what, when, where, and hows of their life, they're creating problems. Kids are going to be kids -- give them guidance, look out for them, but don't suffocate them because that's when you get kids wanting to rebel and go wild. I refused to act as a kind of informant and "investigate", aka pry and spy, for my mini Hulkies' mother who called today but I did have a talk with her daughter when she arrived for training. I told her that her mother called. She was as shocked as she was embarrassed but I told her to not be embarrassed. "My mother used to walk me to school every single day until I was about 12, because she wanted to make sure I got to school safe and it was our morning moment together", I told her. "Give her time to adjust to the new you, the girl who has a boyfriend", I added.
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