Photo By Sgt. Daniel Schneider | Staff Sgt. Jermaine Ellis, non-commissioned officer in charge of supply at Company B,...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD – A Division Special Troops Battalion Soldier has answered the call to use his past experiences to coach Soldiers at Camp Liberty.
The battalion's senior non-commissioned officer recently approached Staff Sgt. Jermaine Ellis, NCO in charge of supply for Company B, DSTB, 1st Armored Division, about training Soldiers in boxing. Ellis was an excellent candidate since he started boxing when he was 6-years-old, and continued until he hung up his gloves in 2004 after 18 years of professional experience.
"Command Sgt. Maj. [Sal] Katz came to me with his vision of starting a new boxing program for Soldiers. When I was boxing for the Army, he was my first sergeant, so he knew I used to box," the Youngstown, Ohio, native said. He smiled. "Some parts of your past you just can't bury."
"I tried to shy away from volunteering at first, but eventually I realized that I owe it to these Soldiers to pass on my experience to them," he admitted.
One of his boxing students, Pfc. Daine Watson, a squad driver assigned to 501st Military Police Company, DSTB, 1st Armd. Div., came from a boxing background. He had boxed four years before deploying to Iraq, mainly in clubs, high school and college, but he acknowledges that the training he's receiving here has been useful.
"Back home, I had the same coach so it was always the same kind of fighting that he'd teach us," said the right-handed Watson about his hometown coach when he lived in Elmont, N.Y. "Staff Sgt. Ellis pushes us to step out of our comfort zone and fight both 'southpaw' as well as [with] our natural hand."
Not all of Ellis's trainees have had prior experience in boxing. Despite this, he still takes the time to mentor and teach them.
"So long as you have the willingness to learn and self-discipline to change and get better, you will," said Capt. James Battle, an Apache helicopter pilot and acting liaison officer for 1st Combat Aviation Brigade and a native of Hampton, Va. "The coach can only teach you so much, but ultimately it is up to you to be willing to change and soak up the knowledge like a sponge."
Pfc. Brian Robinson, a supply specialist with 501st MP Company, said he has evolved into a contender under the expert tutelage of Ellis.
"At first, I just wanted to use boxing as a new workout program because we condition a lot with running and abdominal workouts, and it was something different to learn while I'm in Iraq," the Tavares, Fla., native said. "Now, I want to see what I can do with this knowledge I'm gaining."
Robinson will get the chance to put his training to the test in the ring soon. The DSTB is sponsoring a boxing smoker scheduled for July 3 on Camp Liberty.
Ellis, who originally left boxing because it was taking too much time away from his family, is pleased he can now pass on his knowledge to these fighters without sacrificing any more time than he already is by serving in Iraq.
"I've put a lot of training into these fighters – ideas, ideology, beliefs," said Ellis. "You show them how to do a move hoping it's going to work. Then when you watch them execute it flawlessly, you think, 'Wow! All this hard work and it finally paid off.'"
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2010 12:15 |
| Story ID: | 50545 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 356 |
| Downloads: | 232 |
This work, USD-C Soldier doubles as boxing coach while serving in Iraq, by SGT Daniel Schneider, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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