Sports Editor

It is a tight knit group that gathers at Mike Gaddy's house

every week. They work out, lift weights and spar in a boxing ring.

They are training for the Golden Glove fights, and they are training

to win.

Gaddy has built a small gym and a ring into his garage. It

may not be a world class facility and there may be some antique cars

in the middle of being restored, but it has everything the young

fighters need to train and most of all, it has Gaddy.

Mike Gaddy used to be a boxer, working out at the War

Memorial Boys Club with fighters like Evander Holyfield. Gaddy

knows the tricks of the trade and is happy to share his knowledge with

those who wish to have it. He starts the students off with the basics,

building their confidence levels up and then the more advanced

lessons come in.

"The most important thing I teach is conditioning,"

says Gaddy. "These guys won't be fighting forever, but I hope

that when they stop getting in the ring, they still hit the weights and

they keep running." Gaddy teaches this lesson by continuing to work

out and run with the guys and he hasn't fought in years. "It

shows them that if I can still do it, so can they."

He is a very successful teacher. One of his students, Tom

Mindar, a 29 year old police officer in Fayetteville, won his first

fight, the state championship, in the Novice Super Heavyweight

Division of the Golden Gloves tournament. Mindar is 6'7 and

241 pounds. He had always had an interest in boxing and finds that

it is a good way to stay fit. Mindar continues to work out and

train because the Georgia Games are coming up in July and he wants

to win more fights.

Another fighter that has learned a great deal from Gaddy is

Tom Nguyen. Tom is 5'9 and 200 pounds. He is a graduate

from Georgia State University, and was a wrestler in High School. He

was looking for an outlet and decided to try boxing. Tom has been

boxing for four years and when he went with the group to the

Golden Gloves championships, he entered the open division instead of

the novice division. The open division has more experienced

fighters in it and Tom was matched up with the third ranked amateur

in the country, Terry Owens, an Olympic hopeful. Tom did

not have the type of experience that Owens did, but he still fought

him to an extremely close decision. "If I had had the judges from

the last Holyfield fight," says Tom, "I would have won."

Gaddy's garage is like an open house. The boys can come

over when they like and they know where the key is. He only

asks that they respect and help each other, which it is clear that

they do. They have each taken many positive things from their

experiences boxing, mostly self-discipline and sportsmanship.

"Plus," adds Tom Nguyen, "Chicks

dig fighters and it also isn't so bad to know how to protect yourself."

Gaddy shines as a teacher and a mentor. He is able to bring

out what is needed from each fighter. They have put their blood,

sweat and tears into the ring and are all completely willing to go the

distance. "I've had kids coming through here for years,"

says Gaddy. "Most of them do not become fighters, but it's a

good place to work out and they aren't on the street." There aren't a lot

of places like this in the area, the closest one is in Doraville.

Gaddy is right though, "it doesn't take anything fancy to make

some positive strides in your own backyard."

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