Peachtree City

resident Scott Sebastian has boxing in his blood.

Sebastian's

uncle, Billy Soose, was world middleweight champion in 1941 and is in

the World Boxing Hall of Fame in California, while his father, Gene, was

a boxing champ of the South Pacific while fighting in World War II. Sebastian

himself was a two-time Golden Glove title holder and is now training several

athletes from the area with hopes that they will one day hold Golden Glove

titles.

The athletes

meet nearly seven days a week to train, but they don't meet at a typical

gym they meet at Sebastian's house. Sebastian's garage looks like the

inside of a boxing gym, with speed bags and heavy bags hanging amongst

a myriad of boxing memorabilia collected by Sebastian and his relatives

over they years. The space is also filled with every piece of equipment

needed for boxers, including training and fighting gloves, shoes, trunks,

tape, first aid kits and more. The only thing missing is the ring, and

that is in the backyard.

"The president

of Georgia Amateur Boxing heard I was trying to start a gym to train boxers

on the southside," said Sebastian. "One day he called me up

and put me in touch with Guy Webb, who donated all of the equipment."

It took three

trucks to bring the $8,000 worth of equipment to the house, which is serving

as the temporary home to Sebastian's Boxing Clinic as Sebastian seeks

a more permanent space that can house his students, the equipment and,

most importantly, the official size ring.

Sebastian was

a member of USA Boxing and the Georgia Amateur Boxing Association and

as an official refereed and judged over 160 fights. He started offering

his services as a personal trainer last year using the training techniques

that boxers use. That eventually evolved into Sebastian seeking students

to train to become amateur boxers and hopefully, one day, Sebastian will

be a trainer for a pro.

His students

range in age from 12 to 25 and several of them have served in the United

States Army. Many of the students saw a flier that advertised Sebastian's

Boxing Clinic and that was all it took to get them in the door. Now, several

months later, many of the students are like brothers and a few of the

young boxers should be ready to give it a go in a Golden Gloves competition

in Rome in April.

Aaron Carver

is the team's captain. He is 25 years old, a McIntosh graduate and a current

student at Gordon College. While in the Army, Carver was a paratrooper

for the 82nd Airborne and also served as a combat engineer. He likes the

skill and the strategy necessary to box and is looking forward to the

matches in April.

Jay Lin, 21,

is a resident of McDonough and also served in the Army in transportation.

Lin finds that boxing has given him confidence but he also likes the comradery

that he has found. "The team is like a brotherhood," said Lin.

"Mr. Sebastian is like a second father to me."

The family

connection is important because of the time that is involved in training.

The students are constantly working out or running or sparring. Sebastian's

wife, Melinda, is also a boxing fan and is very supportive of the group.

Peachtree City

residents Chris Nolin, 21, and Ben Dixon, 23, knew each other from working

out at Gold's Gym. Dixon started working at Sebastian's Boxing Clinic

first and encouraged Nolin to come out and give it a try. Nolin is a student

at the State University of West Georgia and loves the conditioning that

training gives him, while Dixon, a student at Gordon College, admits he

likes the punching and blocking.

For training,

Sebastian finds that training for boxing gives athletes everything they

need. "It really is the greatest conditioning," Sebastian said.

"It combines cardio with strength, hand-eye coordination, rhythm

and timing."

Chris Jones

is another McIntosh graduate in the boxing clinic. He recently graduated

from Stetson University and comes to boxing with an extensive background

in martial arts. Jones is attracted to boxing because of the way it makes

him feel.

"It is

not two people just wailing away on each other," Jones explains.

"It's a lot harder than it looks." Sebastian agrees, describing

boxing as a physical chess match.

Other members

of the team who were not present when this reporter visited the gym were

Anthony Lewandowski, 14, of Sharpsburg and his little brother, Evan, 12,

who are hoping to one day box in the junior olympics; Sean Spoto, 22,

of Fayetteville and David Roten, 22, of Fayetteville. Roten is another

student with ties to the Armed Services.

The students

have learned a lot in their time with Sebastian but their most important

lesson they learn, one he teaches every day, is the importance of safety.

As trainer to all of the students, each student must obey Sebastian's

commands or their match, sparring or otherwise, is over. Though amateur

boxing is a relatively safe sport, due to short rounds (three two-minute

rounds in a match), headgear, mouthpieces and bigger gloves, if the boxer

doesn't know what he is doing or doesn't listen to his trainer, someone

can get hurt.

In spending

time with Sebastian and his students, it is evident how much respect Sebastian

commands. The boxers listen to Sebastian's advice as they go through their

training and all of them appear hungry to improve.

"These

guys had character and integrity when they walked in the door," said

Sebastian. "Now, they are learning the discipline of boxing."

The Golden

Glove competition will take place Thursday-Saturday, April 3-5 in Rome.

After that, Sebastian will also offer classes at the Kedron Fieldhouse

and Aquatic Center on Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons. For more

information on Sebastian's Boxing Clinic or his upcoming classes, phone

770-487-8284 or send an e-mail to [email protected]

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