the Fitness Factory's 'Wall of Fame':

 

September 2009 saw Josh Harris Jumping for Joy

 

It was another great turnout for the The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway's monthly boxing competition last Saturday and this month was the exhausting 'Jump Over' competition which was won by Josh Harris aged 13.

 

The 'Jump Over' competition was chosen as it is a great test of stamina, balance, and determination, all of which are needed to make a great boxer. With the bar set at 250mm high and a minute on the clock, it was always going to take a great performance to win. Connor Davies finished in 3rd place scoring 100, Jamie Blakemore's 107 was second, with Josh Harris’s 110 taking the title.

 

Sonia Davison, Coach added. "What a great competition jump over is to high light the many skills needed to becoming a great boxer. All the children did a fantastic job in this really tough competition, we thought that 75 would be the score to beat so when Connor reached 100 we were amazed. As for Jamie’s 107 that was special but congratulations go to Josh, who showed true grit, determination and what a great athlete he his to make 110 and take the winners medal"

July 2009 - The Fitness Factory Boxing Club's 1st Birthday and End of Year Awards Presented by John 'Buster' Keeton

 

To help celebrate The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway's 1st Birthday and to present the clubs end of year awards on Saturday was Sheffield’s very own John 'Buster' Keeton. After sharing details of his long career and detailing just what it takes to be a champion 'Buster' took time to give out some valuable tips on improving style and the importance of good footwork. He then watched and gave encouragement as the children practiced these in a 4 round bag session.

 

To finish, 'Buster' presented the Fitness Factory Boxing Club's end of year awards that were won by Lewis Mills aged 8 who picked up a deserved 'Athlete of the Year Award'. Josh Harris aged 13 who got the 'Outstanding Effort Award' with the ultimate prize for 'Boxer of the Year Award' going to Jamie Blakemore aged 13.

 

Coach Sonia Davison commented "What a great day its been. To have 'Buster' visit on our 1st birthday and to offer advice and to encourage the children was fantastic, each and every one of them has learnt something today. As for the awards it should be said that all the children have worked really hard all year but Lewis Mills and Josh Harris really stood out, as for Jamie Blakemore he seriously deserves the title 'Boxer of the Year' for his dedication, commitment and improvement and is a great example for any young up and coming boxer"

 

Everyone at The Fitness Factory would like to take this opportunity to thank 'Buster' for giving up his time to support their Boxing Club and for presenting the winners with their prizes.

Should anyone be interested in more information, or to join The Fitness Factory Boxing Club please call Bill on 07831 436 539.

June 2009 and 'Whittaker Wins the Tri-Box Competition'

 

Receiving the winners medal is Jake Whittaker (12) pictured with Head Coach Robert Cotterell and Assisitant Coach Sonia Davison.

 

It was The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway's monthly children's competition last Saturday and this months competition was the lung bursting "Tri-Box" competition which was won by Jake Whittaker aged 12. The Tri-Box competition is a great test of power and fitness and involved 30 seconds of Star Jumps followed instantly by 30 seconds of Press Ups and lastly a further 30 seconds of Corner Pad Shuttles. Each section of this competition tested a different quality needed in boxing, speed of feet for star jumps, power and strength for press ups and stamina and determination for the corner pad shuttles.

 

As always there were fantastic performances throughout but without doubt the top three were outstanding. Taking 1st place with an unbelievable total of 106 repetitions completed was Jake Whittaker, in 2nd place was Josh Harris with 90 and Lewis Mills in 3rd with 88.

 

Sonia Davison assistant coach commented "It was a fantastic effort from everyone that took part, it was always going to take something really special to reach 90 but to smash 100 was an absolutely outstanding performance. It shows what great competitors these guys are and what a true Champion Jake is".

May 2009 - Danny turns on the style in the 'One Chance' competion

 

Receiving the winners medal from local Heavy Weight Pro Carl "Lennox" Baker is Danny Gavins (10) with runner up George Thompson (10) along with Head Coach Robert Cotterell and Assistant Coach Sonia Davison.

 

It was another great turnout for the The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway's monthly children's competition and this months competition was the High Pressure 'One Chance' technique competition which was won by Danny Gavins aged 10. This competition was always going to be close as 'One Chance' is practiced on a regular basis at the Boxing Club. 'One Chance' is a series of Punch or Shot Combinations used within boxing clubs.

 

You may have wondered what the corner people tell a Pro Boxer in between rounds and it's usually their recommendation on which series of shots they think will overcome their apponent. At The Fitness Factory we have 11 combinations ranging from a basic 3 shot combination to a more complicated 7 shot combination. The 'One Chance' competition is a practical test of knowing these combinations, any mistakes and you're out. Points were awarded for completing the 11 shot combinations succesfully and extra points were awarded for style and footwork. After round one there were 4 children tied on a very impressive 8.5 points, Jamie Blakemore (13), Callum Drew (12) Danny Gavins (10) and George Thompson (10) it was decided that a round 2 was needed where the shot combinations were chosen out of sequence, and extra special attention was made of footwork technique. As the pressure piled up contenders Jamie, Callum and George wavered slightly, leaving Danny Gavins to collect the coverted 'One Shot' winners medal.

 

Attending the club, watching the competition and presenting Danny with his prize was local Heavy Weight Pro Carl "Lennox" Baker who commented on the high level of technique, concentration and determination shown by the children.

 

Robert Cotterell Head Coach added "One Chance is a great competition, its not just knowing the shot combinations its also how you deal with pressure when the spotlight's on you. All the children did great but the top four were truly outstanding, no one wins this competition without practice and determination and it shows just what a true competitor Danny is to win".

 

Everyone at The Fitness factory would like to take this opportunity to thank Carl for giving his time to support their Boxing Club and for presenting the winners prize.

March 2009 'Squat Thrust Champion'

 

In the Picture is (centre) Omari Francis winner (left) Lewis Mills 2nd (right) William Hague 3rd along with other club members being pictured together with Robert Cotterell head coach and Sonia Davison assistant coach.

 

The March 'Squat Thrust Competition' at The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway ended once again in an absolute thriller with another very impressive turnout for this very tough competition designed to showcase cardiovascular, abdominal and leg strength over a 30 second period.

At the end of this toughly fought competition both Omari and Lewis Mills were tied at 39 Squat Thrusts each but as ever there could only be one winner. It was decided a second round was needed to find the winner, so a second round was arranged but with an added task, a 30 second skipping section was to be done before going straight into another 30 second head to head.

The result was a staggering further 38 Squat Thrusts for Omari and 36 for Lewis Mills making Omari the Squat Thrust Champion and proud recipient of the Fitness Factory Boxing Clubs Winners Medal.

 

Robert Cotterell head coach commented "Both Omari and Lewis were outstanding today, they both set an incredible pace throughout the competition to power into the final. To have to skip for 30 seconds non stop before a re-run of the final shows just what great contenders these two are and the determination that it takes to be winner".

'The Ultimate Champion' - February 2009 was 'Shuttle Competition' Month

 

In the Picture is Callum (right) and Josh (left) pictured together with Robert Cotterell head coach and Sonia Davison assistant coach.

 

The February 'Shuttle Competition' at The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway ended in an absolute thriller. Over 20 children took part in this 'leg draining' and 'lung bursting' exercise which involved starting at one corner pad of the boxing ring and using dynamic leg power and feet technique to spring and touch a sparring mitt placed in the center of the ring. Then changing direction and touching the next corner pad and continuing all the way around the ring for a 30 second period.

 

At the end of this toughly fought competition both Callum Drew and Josh Harris were tied at 18 corner pads touched each. As there could only be one winner it was decided a second 'head to head' round was needed to decide the "Ultimate Champion". A second round of the "Shuttle Competition" was arranged but with a twist, a 15 second press up section would be added.

The result was a staggering further 17 pads for Callum and 16 for Josh making Callum the champion and proud recipient of the 'Boxer of the Week' certificate and the coveted Fitness Factory Boxing Club's 'Winners Medal'. A special one-off exception was made to appoint Josh equal 'Boxer of Week' as he showed what a great contender he is.

 

Robert Cotterell head coach commented "Both Callum and Josh were outstanding and are both great boxers in the making. The boys showed their true fighting spirit to achieve 18 pads which is remarkable but to have to go through a second head to head and repeat the exercise showed what great athletes these two are. The rules of the club state that there can only be one winner and in the end Callum became the Ultimate Champion".

Lewis powers his way into 2009 - January 2009 was 'The Plank' Month

 

In the Picture is Lewis Mills (1st Place) Elise Allen (2nd Place) and Edward Davison (3rd Place)

 

It was The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway's January children's competition last Saturday and this month was "The Plank" competition, which was won by Lewis Mills aged 8. Lewis destroyed the opposition in "The Plank" a core body strength exercise to beat everyone else that entered. In third place was Edward Davison and in second place with an outstanding performance was Elise Allen.

 

Robert Cotterell head coach commented "It's an absolutely unbelievable performance. From past experience anything between 2 and 3 minutes is a good time and as such I felt a time of around 4 minutes would have been enough to win. For so many of the children to better this is really a great achievement but for Elise and Edward to crack 5 minutes each and still not win was a shock. Unbelievable really is the only word to describe the performance from Lewis who held "The Plank" for over 11 minutes 30 seconds proving what a real winner he is"

 

December 2008 was 'Last One Standing' Month

 

In the picture receiving the winners medal from Clinton Woods is Lewis Mills along with Head Coach Robert Cotterell.

 

It was another great turnout for The Fitness Factory Boxing Club's monthly children's competition last Saturday and this month was the strength sapping "Last One Standing" Squat competition which was won by Lewis Mills aged 8. With an absolutely unbelievable time of 4 minutes 11 seconds, Lewis managed to hold a full 90 degree squat to beat everyone else that entered.

In a close second place was Sam who gave everything to stay in the competition but eventually had to give in to the worthy winner.

 

Attending the club, watching the competition and presenting Lewis with his medal was local boxing Champion Clinton Woods who was truly amazed at the effort and determination of all the children taking part.

 

Robert Cotterell, head coach, commented "What an effort from Lewis he really had to dig deep to win as there was some fine performances all round. Anything over 3 minutes is truly an excellent effort and to have to go to 4 minutes 11seconds showed just how tough this competition was. Congratulations to Lewis who showed that true grit and determination".

 

Everyone at The Fitness Factory would also like to take this opportunity to thank Clinton Woods for giving his time to support to their Boxing Club.

 

November 2008 was 'Press Up Month'

 

In the picture is Damon Allen winner of the recent press up competition along with Robert Cotterell (head coach) and Sonia Davison (assistant coach)

 

The Fitness Factory Boxing Club at Halfway held its monthly club competition recently and this month was press up month. With everyone involved giving their all it took an almighty effort from Damon Allen to clinch the title and walk away with the winners medal.

 

With a really impressive 45 press ups, Harry Thompson looked to be home and dry until Damon Allen, the last contender, stepped up.

 

At 28 press ups it seemed to everone that Harry would win but with shear grit and determination Damon pushed out the another 18 to become November's winner and take the well deserved title.

 

Robert Cotterell head coach commented "it was always going to take something special to beat 45 press ups but Damon showed his true fighting spirit to come out on top, congratulations go to him".