Bacardy Conard stood in the ring poised, eyes focused and hands clenched.
Face flushed red, the Etna girl was undeterred. She continued to throw punch after punch, shifting her feet and shoulders quickly until the final bell.
Her reward was a sense of accomplishment, a cool drink and congratulations from her trainer, Jose Caraballo of Sharpsburg.
Bacardy, 12, was one of a handful of youths who gutted out a training session at the Ray Schafer Boxing Association on April 2.
Located above the Sharpsburg VFW Post 709 along Main Street, the club continues to mold young men and women in memory of the late O’Hara police chief.
“I was interested in boxing,” Bacardy said. “I get to learn how to fight, to stick up for myself.”
The Shaler Area School District student said her boxing training has boosted her confidence and helped her in school sports as well as in the classroom.
Bacardy’s mother, Kim Bujak, said she heard about the association through her family friend, Ilias Caraballo, a three-time Golden Gloves champ and Jose Caraballo’s wife.
“I was telling her how Bacardy’s into football, soccer and all different sports,” Bujak said. “Ilias was telling me about the boxing, and we came one time for her to check it out. She liked it. It helps her with football with her foot movement.”
Bujak has noticed an increase in her daughter’s self-confidence since joining the program earlier this year.
“She practices a lot at home,” Bujak said. “She’s really into it.”
Between 12 to 24 athletes ages 8 to 12 from multiple school districts participate in the Sharpsburg co-ed youth program under the direction of former pro boxer Jose Caraballo and Ilias Caraballo.
The pair put the kids through the paces via various stations from hitting heavy bags, jumping, calisthenics and other disciplines. A clock is the only thing electronic in the gym. It beeps to alert athletes it is time to change training areas or take a break.
“Kids come in quiet and timid, (and) they leave strong,” Jose Caraballo said. “It instills into you the focus on yourself. That self-importance, that extra push. … The more you put into this, the more you’re going to get out of it. They love coming here.
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“There’s never a chip on anyone’s shoulder. With boxing, you never stop learning.”
Brief history
Jose Caraballo, 47, reopened the boxing club in 2008 a few years after the passing of Ray Schafer.
Schafer, a 1953 Golden Gloves champion, founded the Police Athletic Club many years ago to give troubled teens a place to blow off steam.
His makeshift gym was run for a short time out of the Pleasant Valley Fire Department before moving to a permanent space above the Sharpsburg VFW.
Schafer retired from the O’Hara force in 2004 after a 47-year career in law enforcement. He died Oct. 16, 2006. He was 71.
Jose Caraballo said Schafer was a pillar of the community and influenced countless lives including his, having trained at the gym many times before taking it over.
“I’m just honored to keep it going,” Jose Caraballo said. “I know that it’s needed.”
The ring, itself, has a lot of history.
It was used for many fights at Forbes Field including a battle between Ezzard Charles, known to fight fans as the “Cincinnati Cobra,” and “Jersey” Joe Walcott in July 1951.
Walcott defeated Charles in the seventh round to become world heavyweight champion.
The late Bruno Sammartino also stepped through those ropes. A picture of the pro wrestling legend is hung on a gym wall.
“We have all of the documented facts of its history,” Jose Caraballo said of the gym’s centerpiece. “The chief had given me the ring to continue the program and to keep building champions in and out of the ring. So, that’s the ring I had always used for our program.”
The ring’s current look includes red and blue posts, black ropes and a red canvas.
Youth development
The association’s programs were expanded to include preteens in 2013.
Ilias Caraballo, 30, said they refined workouts in 2017 from what was described as a several-hour, open-gym session to more refined one-hour trainings designed for specific age groups.
The gym is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with youths welcome from 5 to 6 p.m. followed by boxers 13 and older from 6 to 7 and 7 to 8 p.m.
“It just expanded a little bit more instead of having them all together,” Ilias Caraballo said about the changes. “In the past, it used to be just 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., open all the time. Now we’re per hour.
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“Tuesdays and Thursdays we have (specific classes for) ladies. We’re getting a little bit deeper into the program (than before).”
She said her favorite class is with the youths.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do,” she said. “I love being able to help the community, make the world a better place. Give the youths confidence and discipline, dedication through something I love. I believe boxing creates the type of confidence that you can really only get from this type of sport. It takes this dedication where it’s you versus you.
“It makes them not really too discouraged when they walk into a room. They feel more welcomed because they’ve had to deal with tough obstacles.”
Monthly costs for youth training range from $60 to $85, depending on how many times a week the child participates. Single sessions are $15.
More information is available at facebook.com/RaySchaferBoxing or call 412-853-4704.