Metro Detroit boxing class empowers special-needs children with confidence
Boxing class in Metro Detroit empowers special-needs children
This boxing class brings out the best in the children who might need a little more help than the rest, like one child named Caleb.
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Metro Detroit boxing class is going beyond just workouts as it focuses on teaching special-needs children and teens about confidence in being themselves, with the help of a local non-profit.
Why you should care:
The boxing class brings out the best in the children who might need a little more help than the rest, like one child named Caleb.
These children were not always so confident, until they met a coach who believed in all of them, Taiwan Jones.
"The kids have a lot of personality," said Jones. "A lot of people look at kids with special needs and look down on them or feel bad for them. I treat them the same, like I treat everybody else. They appreciate that because they are the same."
Big picture view:
Coach Taiwan is a former New York Jet, earned a Rose Bowl Championship at Michigan State University, and his gym, Transformation Lab in Sterling Heights, has teamed up with Kids on the Go, a nonprofit that provides free therapy for neurodivergent kids and teens.
"Children with special needs and teens often don’t get the same fitness opportunities that a typically developing child has. It’s important for their heart health," said Kristy Schena of Kids on the Go. "Obesity is higher in kids with special needs because they don’t get these opportunities."
Just one look will show you this class is not about just staying healthy but learning social skills. These kids are growing together, and nothing else matters because, together, they’re a team with one special coach.