[ back ]
Sports of All Sorts I: Sweet kid with wicked punch
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - February 03, 2010)
|
 Gloves up, Drew Sines is ready for another round in the ring.
|
|
 Drew (right) gets in a little sparring practice.
|
Schools and youth leagues provide young people with lots of traditional sports options, but what about the athletes whose interests lie outside the norm? The following story is the first in a four-part series about Madison County kids who are pursuing sports off the beaten path.
They call him the Lemon Drop Kid because he looks sweet on the outside but turns sour in the ring.
Drew Sines, 11, a fifth-grade honor roll student at Mount Sterling Elementary, has been boxing competitively for about a year. He picked it up after playing travel baseball and youth league football for years.
“I just wanted to try something different,” Drew said.
He gave wrestling a whirl, but it didn’t stick, and he wasn’t interested in basketball. He enjoys mixed martial arts at a studio in London, but when a family friend became a trainer at a boxing gym in Columbus, Drew found his true passion.
“It took about 30 seconds, and he was hooked,” said his dad, Brady. “Starting out, we were looking for him to learn self-control and confidence in case he ever got bullied, but it turned into him wanting to compete.
“To be truthful, I never thought it’d take. Drew is a happy-go-lucky, mild guy. If he had a choice between playing with a baby or with his buddies, he’d pick the baby.”
Something about boxing brings out Drew’s inner fighter.
“He can hit you six times before you blink,” said Brady.
Drew trains four to five times a week at Team VanSickle Boxing and MMA at Westland Mall. His trainer, Chad VanSickle, is a cruiser weight world champion with the North American Boxing Association and World Boxing Council. VanSickle is very impressed with Drew, who he describes as a down-to-earth kid whose alter-ego can knock your head off.
“Drew is one of the most natural, gifted athletes I’ve ever known, and I’ve been around boxing all my life,” VanSickle said. “Everyone he hits, they go to sleep. I have grown men who don’t want to work out with him... Get used to his name because you’re going to hear more about him (in the future).”
Drew competes in one non-conference fight at the gym each week. In between big shows, like the Ohio State Fair which attracts amateurs age 8 and up, he travels to area matches for exposure to different boxing styles and sparring practice.
For boxers Drew’s age, a fight consists of three one-minute rounds. For ages 14 and up, the rounds are two minutes each. Young boxers are paired based on age, weight and experience.
“I like it because you have to think quick so you don’t get hit in the face,” said Drew, who so far has suffered no black eyes or fat lips. “I was just born with a hard head, so it really never hurts.”
Drew’s mom, Christine, is thankful for the genetic toughness, but cringes when she watches him box. Still, she appreciates the benefits her son reaps from the sport.
“He just puts his heart into it, and his body condition and health shows the effects,” Christine said.
Drew’s sister has reaped the benefits, too. Ashley, 17, a softball player at Madison-Plains High School, started boxing when Drew did. While she doesn’t compete, she does travel to the gym once or twice a week for workouts.
“It’s good for conditioning for softball. You get strength and cardio,” she said, adding that it’s also a constructive way to blow off steam.
Drew has given up other organized sports to focus solely on boxing. His parents don’t mind taxiing him to and from practices and matches and paying for his training.
“It’s worth it as long as he’s giving it his all,” Brady said.
As for how long that will be, Drew replied with a smile, “I think I’ll be doing it for a while.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOXER At-a-glance
Drew Sines
(The Lemon Drop Kid)
Age: 11
Home: Mount Sterling
Years in the sport: 1
Trainer: Cruiser weight world champion Chad VanSickle
Team: Team VanSickle Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts
Top accomplishments: In Toledo in early 2009, in only his second fight ever, Sines beat his opponent decisively. Says his dad, “It was over in the first three seconds. The other kid didn’t have a prayer.”
In late summer 2009, Sines lost by just one point to the two-time state champion kickboxer in his class.
Next competition: Between late February and late March, Sines will choose among six shows in which to compete, including two in Columbus.
Aspirations: He aims to earn a boxing scholarship to Northern Michigan University, University of Colorado, Ohio University or Miami University of Ohio.
Boxing idol: Muhammad Ali
Hobbies: Fishing, hunting, horsing around with his friends in the park
[ back ]
