David, a soft-spoken youth wraps his hand, hops unto a Car tie, and starts practicing balancing. He jumps and jumps while holding his guard. Coach Zico motions for him to put on gloves and start work on the punching bag. He smiles as he punches the bag, a sigh of relief with breath as the Assistant Coach signals the end of the 3 mins.
David Quansah’s father died when he was still a toddler, and since then things have been difficult for him. He dropped out of school to stay home. Two weeks ago, he decided to step forward to use his fists to change his life.
David Quansah is a novice learning boxing at Sea View Boxing Club. The 16 years old revealed that his favorite boxers are Floyd Mayweather, Emmanuel Tagoe, Mohammed Aryeetey, and Prince Larbie.
The journey to boxing for David Quansah is a search for a better life like many boys in Ga Mashie.
In his own words “I am not going to school. I was at home doing nothing, so my brother advised me to put myself into boxing to secure my future”.
It’s nearly a month and David is still learning. He currently trains under the tutelage of Coach Gabriel aka Coach Zico. The goal of David is to learn boxing and become a skilled athlete to help him achieve his dreams. Daily, he wakes up, washes down, goes for a jog, and then rests. At 3pm he goes to the Sea View Boxing Club. He trains alongside other young people until 6pm. After this, he goes home and rests. The cycle repeats the next day.
Coach Zico praised David for his commitment and asked for support. He explained that most of the boxers at the gym go to school. Those that come here who are not in school I enroll them. The future of David appears bright as his engagement in boxing might earn him some income to live a better life. We wish David the best of luck on this journey.