Young Sisters boxer finds focus in the ring with boxing club

Adam Silva. photo by Jim Cornelius Kid hits his teenage years, has a rough time, starts copping an attitude, gets into petty scrapes with the law.

Dad's had it; takes him to a boxing gym, hopes the kid'll bite. He bites.

One workout and he's hooked.

The bad stuff starts to fall away.

Kid learns discipline. Anger and aggression have an outlet. Kid finds some self-respect, starts respecting others.

In the space of a few months, the kid is becoming a boxer.

The kid is Adam Silva, a 13-year-old from Sisters. He's the second-youngest member of Deschutes County Rocks, a USA Boxing affiliated, Olympic-style amateur boxing team.

Next month he and his teammates head off to Boise for a regional tournament.

His coach, Richard Miller, hopes to get Silva a bout between now and January. They've had a hard time finding someone of the right age and weight-class to fight.

So Silva's ring experience so far has been confined to sparring.

"When I'm sparring I get really nervous," Silva said. "But when I get going I don't (feel nervous anymore)."

Miller says that "his skill level is above someone who has no bouts."

Silva works out with the team at National Fitness Center in Bend.

"He's disciplined; he's there every night," said Miller.

Being in the gym has kept Silva on the straight and narrow.

"Instead of doing the stuff I was doing, now I'm somewhere else," he says.

Somewhere else jumping rope, running, learning combinations and working the heavy bag.

When he first started last August, Silva couldn't move the bag. There was no snap in his punches.

He's gotten stronger and, more importantly, he's learned how to punch.

"My coach says every practice that I'm not the kid I was when I started," Silva said.

Miller's not just talking about punching ability. Sure, the skills of the sweet science are important and there's no denying the satisfaction in landing a hard blow -- on a bag or on the other guy in the ring.

But Miller emphasizes that Deschutes County Rocks is "more than a boxing club."

For Miller, a 15-year veteran coach with the nationwide USA Boxing amateur program, it's all about giving kids opportunities.

Opportunities to be part of something. For some kids, it's the first time to feel like that.

"We're a team; it's not just an individual sport," Miller says.

Opportunities to travel. USA Boxing takes teams across the country for regional and national tournaments. Many of the young boxers have never been out of state before.

Opportunities to excel. Two of Silva's teammates are Rafael Rodriguez, 24, and David Robles, 15, both of Sisters.

Rodriguez and Robles will also travel to Boise in January. If they win there, they will qualify for spots in a national tournament in Independence Missouri, next spring.

Miller expects his boxers to carry themselves with dignity and class outside the ring. He checks up on their progress at school -- both their grades and their attitude.

For boxers like Silva, the investment of time, effort and pride is too great to risk by acting up outside the gym.

Miller acknowledges that running the club and traveling to tournaments gets expensive. He's looking for donations to help sustain the program

Contributions should be made payable to Richard Miller (DCR) USA Boxing Coach, 2660 N.E. Highway 20, Suite 610-335, Bend, OR 97701.

For more information call 318-6211.