M.V.P. program teaches kids sports and life lessons

HEADLAND — The gym is noisy and bustling. In the ring, Joe Spears is giving pointers to Jhalan Reeves as the 13-year-old throws jabs at Spears’ gloved hand.

On the side, coach Bobby Stewart is taking a line of boys and girls through footwork drills.

It is hot in the unairconditioned Headland National Guard Armory. But the work goes on.

This is the M.V.P. Boxing program and 11 of the 15 to 25 young men and women are preparing for their first home bout. They will put their skills and enthusiasm for the sport on display in the Fight For Faith on Saturday at the armory.

Former welterweight champion and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Breland will be the special guest. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the bouts are scheduled to start at 5:30. Hardee’s of Headland and the Headland City Council are sponsoring the event.

Wins and losses are secondary to Spears, pastor at St. Peter Church, who co-founded M.V.P. (Men of Valor and Purpose) Sports in 2005 in Baldwin County and brought it to Headland two and a half years ago.

“M.V.P. uses sports, not just boxing, to reach out to kids and change lives,” Spears said. “We use traditional sports with experimental learning.

“Let me give you an example. A lot of these guys see the ring and say, I can go right now. I put them in there with somebody that’s conditioned, that’s been training and they’ll blow out in two minutes. So then what we do is take them to the side and tell them, ‘Let’s do some jump ropes,’ or do some road work with them. Then after about two weeks, we’ll put them in back in the ring and they’ll last longer. Instead of blowing out in two minutes, they last five minutes. Then we pull them to the side and have group sessions with them.

“We’ll tell them, you were able to do road work and train and do the step-and-jab and were able to last longer. Now, if you’re having problems in math, if you study is a little longer, you’ll get better results.  If you’re not understanding your parents, maybe you listen a little more and you’ll get better results. That’s how we use sports to teach those principles, integrity and character.”

Spears said his main message is to stay in school. Reeves said he hears it all the time.

“Stay in school. Stay at it. Don’t quit,” the 13-year-old said about Spears’ main themes.

“We must get them through high school, make sure they get an education, hopefully go on to college and better their lives,” Spears said.

The pastor makes that his mission, whether the kids see the big picture or not. His own story could have turned out much differently.

“I spent most of my life in a juvenile institution in Maryland,” he said. “The judge just got to a point of me getting kicked out of school a lot he said, that’s it. He took me from my mom and put me in a juvenile institution. In that institution is where I had a chance to be introduced to Christ in 1984. After struggling and finishing the GED I got an associate’s degree and went on to finish by bachelor’s and went to seminary. I got my masters at Virginia Union in Richmond. In 2004 I enrolled at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne and earned an Ed. D in sports managing and marketing.”

He believes in hard work as much as he believes in education.

“We didn’t start here,” Spears said, looking around the armory. “We started at my house. We had seven or eight kids and we’d get together and go running. I’d run them. I coached cross country in college. From there, without grants or anything, we petitioned Henry County Public Schools for this facility. They gave me a one-year lease. I raised some funds and got the ring. We didn’t just walk into this.”

But why boxing?

“My intent was to use a sport that was relevant, that could teach the principle that fits this context,” Spears said. “But it’s got to be competitive enough and attractive enough for the kids. We didn’t want to recreate the wheel. There are baseball programs and basketball programs. But this is different and attractive to a lot of kids.”

The program grew. Spears didn’t know how, but he knew that it would.

“You can tell when you’re doing something divine because you don’t have all the money, all the resources or the people, but it happens,” he said. “I don’t take credit for it. God has connected people who have a heart. They come in make contributions. That’s what moves the organization. You need others who have a heart. They come in see what you’re doing and they run with it. Several people in our community — Judge Peterson, Mike Mullins, Dexter Grimsley, Bill Parker — are committed to seeing young lives change.”

The program also has court-appointed kids. Spears makes sure they see both sides of decision-making.

“We’ve got an eight-week program. The first two weeks is discipline through sports,” he said. “We do tutorials with them. Group sessions with them.

“We took about 30 kids two weeks ago to the Easterling Correctional Facility. We let them know if you’re making certain kinds of decisions, these decisions are where you’re going to end up. We do that as the group comes in. Now we’ve got some folks who are going to the University of Alabama. Most of our high school sophomores and juniors, we have them write an essay. We turn that into the alumni association. They have a whole day they spend on campus as if they’re going to school in that particular field. So we expose them to both sides.”

On the boxing side, Reeves, who will be an eighth-grader at Headland Middle School, has already been exposed to an opponent in the ring. He won a bout last year in Quincy, Fla. Saturday will be his second fight.

“I was nervous until the first minute in the first round,” he recalled. “Then I overcame that and jut went to doing all my skills. It’ll help you discipline yourself.”

Jhalan’s mother, Angela Reeves, sees a difference in her son “in his behavior, in his attitude.”

“It’s a good program, geared for kids at risk,” she said. “He’s disciplined with it. Whatever they tell him to do, he does it. He’s not a very disciplined child. So it’s a good program for him. I’d recommend it for boys or girls.”

Brittney Holston, 16, a sophomore at Headland High, will have her first bout Saturday night.

“You can let all your energy come out,” she said when asked why she likes the program.

She recalled her first time in the ring, about eight months ago.

“Oh my God, I only lasted about two minutes. That was it,” she said. She said that’s her biggest fear about the upcoming fight, blowing out early.

Still, she said the result doesn’t matter. Asked what she’s getting out of the program, she replied, “Discipline and how to respect others.”

Respect, earning it and giving it, was a common answer of why the boxing participants keep coming back.

“You have to grow a team first,” said Abbie Powell. “You have to develop everybody. The more you show kids, the more they learn.”

It’s a lesson that goes far beyond boxing.

“We aggregate with other resources in the community,” Spears said. “The counseling center. Dothan Career Center. Henry County Work Force Development. Job opportunities. Educational opportunities. We see how we can strengthen the family to strengthen the child.”