“Editor’s note: This is part two in a three-part series. Gary Arnold has a mission for the Good Shepherd Athletic Club. Right now we’re trying to get some kids that are going to do something in the community, Arnold said. It’s a safe haven to help keep kids off the street and build character.”
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Editor’s note: This is part two in a three-part series.

Gary Arnold has a mission for the Good Shepherd Athletic Club.

Right now we’re trying to get some kids that are going to do something in the community, Arnold said. It’s a safe haven to help keep kids off the street and build character. In that process we’ve come through with some good product in the last eight or nine years.

The club not only helps children become better boxers, it also makes them better people. It helps them set foundations for their careers and for the rest of their lives.

Although Arnold stresses education to everyone who comes through the doors, not all of the members choose that route once they graduate from high school.

Iraq War veteran Shawn Hartman joined the Good Shepherd Athletic Club in 1999. Although Arnold does not delve into the children’s personal lives, he knew Hartman was an at-risk teen who was having problems at home.

When Shawn came here, he didn’t know how to box, didn’t know how to lift weights, didn’t know anything, Arnold said. I started loving him like a father. I told him to call me whenever he needed to call me. We started building his character up.

I taught him how to box, and the next thing I know, Shawn was knocking the bags off the walls.

Hartman decided he wanted to join the Marines, but to join, he had to lose weight. Arnold said Hartman weighed around 250 pounds before enlisting.

He came in here and ran on the treadmills and got his weight down to the point that they would take him, Arnold said.

While Hartman was serving in Iraq, he was seriously injured and returned home. He had been injured so badly he couldn’t even walk. When he got back home, he went to Arnold for rehabilitarion.

He came here and started to work on his leg. We taught him how to walk and how to run; we got his leg healthy again, Arnold said. The next thing we knew, the Marine Corps called Shawn and wanted him back.

Hartman rehabilitated himself to the point where he was able to go back to Iraq.

Shawn called me from Iraq and said ‘thank you Mr. Arnold for what you have done for me and my life,’ Arnold said. It made me cry, made tears run down my face.

Hartman isn’t the only member to have joined the military.

Javon Johnson also decided to enlist after being guided by Arnold. After Johnson came back from Iraq, Arnold had him come to the club and talk to the members about what it takes to be successful in life.

Two boxers who went through the program, Isaiah Williams and Tremaine Woodard, had the talent and opportunity to box in the Olympics for the United States but ultimately decided to go to college. Both currently attend school in Michigan.

When speaking about them, Arnold’s face lights up.

I stress education to these kids so much, and for these two to choose college over boxing, it’s just great, Arnold said.

Even though Williams and Woodard aren’t in the program anymore, Arnold still tries to help them through their college careers.

I get calls from the boys and they say ‘Mr. Arnold, I need money. Can you apply for some grants for me?’ And I do that for them. They know I can’t help them out of my own pocket, so I apply for these grants.

Deandre Burney,15, who frequents the club several nights a week and has been a member of the Good Shepherd Athletic Club for seven years, holds an amateur record of 23-3.

Burney wants to turn pro and is well on his way to doing so. He was the champion at the Ohio State Fair and has traveled to Kansas to compete. While in Kansas, he won a ringside tournament and won a Ring King Title belt.

Burney’s father, Demetrius Skipper, known as Skip around the club, also helps coach at the club.

I come in to make sure Deandre’s on the path and to help him out, Skipper said. I also help some of the kids without fathers.

It’s a good place to hang out, Burney said. He (Arnold) runs everything right and it keeps everyone off the streets.

Skipper shares the same view of the club as his son.

It’s a good thing for the kids because it keeps them off the streets. Some want to go pro, and some just want the discipline.

Patrick Melton, 14, has been a club member for four months, and he goes to the club five nights a week.

I play baseball, and after the season was over, I was just laying around, Melton said. I decided to come in and give it a shot.

Just to work with Mr. Arnold is good.

For Melton, the best part about the club is being able to brag about knowing how to box. It’s nice and hard discipline.

Lonnie Beatty has a daughter and a son, and both are new members to the club. Beatty met Arnold over the summer at a fundraiser for the club. Beatty heard about the cause and donated money.

If you get through to more than one kid, you’ve done your job. But, there is more than one kid to get through to, Beatty said.

Beatty is absolutely right, there is more than one kid to get through to. Most nights, there are 20 plus boxers at the Good Shepherd Athletic Club. Arnold makes sure each and every one gets quality time with him.

Before I leave, I holler out and ask if there is anyone that hasn’t been worked with yet, Arnold said. If there is someone who hasn’t been worked with, I’ll give them 15 to 20 minutes of my time.

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