|
Al Moreland symbolizes
grassroots volunteerism at its best. His
roles in the sport of amateur boxing over
the past 40+ years have always focused on
serving the athletes. Himself an amateur
boxer while in the Air Force, Moreland’s
efforts remained directly in touch with the
boxers ever since. Other than for a time
serving as Wisconsin’s Association president
many years ago, he stayed working hard at
the local level to make things possible for
others instead of seeking rewards for
himself.
Moreland is a retiree
who spent 25 years working at the A.O. Smith
Company in Milwaukee, all the while
volunteering to coach and mentor young
boxers in the city. In total, he has now
dedicated over 4 decades as an amateur
boxing trainer.
He’s had a handful of
boxers venture to higher levels on the path
to Olympic competition and turn pro.
Moreland even trained one, Gerald McClellan,
who held a world championship. But for
Moreland, the real prize from his amateur
boxing program isn’t an oversized belt or
cash rewards. To Moreland, boxing has more
to do with diverting the attentions of
at-risk youth from Milwaukee’s streets.
“Developing a
professional boxer is nothing,” Moreland
often says. “You can develop a professional
boxer who starves to death.” While it is
satisfying to see boxers succeed in the
sport and advance, Moreland is equally
content to help his boxers get control of
their lives, take responsibility, stay in
school, enter college or technical school,
or be a good parent.
“We’ve got to get our
young men to step up,” Moreland said in a
recent Milwaukee Journal article. “I tell
these young men everyday that anybody can
make a baby, but it takes a man to raise
one.” It’s his practical, direct, and often
brash style that is appreciated by those
kids and seems to help the message reach
them.
Moreland avoids
creating an impression to his boxers that
they are entering a lucrative business or
that there are easy shortcuts to wealth and
fame. He makes it clear that financial
reward in the sport is a very long shot.
Moreland believes it is more important to
push the work ethic that boxing provides as
a pathway to success in other parts of the
boxers’ lives.
And he puts his money
where his mouth is. Not only a trainer,
Moreland has kept a gym operating on a
shoestring at the Martin Luther King Center
on Milwaukee’s north side. With the help of
volunteer coaches Ricky Wallace and Wes
Zollincoffer, the King Center gym is
available for area youth to find alternative
to the streets at no cost five evenings a
week plus some mornings and Saturdays.
While community
support sometimes comes his way, it is often
short-lived and the financial slack is
picked up by Moreland’s own generosity and
commitment. His gym serves some of the
poorest Milwaukee kids, and the burdens to
obtain equipment, pay fees, and fund travel
to competition have often been met out of
his own wallet. And Moreland’s fatherly
role to many single-parented boxers isn’t
limited to just their needs in the ring. He
is often there to support them in many other
times of need.
Moreland is a true
mentor acting out and teaching athletes the
path to a successful life in and out of the
ring. And he’s there to back up his talk
with real support, modeling for these boxers
how to take responsibility for yourself and
serve others.
But his commitment
didn’t stay within the walls of his own
club’s gym. Moreland has been a long time
boxing promoter giving opportunities for
young athletes from all over to compete. In
this way he has served thousands of kids
outside of his own gym. And his involvement
in sponsoring boxing event has been critical
for the sport in Milwaukee. In 2005, for
example, 7 of the 11 sanctioned events in
Milwaukee were promoted by Al Moreland. The
other 4 were a Pro Am, a festival
tournament, and 2 state tournaments. No one
else sponsored club competition except for
Moreland, and thus without his efforts,
Milwaukee boxers would have very little
opportunity to box in front of friends and
family and without incurring travel costs.
Even outside the sport
of amateur boxing, Al Moreland is there to
help. Annually, he dedicates one year-end
boxing event to raising funds in order to
provide free meals around the holidays for
families that would otherwise be without.
Al Moreland has been a
blessing to boxing and his entire Milwaukee
community for nearly half a century. He has
been responsible for taking hundreds of
youth off the streets, helping them find
jobs, and showing them a different path as
their mentor. He continues to be a great
and humble model of grassroots volunteerism. |
Home
