os wrong things. But since boxing 've done a comp!

BASKETEALL STARS PROMOTED

Three North Shore high schoo! basketball players will represent
the province in nationat championship play this summer. tn the
Under-17 juvenile category, Sutherland Sabre Wes Boden will
suit up for the boys while Argyle Piper Ashiey Burke will play fur
the girls side. Carson Graham's Brent Charleton was named to
the Under-19 boys junior squad.

Wednesday, June 21, 2000 - North Shore News — 43

Last weekend the husband and wife team of Larry and
Barbara Zimich grabbed gold in their respective categories
in Pacific Coast Masters Cycling series action. Larry won
the provincial Criterium Championships in Chemainus with
a time of 43 minutes while Barbara took the Deep Cove
Road Race in Saanich with a finish time of 1:48.

COVERING THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Scrappy NV be

Tommy Kang back on track

Jan- Christian Sorensen
Contributing Writer
HAGLER. Leonard. Frazier.

Marvellous, sweet and smokin’ though they all were at the
height of their carcers, all three boxing Jegends had to start our
somewhere.

Now a 20-year-old North Vancouver light heavyweight fighter
is chasing his own pugilistic passion and already starting to make a

“name for himself in the amateur ranks.
And for Tommy Kang, lacing up the gloves has not only helped
turn him into a first-class boxer — it’s also helped him turn his fife
around.
Kang walked into Savard’s Boxing Club in Vancouver almost
two yes ago, overweight and on the wrong tracks.
» °° “P wasn’t really living:a healthy lifestyle before T started box-

" ing,” said Kang. “I was just overeating and drinking and doing the
ete one-cighty.
I’ve totally changed it all now.”
. Ray Savard, who owns and runs the gym, said he noticed the
~ raw talent in Kang immediately.

That didn’t mean Kang was ring-ready by any means, though.

«. “1 saw it right away,” said Savard. “He had a loc of talent but
his, timing needed some work.”
’-" "Savard should know a good thing when he sees it — he trained
_and fought under the. watchful eye of former Canadian mid-
‘dleweight champ Fernand Marcotte in Quebec City and posted a

professional record of 5-0 before going into the training game full
“time.” ; ;
Savard took the youngster under his wing and immediately put
Kang on.a strict pretein, reduced-carbohydrate diet to help him
“shed some of the excess weight. :

*: ‘The results were amazing, said Savard.

. The six-foot Kang dropped down to a lean, mean 180 and his

- timing and rhythm started to develop. Savard helped him learn

how to box instead of brawl, adding finesse and poise to the mix.

‘ “Comparisons to butterflies and bees notwithstanding, Savard

said Kang showed some impressive: moves for a kid who'd never
been in the ring before.

*4He’s got a great {eft hook and he’s very coordinated,” said

. Savard. “He reminds me of the Mexican fighters — not very mus-

“cular and they don’t Icok like much but boy, can they fight and are

~ they ever strong.”

‘And Savard’s noticed the overall change in the scrappy kid, too. ©

°_ “His ‘whole personality has changed since he started,” said
‘Savard. “Tommy’s very dedicated. He never took two weeks off or
anything like thar. He’s just one of the nicest kids you'll ever
meet? 78
“2 Not; thar-the “nice guy” aspect overrides gut instinct and
“endurance, though.
Savard relates a story to illustrate Kang’s chutzpah: In his very
first fight, Kang was supposed to go toc-to-toe with an opponent

NEWS piroto Paul MoGrath

NORTH Vancouver's Tommy Kang Is starting to make a name for himself in the B.C. amateur boxing ranks. ;

who had never fought a match before.

- “They tied to pull a fast onc on us,” said Savard. “He’d never
fought before, sure, but what they didn’r tell us is that he'd been
training since 1995.”

In the first round, Kang*s opponent nailed him with a vicious
right and sent him to the mat, but Kang shook it offand went back
to work.

“He got right back up,” said Savard. “There was no quitting in
him.”

“He can take a pounding and he keeps coming.”

He matched his opponent better in the second and third
rounds and if the match had been any longer, said Savard, Kang’s
opponent would've paid the price for his subterfuge.

“In the third round Tommy really started giving it to him. If
there would’ve been a fourth round he would’ve knocked that kid
out.” . . ;
Almost as if to prove a poini and shake. off that bout, Kang -
went on to take his next three fights handily.

He. captured the Diamond Boy belt during a pair of North
“Shore amateur bouts carlier in May and the weekend before last
toppled an American opponent with six matches under his belt at
amatch in Cloverdale. ~ So : nS

Savard said Kang’s drive is testimony to his dedication.

Three days a week Kang travels to Savard’s for intensive train-'
ing sessions that include shadow boxing, the speedbag;' sparring,
skipping and more situps and pushups than you can shake a stick
For three more days Kang goes long-distance ru ng and :
once in & while flirts with the Grouse Grind. But can he make the

transition from the amateur ranks to the pros? : :
“Definitely,” said Savard, who’s planning on showcasing his

young charge in the States this summer: “There’s no doubt about. -

it. This kid’s got a good ten or twelve years in him: ae

“] have a passion for boxing,” ‘said Kang, “I just never-th:

I'd like the sport this much.”...5 2 ;
Kang next takes to the ring at $

" HAVE you thought of
celebrating this week’s
official start of summer
_ by going out and flip-

ping the old frisbee?

, Asa pleasurable way of

_ working off the suct from
two months of shumped-on-
the-couch Stanley Cup
watching, it still leads the way
among the make-up-your-
rules-as-you-go-along games

° anyone can play. All you need
- is a bit of open space.
_ Sidelines and endlines? Who

million of a concussion.
Catching and throwing?
Any assortment of imagina-

tive gimmicks will do. Throw .

with the right hand, catch
with the left. Or vice-versa. If

‘the ‘catcher can’t possibly’ ."? :
; of frisbee knowledge, you":
“should kriow the flying disc!

reach the frisbee, give, |,
him/her a point. If he or she’
can, but doesn’t make the
effort, give the thrower a

. point. me

If the catcher touches the
frisbee and drops it, give the
thrower two points. Same
thing if the catcher uses the
wrong hand or catches it by
cradling it against their body.

+ Or try this on: If the fris-
bee tilts more than 45
degrees from the horizontal
during flight, have the catcher
shout “forty-five” and claim
one point. What you're seek-
ing, of course, is perfection,
$0 No points are awarded for

risbee rules for fun and exercise

a clean catch with the desig-
nated hand.

These are just a few desig-
nations you can try. Use them
as stacters and allow your;
imagination to dream up
dozens more. |. :

" And,'to add to your fund

got its name from the Frisbie

. Baking Co. of New Haven,

Conn., which went out of
business in 1957. University
students at nearby Yale got
their hands on the leftover
empty pie plates and amused
themselves from various
schoo! rooftops.

They inspired the plastic
disc, plus a slight change in
the name to frisbee and the
world’s first space age sport -
was born.

Space age? That’s right.
The astronauts who went to
the moon in 1969 took along

a frisbee and set a lunar dis-

tance record that still stands.
Now if you don’t have a

frisbee handy, and there are

. enough people around, you

might cry Yogi tag, otherwise
ei “dbo-d o-dho”.
The main. skill t
ability to-hold;your bréath,
= The players divide them
selves, half on each side of a
centre line. The teams take
turns in sending one player
across the centre line. Before
crossing the line, each player
takes a deep breath and, once
across the line, he or she
must chant aloud “dho-dho-
dho” in a continuous flow
without taking a breath.

‘If, at any time in the
opposing zone, the player
stops chanting, he or she is
out of the game. The purpose
is to touch one or more play-
ers of the opposing team and
get back safely into home ter-

olved is the ~

ritory without drawing a
breath. | . .
Those who are touched: -:
must leave the game. At the
same time, though, they are
ermitted to'catch the invad-

> ing player, if they’can, and :

hold'on antil he or

out of breath. Play'con
alternately und all the players
“on one teant havé been elimi-
nated.

If the very idea of this
game leaves you breathless, or
you don’t have enough play-
ers to form two teams, then
you might try a one-on-one
pastime named Standoff. It’s
a game of reflexes and bal-
ance.

Two players stand, with
feet together at heel and toc,
facing each other. The finger-
tips of the shorter player must
be able to reach the oppo-
nent’s shoulder. Then they
place their hands in front of

them, chest high, palms fac:

’ ing their. opponent’s palms.

The idea is to hit cach #2: ;
other’s.palms in'such 3 way.as

(or six o¢ seven or ten, or.
however. many times you. __,
want) is the winner. <9) ~

On — if you'll pardon the
pun ~~ balance, throwing and
catching the frisbee is more
exciting and provides more’:
exercise.

* .. And if you can find a real
ly big field — an unoccupied “
soccer pitch, for instance —
you might try going for the’.
world record distance throw. .

At last report it was 95.
yards. os