New for the 2017/18 season, and in partnership with Cambridge United's Official Match Ball and Website sponsors Ethos, each match day will see an individual rewarded for their contribution to sport in Cambridgeshire as the Community Hero of the Day.
As well as featuring in the match day programme and on the Club's online channels, the Community Hero of the Day will also be given the opportunity to discuss their contribution across the tannoy pre-match and present the official match ball to the referee ahead of kick off.
Going forward the Amber Army will have the opportunity to nominate and vote for the Ethos Community Hero of the Day, ahead of each match.
This weekend, the first Ethos Community Hero of the Day is local Boxing Coach Gary Davidson Jnr.
Gary runs a non-profit Boxing Club at the Becket Gym on Mill Road, welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds to try out the sport.
Check out more information about Gary and the Boxing Club below:
Gary Davidson Jnr grew up in the original Thomas A Becket gym which opened on top of the Thomas A Becket pub in the Old Kent Road in 1943. Since which it has housed a number of world champions such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Leonard, as well as our very own, the late Henry Cooper.
Unlike any other gyms in Cambridge, The Becket gyms are a completely non-profit organisation. All of our coaches are voluntary and strive to keep social inclusion at the centre of our philosophy.
At the Becket from the age of seven years and upwards you can train to compete or just keep fit. All of our White Collar/Corporate Boxers train completely FREE in four sessions per week for a minimum of 16 weeks under the White Collar Boxing Cambridge banner. The next training camp starting in January 2018. Our amateur boxers compete for the Trumpington Amateur Boxing Club where we house a number of past and present national champions.
Our main motivation is giving kids and adults an outlet into boxing to channel aggression, teach discipline and many other life skills. Whatever the gender, race, culture or age, everyone is welcome at the gym. The coaching staff give up valuable free hours because of their love of boxing and their desire to help others. Away from the ring, boxing brings many success stories in all walks of life and the testimonies and reviews on "White Collar Boxing Cambridge" Facebook page speaks volumes.
The gym formed in Trumpington in 2010 since then has gone from strength to strength. We have six coaching staff including a dietician and a strength and conditioning coach. Approximately 30-40 junior members and 60-70 senior/adult members.
The long term future of the gym is always unstable due to the cost of rental property in Cambridge ever increasing. We dream of the day when we have secured a long fixed term lease for the future of the gym which is financially sustainable. So if anyone has a spare 1,500 square foot in Cambridge, let us know!
So if you want to get involved just call or email through the website or simply check out the timetable page and turn up and train!