Combat enthusiast Kendall Ebanks is opening his doors at the Performance Lab to young Caymanians who want to try their hand at the sport of boxing.
Owner Ebanks told the Compass that he is hoping to change the course of the lives of teenagers who are less fortunate in Cayman and position them on a path to potential superstardom.
“Part of our mission is to create athletes for international and Olympic competition,” Ebanks said. “This is a helpful solution to making sure that our youth don’t drift into the wrong crowds.
“[It] is a perfect way for us to introduce discipline into their lives, a perfect way for them to have a purpose… When you don’t have purpose or direction, it is super easy to get lost in life.”
According to Ebanks, his push to bring more youngsters into the sport would come at his own dime, noting that he wanted to give back to the community.
“This is completely us, this is our time, our resources, our energy, our finances – everything will happen here in the Lab,” he said.
With the Cayman Islands Boxing Association’s D. Dalmaine Boxing Gymnasium currently revamping its programme, the Performance Lab is the only gym on island that trains active amateur fighters.
Performance Lab boxers Alec Lopez, James Green, and Jaden Eccleston picked up international wins earlier this year.
Wasted talent
Ebanks says there are many young gifted boxers in Cayman just waiting for the opportunity to showcase their skills.
“Now is the chance,” Ebanks said. “We have so much talent, and I hate to see it go to waste.”
He added that while talent exists locally, athletes often grow tired of the sport due to poor management from various associations and the people in control.
“I’ve always found that the grooming here seems to be a problem,” he said. “I’ve seen so many athletes in so many different sports create a career but fall out simply due to the lack of grooming.”
However, he said, with proper guidance and “true investment,” he believes he can eradicate several of the issues that cause local talent to go down the drain.
“Here at The Performance Lab, myself, Coach Floyd [Trumpet] and the rest of the team, we opened up the after-school programme, specifically for that reason,” he said. “This teaches a lot of life lessons. If we could teach you to stay out of the wrong lessons and place you in the right activities, then we are creating a future.”
He used 17-year-old Alec Lopez, who won a unanimous decision in the Bahamas last month, as an example. Lopez has trained with Trumpet for over four years, starting out as an after-school student.
“Alec is such a great example of what can be done,” Ebanks said.
“The fortunate part is, there are people on the outside that see these fighters like Alec. For example, someone just sponsored his ticket over to the Bahamas for him to go and compete, and that’s one of the great things that can happen if we can build these fighters up.
“Other people on the outside will notice them and see the potential, and they want to make contributions to be a part of greatness.”
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