Young Boxers Thrive at The Bridge Boxing Club in Fullerton

By Shawn Hanley on July 8, 2026

An eleven-year-old boxer named Brave spelled out his name for a visitor as he talked about boxing one recent summer evening at The Bridge Boxing Club (“TBBC”) in Fullerton.

Asked whether training at the gym helps him with school, he responded simply, “I don’t know, but it keeps me out of trouble.” Brave said he has been boxing since he was 7, and he wants to continue. “I’m comfortable here.” He thinks other kids should try the sport.

Later, during practice with trainer Ricky Quintero, Brave offered a glimpse of the boxer he may become as he jabbed at the double-end bag and then returned to the classic boxer’sstance.

The two dozen-plus kids, ages 8 to 17, come to TBBC twice a week to condition and practice fundamentals. The trainers lead them through an hour of warm-ups such as jump rope, stretching and calisthenics, then another hour of boxing circuit training or team challenges.

Thirteen-year-old Sophia, who has been a member for a year, said she really likes the sport as she used to watch boxing with her family. “It’s fun to hit a bag. I let my aggression out.”

Her cousin, Marlina, also 13, is likewise a member and said she wants to be a boxer when she grows up.

“Boxing is really fun, and we have good coaches.”

Three of the dads, Beto, Jonathan and Marcos.

Parents stick around; there is a strong sense of family. Indeed, one of the trainers gives rides to some of the kids to the gym, and another trainer invited the kids to his Fourth of July block party. Three dads, all from Fullerton and all outside friends, concur that the program at TBBC is good for their kids. Beto, whose son Abraham has been a member for a year, said that the program leads the kids away from bad influences. The other two dads, Jonathan and Marcos, chat with Beto while watching the kids warm up on the basketball courts next to the gym, which is located at Maple Community Center at Lemon Park.

Marcos said, “Boxing is different from other sports in that it pushes you. There is no team. You’re on your own.”

“Boxing is one-on-one,” echoed Beto, contrasting it to a team sport like baseball. “You need your own discipline.”

Trainer Quintero added this insight into boxing’s advantages. “In baseball, you can only hit the ball so much. In football, you can only tackle the person for so long. In soccer, you can only kick the ball for so long. But in boxing, you can release whatever bad energy you may have stored up. Whatever you’ve been going through during the day, there’s a bag right there. We can tell if these kiddos are punching the bag with good or bad intentions on any given day based on how they hit the bag. As a result, that is when I ask, ‘How was your day?’ Either way, it is a good way for them to release any frustrations that may be going on with them on that particular day.”

TBBC was formed as a non-profit organization in 2023, and the club was launched in August, 2024. President, founder and trainer Thomas Maciel said, “We founded the gym to give local youth a positive outlet, a literal ‘bridge’ from where they are to whom they have the potential to become in life and in Christ. As a faith-based program, our primary focus is on youth development,” he said.

“We serve kids and teenagers from 8 to 17, ensuring that training is developmentally appropriate for every stage.”

Maciel emphasized that TBBC is more than a boxing gym, a place to learn how to punch.

“We operate as a mentorship program first and an athletic club second. We emphasize character, building community, and life skills just as much as heavy bag drills.”

As a youth, Maciel loved boxing. But he got involved in street gangs and therefore missed opportunities, and he does not want to see other kids go down that path.

The facilities at the Maple Community Center are provided by the YMCA for TBBC’s use on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8 pm. The room where the kids work out is not a regulation boxing gym.

Maciel stated, “We are currently looking for a dedicated building in the community to establish a full-contact gym, which will allow us to expand our mission and extend our training to young adults.”

Quintero said that the club wants to take training to the next level.

“This is strictly training: foot work, hand work, upper technique. Eventually, as we raise money, we want to get our own facility where we can actually do full-contact sparring. That’s the goal. These kids can only train for so long before taking it to the next level and starting boxing against other kids to show how effective their training has become.”

Meanwhile, Quintero said, “We are very pleased with this situation we are in and what the YMCA and City of Fullerton have offered us.”

Nobody gets paid, neither Maciel nor the trainers, as the program depends on 100% volunteering. Membership dues are $50 per month and then $30 per month after six months. But if the kids’ families can’t pay, they can come anyway.

“We will not turn anybody away,” said Quintero, who is also the club’s treasurer.

The club raises money through donations, grants and fundraisers. Local organizations like the Elks Club and Rotary Club are among its sponsors.

The trainers are experienced in youth sports training.

“They are dedicated, community-minded individuals who understand that their primary job is to be positive mentors, role models and safe guides for these athletes,” said Maciel.

Quintero has been a part of the club since its inception, and his dedication is an act of love. He became involved in the program after the passing of his 19-year-old son, Jacob Quintero, in 2021 from a fentanyl overdose.

“He got involved in the wrong things even though he had a good upbringing,” he said of his son. To honor his son’s memory, Quintero wants to keep other kids off the streets and away from drugs and alcohol. “We want to steer kids in the right direction,” he said.

Quintero, who is also a Little League umpire and was a Fullerton Pony baseball and Little League coach, said he considers himself a player’s coach, and his relationships with the young athletes are cultivated.

“In the beginning, they’re really reserved; a little shy, a little hard. They’re not used to opening up. I ask them how they’re doing in school, if they’re being bullied. I do this one-on-one with each of my kids. I spend time getting to know each of them, and they basically tell me what’s going on.”

Quintero tells the kids to envision the bag in a positive manner — to release frustrations.

As a testament to the gym’s success, Maciel recalled the transformation evident in one particular student:

“We had a young athlete come to us who was struggling with focus, acting out at school, and drifting toward a rough crowd. Through the structure of the gym, that student found a second family. He learned to channel his frustration into the bags, and his grades turned around. Now he walks with his chin up, mentoring the young kids who walk through our doors.”

Girls’ enrollment has doubled since the club started.

“We are really impressed with the girls in this sport,” Quintero said. “They have a lot of discipline; they listen, they have passion. If you watch fights in boxing, MMA or wrestling, the girls are more exciting. We don’t have boys versus girls here. But girls are aggressive.”

Along with the training, community involvement is just as important.

“We are deeply rooted in Fullerton,” said Maciel. “We consistently seek to collaborate with local schools, community organizations, and civic groups to ensure our kids are supported both inside and outside the gym walls.”

In September 2025, the club helped rebuild Union Pacific Park and, three months later, the club attended the grand opening of the Union Pacific Trail, which leads from Independence Park to Union Pacific Park.

“Our kids rolled up their sleeves right alongside the adults. They helped assemble playground structures, moved mulch, raked trails, and cleaned up surrounding areas – a natural extension of our monthly Truslow Park cleanups and the community mural project we participated in last year.”

“In addition to Union Park, we did a lot of work at Truslow Park, which, to me, is the backyard to the kiddos in our program,” said Quintero,

Maciel calls this type of involvement “sweat equity.”

“I want them to realize that they aren’t just consumers of their community; they are the builders of it. When a kid helps build a playground in their own neighborhood, they protect it. They take pride in it, and they realize they have the power to change their environment for the better.”

In May 2026, the club organized a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Lemon Park to help raise funds.

“We are looking into doing a monthly cleanup and maintenance at the Union Pacific Park and Trail,” said Maciel.

Maciel keeps the club’s dreams aloft.

“Our goal is to expand our reach, keep kids on the right path, and foster the next generation of resilient community leaders.” Citing his faith as his strength, he said, “Glory to God for all our success.”