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Coach ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers making a mark in the hinterland
By Sean Devers
Coach of the Pocket Rocket Boxing Gym, 44-year-old Orland Rogers, was appointed in January of this year as Hinterland Boxing Coach after a meeting with Sports Minister Dr. George Norton, Director of Sports Christopher Jones and President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle.
Coach ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers with his students.
The appointment, an initiative of Dr. Norton, will see the Coach also being mandated to train Coaches in the hinterland and scouting the area to unearth Boxing talent.
Rogers who has been a Coach for the past 19 years, and had already opened two Gyms in Region 1 (Mabaruma and Santa Rosa) and another in Region 9 (Lethem) at the time of his appointment.
“I will spend about two weeks in each area and when I am not there I have trained a few young men to Coach. The youngsters, mainly Amerindians, are very talented and are willing to learn the skills of Boxing,” Coach Rogers disclosed when he was appointed.
According to Rogers, the Gym in Lethem is called the Savannahs Boxing Gym, while the one in Santa Rosa is the Morucia Pocket Rocket Gym, which is named after his Gym in Victory Valley in Wismar, Linden.
Rogers has coached several of this country’s top Amateur pugilists among them Desmond Amsterdam, Joel and Richard Williamson and their brother Jamal Eastman.
Julius Kesney, Omar Pollard, Duel Augstin and female fighters Akea Lamazion and Jelisia Rodney from Lethem are other known Boxers he has also coached. Rogers has also Coached Guyana Super Middleweight Champion Derrick Richmond.
Thursday Coach Rogers provided an update of what he has been doing as 2019 comes to a close.
“Well from the time I was appointed as Hinterland Boxing Coach I am satisfied with the work done in the Hinterland Regions and Riverain areas along with help from the Cohesion Ministry and Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton and NSC and Director of Sports Christopher Jones,” Rogers said.
Girls & Boys in training at one of Boxing Gyms in the Hinterland.
He said he was pleased with the work at this point since Gyms have been opened in regions 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and riverain areas like Orealla and Siparuta in the Corentyne River. Boxing Gyms in all the areas except region 7 and region 8 have been completed.
“But come 2020 for sure you will see lots more being done in the sport, thanks to the Government of Guyana for doing such a great job in the hinterland regions.”
Rogers stated, that at the moment in region 1 there is the Morucia Power Right Boxing Gym, which won five gold medals and seven silver medals and a Youth Best Boxer Award in region 8. Then there is the Hands in Gloves Boxing Gym which won seven gold medals and four silver medals.
In region 9 there is the Savannah Boxing Gym which won four gold medals and seven silver medals and also have a three-time female Best Boxer coming out of that gym.
“So far we had done two exchange Boxing Programmes with Brazil and it was a great venture. It was in that Championship that our female Boxer from Region 9 got the Best Boxer Award after beating her Brazilian opponent.
In the Riverain area, those are the two recently opened Gyms, Siparuta has done well so far also with one gold and one silver medal, while Orealla is yet to come out and compete.
“We are doing great in the sport and that’s why the Government choose to operate in those areas because if we look at the type of persons who are the ‘power house’ in boxing around the world it’s persons like the ones from the same Hinterland regions,” Rogers declared.
“In our Country the only sports that brings the most glory to Guyana apart from Cricket, is Boxing. We have an Olympic Bronze medallist in Mike Parris and seven World Boxing Champions,” added the Berbician.
Rogers said that 2020 we will see much more Boxers coming to compete from all areas of the hinterland and Riverain areas. We are hoping to open more gyms in places like Port Kaituma, Mabaruma, Matthew’s Ridge, Charity, Anna Regina, Queenstown, Supernaam, Dartmouth, Waramadong, Kurratobo and at Three miles.
“We already opened a Gym in Kato and we will now look at PK, Wipa, Tuessening, St Ignatius, Annai, Kwakwani and Ituni.
We will also open more gyms in Linden instead of the two that we had planned. We can have about five in Berbice and will open six in the West Coast of Berbice and another six or more in East Berbice. We will also target East and West Coast also East and West Bank of Demerara.
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