Another success story from the Ghetto

Aug 23, 2020 Sports

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Sebert Blake’s dream of producing an Olympian is within reach

By Sean Devers

‘Don’t let your community change you, you try to change your community’ these were words of 46-year-old former boxer turned Coach, Sebert Blake who grew up in the rough environment of Albouystown.
His first overseas trip was in 1992 when he won a Silver Medal in at the CARIFTA Games in the Bahamas and during his career as an Amateur he won Gold medals at the Caribbean level in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and won a Bronze Medal at the 1997 Pan Am Games in Colombia.
In 1999 Blake represented Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) Gym in the National Boxing Champions for the first and only time after he had joined the Police Boxing Gym.
Blake attended the 2000 Olympic trials in Florida which prematurely brought the Curtains down on his Boxing career but opened the door to his Coaching Career which began in 2001 at the FYF in Albouystown.
In 2013 Blake attended an IOC 3-month Coaching course in Hungry through the (GOA). Terrence Poole and Carl Franklin had previously benefited from this course.
Blake, in 2014, joined National and GDF Head Coach Terrence Poole as the only Guyanese International Boxing Association (AIBA) certified three-star Boxing Coaches.

Blake was the Coach of Keevin Allicock and Colin Lewis in last year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.
In 2010 Shondell Alfred knocked out American based Guyanese Corrine Van Ryck DeGroot at the Princess Hotel in Providence, Guyana to win the WIBA title and become the second World Champion from Albouystown after Andrew ‘Six heads’ Lewis won Guyana’s first World title in 2001.
Blake, who coached the FYF’s female Boxer in that bout, said any Coach’s dream is for his fighter to win a World title and rates that as one of his most memorable moment as a Coach, especially since he was voted as WIBA Trainer of the year.
“The defence of her title was very pleasing since we worked really hard and her tough preparation, and it paid off with her spectacular knock-out of DeGroot,” said Blake with pride in his voice.

In 2016 Blake was Coach when Guyana captured 10 Gold Medals and a Silver in the Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament in Barbados. This was the most medals Guyana had ever won in a Caribbean Boxing overseas Tournament.
Blake is employed as a Network design specialist with the IDB GOG AU Power Utility Upgrade Programme at GPL and has two sons (Trevor and Quincy). He has been married to Samantha Daniels-Blake for over 25 years.
His eldest son Quincy was a former Athlete with the Police Progressive Youth Club and is presently severing in the US Navy. His wife lives in the USA with their 11-year-old son.
Blake became interested in Boxing when he moved to North/East.
Blake spent his first 13 years in Albouystown before moving to North East La Penitence where he still lives.
He has four brothers and a sister and attended Sir Ross Nursery school in James Street Albouystown, then Carmel Primary which went up to fourth form and became a Community High in 1985.
He did a four-year course at GEC (now GPL) and also attended GTI and GITC.
“At school I played Table Tennis at the YMCA and Darker’s Club, I played cricket and Football. But I was more serious about Tennis; I played with Joanna Johnson and Sydney Christophe.
I had a good friend, Keith Phil; we are like brothers. Unfortunately, he was born without half of an arm and for some reason I could never beat him and quit Tennis since I felt that a person with one arm should not be beating me,” continued Blake.
“Growing up in a community like Albouystown and to a lesser extent North/East, was a bit tough, we went to the people in the Cemetery, we ran,

played in the gutters…. everything that kids do in those communities.
I grew up in a single parent home with our grandmother and mom, we did not have everything that we would like but we were a loving family.
My mother did all she had to do to make us a loving family and achieve as much as we could as young people living in such a place. But then again it’s you who has to have that ambition to pull yourself out of any situation that’s not conducive for you.
I have lived among the good the bad and the ugly in Albouystown but you can’t let the community change you, you have to change the Community. I am here today as a living example and testimony to that,” Blake disclosed.
“I had a friend (Oradell Saul) who brought home a medal and a big Trophy and said he won it in Boxing and said to myself he is so skinny and won in boxing and if he could win I could win too. And that’s how I started boxing,” added Blake
He joined the Cliff Anderson Boxing Gym, located in North Ruimveldt Multilateral School and started training with Cliff Anderson.
“It was tough because although most of boys were younger than me but they already understood the art of the Sport.
The late Alan Harris fought like Mike Tyson at the Gym and I pattered myself after him. We would go and run together; he was my role model at the Gym.

The best Boxer I ever faced was a Cuban Boxer at the 1997 Pan Am Games in Colombia. I lost in the semi-finals and won a bronze medal. In the same Championship I fought a guy from Mexico in a five-round fight, each round lasted two minutes and we went the full five rounds. That was the most gruelling bout I had ever been in and that was my most memorable fight.
I was the National Flyweight Champion and that year boxing in Guyana had taken a bit of a lull. We were not travelling much; we were to go the Caribbean Championships that year but it fell through.
We got some funding to go the Pan Am Games and Coach Lennox Daniels pushed me up to Bantamweight (119 lbs).
I was very small for the Bantamweight category but I was very fast with my punches so I was able out punch my opponent.
At the end of the bout the score was 26-13. I was throwing four and five-punch combinations. The Mexican was bigger and tougher than me. All I had were punches in bunches and a big heart and I came out the winner.
Locally my most memorable bout was against Esuan Rose, we fought three times and I never won since every fight ended in controversy. I felt the judges beat me,” declared Blake.
Blake explained he got into Coaching after attending the 2000 Olympic trials in Florida.
“I lost to a Venezuelan in the quarter-finals by one point. After I lost that bout, sitting in the audience was the manager/Coach of Evander Holyfield, Pennell Whitaker.
He was scouting boxers for their camp and congratulated me on my performance. He told me that if I was able to qualify for the Olympics they would contract me so I returned home and thought that would be a great opportunity for me.
So I withdrew $130,000, my own money, with some support from the guys at GEC (now GPL) I went to represent Guyana in Argentina and lost to a Canadian 8-13.
At that same tournament I told Coach Daniels I was finished with Boxing since my hopes was to go to the Olympics. President of the GOA, K. Juman-Yassin said if I qualified I would get back my money,” Blake disclosed.
Blake lost the fight, the chance of qualifying and his money and quit Boxing. But boxing haunted him from the period 2,000, 2001.
“Being at home, not running, not doing anything for eight months haunted me. One day I passed by the FYF Gym in Albouystown.
Coach Winsel Thomas had left the Gym in 1999 and I saw nobody was coaching and started coaching there in 2001,” said Blake, who favourite Boxer is Pernell Whitaker.
Blake worked with many Coaches at different Gyms including his first Coach Cliff Anderson, Gordon Williams who produced two World Champions Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite and Vivian Harris, Colin Morgan, Ray Robinson Jones, Mike Barker, Umber Green, Kid Carrington among others.
“When Cliff Anderson lost his sight I moved to the Sports Hall with Gordon Williams before going to the Police Boxing Gym where I brought back Pan American medals and numerous Caribbean Gold Medals between 1993 and 1998 when I left there.
My Coaching revolves around the Coaches who taught me as a Boxer. I incorporate what they taught me when I was boxing and what I learnt on different International Coaching courses. I got into to Coaching to give back to the Sport,” continued Blake.
Blake moved to the now defunct YMCA Gym in Albouystown where he reunited with Coach Morgan before returning to FYF where he is still the Coach.
Blake related some of his best memories as a boxing Coach.
“I remember when I first started Coaching a lady walked into the Gym with two short kids who turned to be Michael and Dexter Jordon who went on to dominate Amateur boxing at the youth level.
I also Coached Lennox Allen (the 35-year-old lost in the USA two Saturday nights ago) from age 14 and I taught him a lot, he was one of the Boxers who learnt to Box and learnt to fight, he could do everything at every level of boxing, he was a very smart kid back then.
I think he was close to getting to the 2004 Olympics but we did not get to go to the qualifiers in Brazil.
I am confident that Keevin (Allicock) will qualify and break 41-year-old drought since Mike Parris’ achievement in 1980, by giving Guyana it’s second Olympic Medal next year,” Blake noted.
Blake has had the opportunity as a Boxer and Coach, to visit several countries including Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, Bahamas, Antigua, Aruba, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, USA, Canada, Australia, Hungry, Mexico, Germany, Russia and England.
“The Covid-19 has affected me a great deal when it comes to boxing. Our Gym has been closed since March and we hope to get back soon but have to get approval from the GBA, GOA and adhere to protocols set out by the Government and the Health Ministry.
We do one session per day in mornings at Durban Park but this involves no sparring due to social distancing rule. I only work with the adults with the younger ones being advised to stay at home,” informed Blake.
He says his biggest challenge as a coach is working with under-privileged youths and dealing with the females.
“When you come to Gym to want to work, you have your plan set out but when you look….one of the strengths of a Coach is to observe the kids….and see some of the kids come to the Gym, they are willing but there are weak and you as the Coach have to make sure that they get something to eat before they go home.
It’s sometimes difficult dealing with females Boxers; you have to be a father, a councillor, a brother, a Coach, a friend and sometimes even a mother.
It’s not like the boys where you can give then rough talks. You have to deal with crying, young ladies are emotional so you can’t talk to them anyhow.
But you have to try to understand how to deal with different people in different in different ways,” added Blake.

 

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