On a Friday afternoon, when most students may be relaxing or enjoying the beginning of the weekend, Carlmont junior Camilo Barberena can be found practicing vigorously to become a better boxer at B-Street Boxing in San Mateo. Barberena has been boxing and enjoying the difficulties of the sport ever since he was 3-years-old.
“My favorite part about boxing is that the sport is hard, but progressing feels really good because it’s such a challenge,” Barberena said.
Barberena usually practices five to six days a week. Each practice may consist of multiple forms of plyometrics, hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups, shadow boxing, sparring, running, or weightlifting, all designed to keep athletes in peak physical condition. During the weeks leading up to a fight, practices become more specific, focusing on fine-tuning technical skills.
Although physical strength and technical skill are important to winning fights, an athlete’s mindset is equally important.
Barberena’s coach and former boxer, Freddy Silva, points out a common misconception and sheds light on the realistic mindset of a fighter.
“Most people think boxers aren’t scared, that you’re a sociopath and you’re not scared to get hit. But I think the mindset is being able to use that fear and channel it into focusing on what we’ve worked on. I think the kind of mindset is you can’t think you know everything and that you have to be very coachable because it’s a dangerous sport,” Silva said.
Outside of boxing, Barberena sometimes struggles to balance his commitment to boxing and schoolwork. With boxing after school on most days, homework piles up and becomes hard to manage.
“It’s pretty difficult, but my gym always tells me that the schoolwork comes first,” Barberena said.
Although Barberena is currently boxing at B-Street Boxing, he was not the first in his family to do so. His father, Camilo Jose Barberena, used to train at the same gym as a teen and had a positive experience boxing there.
He recalls seeing the boxers that his coach had trained on the news for winning the Golden Gloves, a famous amateur boxing competition.
“When I saw that, I was like, I got to bring my son here. I’m going to bring him because I remember what my coach had taught me. I had used it a few times, and it was very useful,” Camilo Jose Barberena said. “He has a dream. He wants to be a fighter. At this point, if he wants to do this, he’s got to be all in.”
