Pictured Christy Halbert in the ring with one of her boxers.
Christy Halbert never envisioned she'd be involved with boxing, as a coach or competitor. She was an athlete at Western Kentucky University ( volleyball, track & field ) who happened upon boxing, well, almost accidentally.
After her final volleyball season in the early 1990s, Halbert was low on cash and admittedly 're-evaluating my identity' because her athletic career was coming to an end. She was sad, with a broken down car and no direction for her future.
She was, though, in the right place at the right time … sort of.
Halbert was in a laundry mat and spotted a poster for a King & Queen of the Hill contest, which was an off-brand tough-man competition. She entered and, well, won the championship—and the $700 prize.
'I thought I'd have a good shot at it because I was such a good athlete, though I knew nothing about boxing,' said Halbert, who won the two-day event by defeating four opponents.
Halbert returned to school that Monday after winning the title and her sociology mentor said that the experience might be something to consider doing as a Master's thesis.
Halbert eventually decided to study women's professional boxers, and even trained in a gym just so she could understand what the women were talking about when she interviewed them.
Studying turned into doing.
Halbert turned pro and went 5-0 in her fights, 'but I never really enjoyed it,' she said.
Instead, Halbert was more interested in the athleticism, such as the skill and training, because it was the hardest sport she had ever participated in, she said.
'I eventually wanted to become a coach because I thought amateurs needed resources,' she said.
Halbert is a certified international-level Olympic-style boxing coach. She conducts certification clinics and workshops for coaches and officials. She teaches boxers how to understand the sport so they can make smart decisions about training and ring strategy. She also is the author of The Ultimate Boxer: Understanding the Sport and Skills of Boxing.
Plus, Halbert was the first woman to coach a U.S. Women's World Championship Team.
She also is a lesbian. Her partner of eight years is Chalene, and the two have a daughter, Ella.
'I never envisioned I'd become involved with boxing. I never thought boxing would be a significant part of my life,' said Halbert, 35, a Nashville resident. 'I thought boxing would be a one-time thing.'
Hardly the case. Halbert will be in Chicago this weekend for the the 2005 National Female Golden Gloves Tournament, held at Cicero Stadium in Cicero. ( For more information, call 1-773-921-4000. )
'I think what made me make the commitment to Olympic-style boxing was, I continued to come across women who were not getting quality information from the people who were training them,' said Halbert, who runs a gym in Tennessee. 'I guess I'm a purist when it comes to sports; I really love amateur sports. And boxing is the most challenging amateur sport that a man or woman could ever become involved in. So, for that reason, it keeps my attention. The people who I meet are terribly interesting. I enjoy traveling; I enjoy learning—from other boxers, from other coaches.'
Halbert will coach 12 fighters at the Golden Gloves, some gay, some straight. Her roster includes Angel Bovee, a defending champion; along with Teresa O'Toole, Carrie Barry and Cheryl Houlihan, among others.
'Being a lesbian doesn't play into my coaching,' she said. 'My experiences growing up, being gay, I'm sure have an impact on the way I coach and the way I interact with the people who I coach. But I don't think about it daily.
'I think what's been interesting for me about being gay in the sport is, boxing tends to be a very traditional sport that tends to attract pretty conservative participants, be it officials, administrators, boxers or coaches. What's interesting is, I've been involved with the sport for over 12 years and the people who get to know me and then find out that I'm gay and that I have a family—a partner and daughter—they don't discriminate against me.
'I think I probably face more discrimination in the sport as a woman than as a gay woman.'
