Submitted Photo Anais Rodriguez, center, recently won the Silver Gloves National Championship in the 101-pound, 9-10 year old female boxing weight class in Independence, Mo. She is pictured with her coaches, Chris Rodriguez (left) and Carlin Spencer (right) at the national boxing tournament earlier this winter.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In approximately one year’s time, Anais Rodriguez went from a boxing newcomer to a national champion.

Not bad for a 10-year-old girl from Dunkirk.

Anais Rodriguez captured the Silver Gloves National Championship for the 101-pound, 9-10 year old female weight class earlier this winter in a suburb of Kansas City, Mo.

“She’s the best in the United States in her weight class,” said Coach Chris Rodriguez. “I’m beyond proud.”

Chris Rodriguez is the President of Kids at Promise, a non-profit youth development program located in Dunkirk. A veteran of the United States Marines, Chris Rodriguez has dedicated countless hours to coaching youth boxing in the Dunkirk community. He named mental and emotional discipline as the toughest skill to teach young boxers.

“A lot of them have a hard time dealing with the fact that they might lose, or that they are getting hit. A lot of kids have an ego at that age, and when they come into boxing, they think they are invincible,” Chris Rodriguez said. “… A lot of them get demoralized after that first loss.”

When she began boxing, Anais was no different, as she also struggled with emotional discipline. “She’d get hit and she’d get angry,” Chris Rodriguez said.

He recalled Anais’ first sparring session, when the first time she got hit, she turned to him and said, “Coach Chris, she’s punching me in the face!”

He responded, “You’re in boxing. That’s what’s supposed to happen!”

Over the past year, Anais’ comfortability in the ring has skyrocketed. Not only her ability has grown through practice, but also her emotional discipline. “She knows how to use her emotions to her advantage in the ring, instead of letting her emotions take control,” Chris Rodriguez said. “… She is just very persistent and determined to prove herself.”

And prove herself, she did.

After qualifying for the regional competition, Anais then advanced to fight in the championship match to earn a spot at the Silver Glove Nationals in Independence, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City, in February. Despite her opponent having a noticeable advantage in size, Anais made up for the difference, and then some.

“The girl was taller and bigger than her, and she just overpowered her. She just dominated her the whole fight,” Chris Rodriguez said.

Anais has continued to impress her coaches throughout her development because of her willingness to engage, rather than back up during a fight.

“She’s like a bulldog. She is not scared to go forward and fight,” Chris Rodriguez said. “She’s never backing up, she’s always moving forward.”

Anais was one of two boxers from the area to qualify for the Silver Gloves tournament. Chris Rodriguez and fellow coach Carlin Spencer traveled with Anais and her family, along with Roberto DeJesus, who competed in the age 13-14 range at 154 pounds. DeJesus was defeated by an eventual national finalist.

“Those moments are when those kids learn to master their emotions, when they have a mentor there to help them channel that,” Chris Rodriguez said. “That’s probably the hardest part, when the kids lose — dealing with those outbursts of emotions.”

Four boxers made it past the divisional round of Silver Gloves qualifying, before Anais Rodriguez and Roberto DeJesus qualified for the National Championship tournament with regional victories. Coach Rodriguez fundraised for the trip to the national tournament through selling raffle tickets for sports memorabilia through Kids at Promise. He wanted to go on the trip – his first as a coach – to not only give the boxers a chance to succeed in the ring, but also to see a whole new world outside of western New York.

“I tried to make it a good experience for the kids, because I know how important it is for kids to travel outside of their hometown. Your mindset can become stuck in a loop of routines, habits, thoughts and beliefs if you stay in that small town,” Chris Rodriguez said. “It wasn’t just important to go do boxing and win, it was important for them to get a new life experience.”

While initially the kids wanted to go to McDonald’s to eat just like they do back home, Coach Rodriguez quickly turned the tone of the trip into being all about new experiences. He was proud when on the next day of the trip, Anais asked him, “Can we go on an adventure today?”

Chris Rodriguez said of that moment, “That was just as much of a victory as the boxing.”

Coach Rodriguez is hopeful to eventually see a community center come to the city of Dunkirk so that all of the area’s athletes have a place to train, not only for success in sports, but outside of the arena, as well. Anais’ success has been a shining example of how the community will support the success of the community through sports. The Dunkirk City School District coordinated a clap-out for Anais before she left for the tournament, and her picture was later displayed on the LED sign at the Dunkirk City Boardwalk.

“Being from Dunkirk, not only is the community behind her and supportive, but she’s capable of so much more outside of Dunkirk,” Chris Rodriguez said. “Look at what she did at 10 years old. There are so many opportunities for her to do so much more in any area of life, even if it’s not boxing.”