BOXING Scotland coach Stephen Simmons has completed his IBA one-star coaching qualification – just in time in order to be in the corner for this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
A one-star certificate is essential for coaches in order to work in the corner for the Games, which gets underway in exactly one week in Birmingham.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games Heavyweight Bronze medallist travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland last week for the seven-day course.
The former Leith Victoria boxer is travelling down to England today to meet up with the Team Scotland boxing squad as they finish up a sparring camp at the home of GB Boxing in Sheffield, before heading to the Athletes Village in Birmingham tomorrow.
“It was a good insight for coaches like myself who are just getting involved in the game as a coach,” said Stephen, who joined the Boxing Scotland coaching team in March 2021 as an Apprentice Coach as part of the sportscotland Coaching Futures programme.
“I have come along a lot since I have been in the High Performance Centre with Craig McEvoy.
“It was 9-5 for seven days over in Belfast, so it was pretty intense.
“But it has refreshed a lot of things that I learned when I was boxing as an amateur.
“A lot of things we went over were things I did as an amateur, such as periodisation.
“But for some coaches who aren’t used to elite boxing it was a great insight for them.
“If you are going to be in the corner at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships or European Championships you need at least a one-star qualification.
“If you want to be in the corner for an Olympic Games you need to have a three-star qualification.
“It was a bit of a last minute job, it was meant to happen before but it got delayed.
“If this one had been cancelled it would have left me in a tight spot, as there was no other ones running in Europe before the Games.
“But I am really excited for the Games, we have a really strong team – it is one of the strongest I have seen in a while.
“I definitely fancy a good Commonwealth Games and to be part of the coaching team is something special.
“I have not been retired all that long and I am only 37-years-old, which is still potentially young enough to still be boxing.”
This will be the third Commonwealth Games for the Edinburgh native, having competed at the Games in Melbourne, Australia in 2006 – where he reached the Quarter-Finals – before winning the Bronze medal in Delhi, India in 2010.
The former Scotland and GB international hopes that his experience is something that will assist the current crop of eight Scottish boxers as they go for glory south of the border.
“I did pretty well as an amateur and won five international Gold medals and boxed all over the world for Scotland,” added Simmons, who is also a Level Three qualified Boxing Scotland coach.
“But when people hear my record they always say that’s amazing you got a Bronze at the Commonwealth Games, as everyone knows about it no matter what sport you are interested in.
“I have got the experience of heartache in Melbourne, and then medalling at Delhi.
“I was still was a bit hurt after Delhi, but the realisation of being on the plane with a medal felt a whole lot better than coming back from Melbourne without one.
“I can share some advice to the current group of what it is like at a Commonwealth Games.
“They have to box to the best of their ability, they are there for a reason and have been picked for a reason.
“We have got boxers who are on the GB Squad and are smashing it, they have got the talent and got the ability.
“They just need to believe in themselves and believe in the process that Craig has put them through with the training and all the hard work they have put in and they will get their just desserts at the end of the day.
“But they need to believe.
“I would say they are the strongest team we have had in a long time for a Commonwealth Games for Scotland.”
