MONROE – Rico Hoye Jr. left Monroe in 2003 trying to escape some bad influences.
He returned recently in an effort to be a good influence – and he may come back for good.
The Monroe native traveled from Arizona to run a boxing camp over the past two weeks at the Arthur Lesow Community Center.
“The Center invited me back for a boxing boot camp,” he said. “It was kind of an introduction to boxing and to give kids something to do in the summer, learn new skills and, most importantly, to develop the mindset of a winner.”
Despite temperatures that often topped 90 degrees in the early part of the camp, Hoye wasn’t easy on the campers.
“We had about 30 kids, but sometimes it fell off a little bit during the two weeks,” Hoye said. “The kids would tell me, ‘Oh man, this is hard.’ But I kept expressing to them, ‘I know it’s hard right now, but stay consistent and keep doing it.’ We pushed them a little bit, and they all got better. There was a lot of growth.”
Hoye, who will turn 50 in November, was delighted to get the invitation to come back to the place where he learned boxing.