Advice for success from a Valley winner

By Ed Runyan

One of the pupils trains at the same gym as the middleweight boxing champ.

CANFIELD — As the real Kelly Pavlik looked on, two Canfield third-graders duked it out in a pretend boxing match, one of them going by the name Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik and the other using the name Spencer “Spitfire” Wingate (his real first and last name).

Their punches didn’t connect, no matter how convincingly the boys played their part.

But the boxing part of the annual “Gym Day” presentation by third- graders at C.H. Campbell Elementary School hit its mark with Pavlik, Youngstown’s middleweight boxing champ.

Pavlik, watching the presentation with nearly 2-year-old daughter, Sidney, and fiance , Samantha Kocanjer, took in the performance with a huge grin.

And who won?

Pavlik, of course, played by Jimmy “Jeep” DiCioccio, a 10-year-old who also is a boxer.

Jimmy trains at the same Southside Boxing gym where Kelly trains and also has the same trainer, Jack Loew.

The boys went about four rounds in a pretend boxing ring created with a couple of gymnastics mats on the floor and a couple of large orange cones connected with purple ribbon.

Earlier, Pavlik walked through a line of the third-graders, giving a low-five to about 110 third-grade pupils and then answered their questions.

They asked whether he gets nervous during his matches (not as much when his fans are there), how much he trains (eight to nine hours per day Monday through Saturday), what he eats (lots of fruit and vegetables, no spaghetti, pizza or snacks), and what other sports he liked as a kid (martial arts, football and baseball).

In return for the attention the kids gave to him, Pavlik gave back a little something else — some advice on life and sports. “I’d say put your time into it, give it all you have, school work or anything, put your best into it, and it will work out,” he said.

Superintendent Dante Zambrini said the event’s organizer, gym teacher Ronie Haurin, picked children with an interest in various sports to play the part of baseball player, hockey player and the like.

But the event, now spanning about 13 years, incorporates dance, a variety of kinds of music and many other activities.

This year’s event focused on the world of sports, but it generally takes a more broad look at activities that promote physical fitness and cooperation.

In addition to the Pavlik plaudits, this year’s show honored the Youngstown Phantoms ice hockey team and last year’s state champion Canfield High School baseball team.

Every performance was set to music and filled with activity, such as the re-enactment of a scene from the movie “High School Musical 2,” in which players move around the field in a choreographed manner, the batter sliding home safely just as the music concludes.

Each presentation included introductions from third-graders speaking into a microphone, advancing their public-speaking skills.

The performance was scheduled a second time Tuesday night for parents, though Pavlik’s portion of the program was taped to be shown to the parents.

runyan@vindy.com