A coach who offers free boxing sessions for teenagers said it was ‘unreal seeing the changes in their attitudes”.
Sam Goodrum, from The Lions Den Boxing Club in Heanor, Derbyshire, offers the sessions to under-18s.
The club has more than 100 general members, including over 40 children. Of those, 30 were referred directly by Derbyshire Police community support officers, and 89% have not reoffended, the force said.
“From coming in miserable, slumped down… to now, they’re walking in shaking hands and loving the sessions,” Goodrum said.
Sam Goodrum (right) runs The Lions Den Boxing Club from Full Power Fitness gym in Heanor [BBC]
Goodrum said he had always offered free sessions for children throughout his coaching career. He first opened the club in 2015 in Langley Mill before later moving it to new premises in Heanor.
Since August 2025, police community support officer (PCSO) James Colledge has signposted young people who had committed some crimes or were at risk of offending, to the sessions, as part of an initiative called the Breakaway Project.
He said 33 young people have been referred, some because of their involvement in knife crime.
“Their behaviour, their attitude, everything has changed completely,” said PCSO Colledge.
Colledge said this was having a real impact in the community, with incidents of anti-social behaviour reduced by 10% in Heanor from March to February 2026, compared with the previous year.
PCSO James Colledge has referred 33 young people to join the free boxing sessions [BBC]
“They’re a lot more respectful to authorities, the police and to members of the public in general,” added Colledge.
Noah, 15, has been coming to the sessions for the last month and said he had already noticed changes in himself.
“I’m a lot more disciplined. Less quick to anger,” he said.
“I’m more calm in situations where I usually wouldn’t be. It feels better that way.
“I’d definitely recommend it, and being free makes it even better,” he added.
Cage, 15, said that the sessions had improved his fitness and mental health.
“I’m a lot better in myself. I quit a lot of bad habits and have become a better person,” he said.
Cage, 15, (left) and Joe, 16, both said they have become “better people” since joining the gym [BBC]
Derbyshire Police and Amber Valley Borough Council have provided funding to support the work done by Goodrum.
The former amateur boxer was keen to stress his coaching was not simply training young people to fight.
“They’ll defend themselves if they need to, but they’re taught here to walk away from anything,” he said.
“If they get in trouble out of the club, they’re not welcome in the club, so they’ve got something to lose.”
Goodrum said he now had ambitions to grow the boxing club even further, take on more referrals and help further reduce crime in the area.
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