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Champion Inverness boxer becomes coach at Highland Boxing Academy


By Andrew Henderson

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Highland Boxing Academy have appointed Levi Coyne to their coaching team.

Levi Coyne has become a coach at Highland Boxing Academy after being forced to quit competing due to injury.
Levi Coyne has become a coach at Highland Boxing Academy after being forced to quit competing due to injury.

Coyne originally joined the club as a 14-year-old and competed for six years – winning the Northern District title at the first time of asking as he racked up 20 bouts.

Injuries have forced him to step away from competing, but he has been asked to stay on by head coach Liam Foy to help nurture the next generation of talent coming through.

Coyne has already passed his northern district exam to work with amateur boxers, and is in the process of applying for a seconds licence to help the club’s professional athletes.

“I had always said to Levi when he was boxing that whenever he finished I wanted him to continue being a part of the club,” Foy said.

“The reason I said that was that I knew how much the club and boxing was a part of his life. It was everything for him.

“He was coming out of bouts and having a few injuries, boxing was starting to take its toll on him.

“So we made the decision to retire him from boxing, but take him up in a coaching role. He has grabbed that with both hands, he’s so passionate about it.”

Foy would give that chance to any HBA athlete.

However, he says it was not a move made as a mere gesture, with Coyne genuinely able to help the club’s roster develop.

He had already started moving into that role behind the scenes before the pandemic hit, and Foy is looking forward to seeing what he can do when restrictions eventually ease again.

“With everything Levi has given to the club, it’s not a token gesture,” Foy insisted.

“You’re looking for leadership skills, but also the nurturing side of it – being able to help others, someone who is looking out for others who are training alongside them.

“Levi had that in abundance, but even if someone didn’t have the qualities that I am looking for in coaches, if they wanted to coach then we would teach them and give them the experience that’s required.

“Boxing has been such a major part of Levi’s life. Before the gym closed, he was really engrossed in some of the boxers and what they needed to work on.

“He would take them aside one-to-one, and the boxers all absolutely loved it because they knew he had their development in mind.

“They were benefiting from it massively, so it’s going to work so well, I just can’t wait to get going.”


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