Sometimes a Hero Comes Along

Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League of Illinois April 29, 2013

One of our heroes is Sam Colonna.

Sam Colonna served as the Head Boxing Coach of Chicago Boxing Club and has over 30 years of experience training boxers. Sam guided Chicago Boxing Club to the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament Team Championship Trophy for 5 out of 5 years from 2008 to 2012. A trainer and manager of boxing gyms all his life, Sam brought his impressive boxing experience to Chicago Boxing Club. Sam formerly served as head trainer at legendary Windy City Boxing Gym for seventeen years. Trainer of multiple World Champions, Sam has worked the corner for Andrew Golota, Angel Manfredy, Angel Hernandez and Vaughn Bean. He has worked with hundreds of amateurs and has cultivated scores of Chicago Golden-Gloves, Illinois State and National Golden-Gloves champions. Sam trains boxers of all ages including Chicago Boxing Club team members, Golden Glove amateurs and experienced professionals.

My personal experience with Sam goes back ten years when my son Danny joined his boxing gym. Sam mentored Dan and the other young men in more than just boxing. He taught them the meaning of honor, integrity and courage. My son, Danny went on from Sam Colonna's Windy City Boxing Club to fight with the All Marine Boxing Team in the United States Olympic trials and served two deployments in Iraq. Dan is now attending Roosevelt University. Many of Dan's teammates from Sam's club have gone on to become leaders in education and business, excelling beyond everyone's wildest dreams.

To any father who wants to be involved with his son I would recommend that he take him to train with Sam. and maybe join his son in the training. Remember the old saying, "it's better to sweat in the gym than bleed on the street." by Jerry Elsner