Found: West side athletic center

By Max O'Connell

It’s easy to lament over crime amongst youths, but one Syracuse man believes that “there’s no such thing as a bad kid.”

Ray Rinaldi has worked with at-risk youths since 1954, and his West Area Athletic & Education Center serves as a second home to Syracuse west side children in search of a positive outlet. There, Rinaldi and other volunteers run a boxing program.

The children in the program have had trouble that ranges from poor behavior in school to use of drug and alcohol, but Rinaldi believes that these children are worth fighting for. The center’s website proclaims “a commitment to our youth – our most valuable asset.”<

Boxing may seem like an aggressive sport for troubled youths, but Rinaldi believes that it helps teach discipline better than most sports. “If I tell you to keep your hand up, and you don’t pay attention…you’ll get hit right in the head,” Rinaldi said.

“In a short time of three to four weeks, you change their complete attitude,” said Rinaldi. He added that the children learn to respect not only the trainers, but often the same kids they might have fought with in the past. “These kids are the nicest kids in the world,” Rinaldi said.<

Rinaldi opened the WAA-EC in 2005 as a sister center to his North Area Athletic & Education Center, which was established in 1994. Both centers accept youths at no charge, and the WAA-EC has served over 1600 youths.

The WAA-EC is located at 307 South Geddes Street. The NAA-EC is located at 507 Pond Street. The centers offer classes in boxing, art and computers, as well as a GED course for those over the age of 18.

Rinaldi says that many children who finish the program go on to be students at Syracuse University or other colleges, and that they often come back to visit.

“They always come back, and guess what they say? Right to a tee: ‘Ray, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here’,” Rinaldi said.