Local student named Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year, shares impact of club boxing program

MECCA, Calif. (KESQ) - Carlos Mendoza is a high school senior from Mecca, and he has been going to the Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley in his community for nearly 11 years. It's a place he said has changed his life.

“When I was eight or seven years old, my mom brought me with my siblings [to the Boys and Girls Club] with a social worker, after CPS took us, trying to find stability for us," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said before he came to the Boys and Girls Club, and in his first couple of years there, he dealt with a lot of anger. He would get in fights at school and he needed somewhere to let out those emotions. He said boxing became his outlet.

“I had a very anger issues and they brought me here," Mendoza said. "I started training a coach named Joe started training...and I just loved it ever since. I feel free, I could release emotions somewhere without getting in trouble.” 

While in the boxing program, Mendoza was still struggling with fighting in school. Leaders told him he could lose the opportunity to be in the program if he didn't stop fighting. Now, Mendoza was able to share a letter with officials detailing how the club helped him stop fighting in school and even kept him from joining a gang.

With his story, he won the Youth of the Year competition in Temecula, representing the San Andreas Area Council.

“I didn’t expect it," Mendoza said. "I was really not expecting a win, especially this far.”

Mendoza just returned from a trip to Sacramento, where he competed in the state Youth of the Year competition. While he didn't win there, it doesn't take away from how much the organization and the boxing program have brought to his life.

“A lot of peace, without them, I would still be struggling," Mendoza said. "That's a lot, but I would still be struggling with my anger issues.”