A TEAM of youngsters from Griffin Boxing Club have been nominated for a Young Champions award for their fighting spirit.

The Royston-based club’s members never back down from a challenge with their own training and supporting the community.

More experienced teens give up their own free time to become volunteer coaches, aiding fellow youngsters in developing their skills.

This has had a positive domino effect, with the young people supporting each other in and out of class.

Through the role model volunteers, younger members have felt welcomed and looked after.

The team are no strangers to working together to raise vital funds to secure kit for the gym - having recently raised the money to purchase a £375 punching bag.

Also turning their fundraising efforts to support the community, the club has also been a frequent fundraiser for Barnsley Hospice.

The team are taught by Caitlin Coles, who admits that she was ‘born to coach’ and that seeing members grow and learn has been a rewarding experience.

The Young Champions winner’s life goal is to secure a boxing legacy in Barnsley, passing on her skills, knowledge and community spirit.

The head coach has sung the virtues of her team of young fighters, explaining how they have become a ‘boxing family’.

Caitlin said: “These kids are absolutely outstanding.

“Not only do they work hard in their own training, we now have young people volunteering time out of their own days to help out at the other classes that we run.

“They have started doing this off their own back and it’s really starting to help build a little boxing community in Royston.

“The younger children are looking up to these boxers and saying they want to be like them when they are older.

“Year seven kids have been saying that year 11 kids have been having a chat with them at school and making sure they’re alright.

“We really are a boxing family, we all look after each other and everyone gets on really well.

“We like to help raise vital funds for Barnsley Hospice in anyway we can, all the kids get involved no matter how big or small.

“They will always turn up and put the effort in to do everything they can to raise money for the hospice.

“These kids are going to go far in life and it’s been amazing to see the kids grow, progress and build friendships in the boxing community.”