Sophia Hines is a sophomore who has been playing basketball for six years, but she’s recently decided to shake up her life in a unique way: learning how to box.

Sophia has only been boxing at Alive MMA for a few months, but enjoyed it from the beginning. “I started because there’s a lot of stress between school and home, and boxing is a really good release for it,” she said. “It just helps you to take all of that negative energy out onto something else.”

Sophia says that boxing is a sport that is both physically and mentally challenging, and that memorizing combinations, staying constantly aware of where her feet are, and “staying in shape” are the hardest parts of boxing. “It hurts the next day!” she laughed.

Since boxing is a relatively new part of her life, Sophia hasn’t made many goals for herself yet. When asked what she has in mind for her future in boxing, she replied, “Just get better at it and… feel more confident in what I can do.” She definitely plans on continuing with the sport, and has also been considering boxing competitively.

“I definitely want to pursue that idea, I just need to work a little more to feel more comfortable,” she said. Sophia says that she works around her basketball schedule to visit and spar with the instructors at her gym about once a week. She called the instructors “fun and easygoing,” and said that “sparring with the guys is always really fun.”

There is a gender difference in boxing, which Sophia has noticed in her practices. “It’s definitely hard,” she admitted, “A lot of the guys look at you like you’re not going to do very well, and then you beat them up and they’re like ‘Oh, she can actually do stuff!'” However, she’s not the only female at the gym. “There are a couple of other girls – they’re all older than me, but they’re really fun to spar and hang out with.”

Sophia encourages others to try boxing, but warns them of the amount of work that comes along with it. “You have to be mentally strong, and physically definitely helps,” she said, “but it’s definitely straining on your muscles the first time.” However, she still encourages it because of the school benefits that she’s gotten from it. “It does help you to focus a little more to understand the drills and stuff. So that does… go over into school stuff,” she said.

Overall, Sophia says that her experience with boxing has improved her life, giving her more focus and confidence.