Boxing: Reid Gray selected for League Boxing NSW under 14s team

The 12-year-old from Tamworth told his father, Jason, of his desire, who knew local coach Jamie Carroll through their time playing footy together.

Even before he had started training, however, the odds were stacked against the youngster.

He is small for his age, and found the going against bigger, stronger kids tough at first.

"I liked it, but I just wasn't good at it at the start," Gray said.

"So I just kept going, and I got better."

The young man's tenacity paid off. He made his Golden Gloves debut in August, and was more recently named in the League Boxing NSW under 14s state team to take on Tasmania in an interstate challenge at the end of this month.

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It marked the latest step in a rapid rise for Gray, which didn't particularly surprise Carroll.

"He's very inexperienced, he's only started this year, but he's a real goer," Carroll said.

"He's very fast on his feet, good movement, and a really good kid."

As the manager of League Boxing NSW's junior program, Carroll ran trials all over the state.

Four of his own One2Boxing students tried out for places in the NSW team, but Gray was the only one that was successful. The reason for his selection, Carroll said, was his performance against an opponent almost 15 kilograms heavier.

"When we went to Dubbo, the littlest kids were about 42 [kilos]," Carroll said.

"He got in there and was sticking it to them ... he lost to a guy the first time, but the second time came out and beat that kid. To give away that much weight and still win [is remarkable]."

It is, perhaps, not surprising given that Gray's idol is fellow One2Boxing alum, Lemuel Silisia.

The young man admires "everything" about the Solomon Islander and did so from the first time he saw him in the gym.

The prospect of going to Tasmania, where he has never been before, is exciting for Gray.

"I'll try and win," he said.

"But I just want to have fun and learn."

Like any junior making their start in boxing, Carroll sees promise in Gray.

But talent is only a small portion of the recipe for success. His fate, Carroll believes, will come down to his work ethic.

"You've just got to keep rocking up," he said.

"It doesn't matter how much promise they've got, they've all got promise ... but it's how long they want to stick around for."

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