Just when Andre Courtemanche thought he was done with the sport of boxing, it pulled him back in – in a way he never imagined.

After 15 years and having coached hundreds of young boxers to countless championships, Courtemanche and partner Doug Patterson closed the Kingsville Boxing Club five years ago. “It ended in 2000,” he explains. “I had already retired from Chrysler and because of the boxing club; I had to go on the road all the time; sometimes for days. I couldn’t spend much time with my wife, so I decided to retire and when I did, I found it very hard. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

As fortune would have it, Courtemanche, 65, saw an ad for the brand-new gym being opened in Kingsville. “When I saw Total Fitness opening a gym in Kingsville, I approached the manager, Lynn Robinet, about teaching Boxercise and she said I had the job if I wanted it.”

Total Fitness Boxercise started slowly. Courtemanche knew he could teach young people to fight in actual boxing contests, but could he translate that experience to students of every age? “I started off with two classes and they were very popular, so then Lynn asked if I’d do a third class. Now, I’ve got about seven classes per week; three regulars and then four private lessons. I also visit schools. I’ve taught Boxercise at Leamington High School for the past three yeas; I did a class at Villa Nova and they said they enjoyed it and they’d look into doing it again. I also did one class at University with all physical education teachers.”

The difference, Courtemanche says, between his class and more traditional Boxercise classes is authenticity. “My classes are like training for real boxing. Other classes are more like aerobics. They might all throw jabs and right hands while they jump around. In my class, first we do a warm-up and stretching and then they have stations to go to. For example, they might have twelve stations and they’ll do a three-minute round at each one, with thirty second breaks in between. We shadow box. I work the punch mitts with each person. They do double-end bag, heavy bag, uppercut bag, push-ups, sit ups, nine minutes of heavy cardio punching, skipping, and speed training. It’s a workout like no other.”

Life has a way of going full circle and Courtemanche may soon find himself right back where he started – working fighters’ corners in competitions. “The class is so popular, I’ve got people that actually want to become real fighters,” he laughs. “I have at least ten that want to fight. I train them privately and I’m trying to arrange to hook them up with boxing clubs in other towns where they can compete. I would train them here and they could fight under the boxing club’s name. That’s my plan. I’ve talked to Greg Price (of Adanac Boxing Club in LaSalle) and he’s willing. I should be taking them down there and introduce them soon to get started.”