Larry Woodall Jr. wants to build a youth center

Larry Woodall Jr. has a dream.  “Cape, to me, is a community thing, and we shouldn’t lose that here. There are so many kids who need stuff to do and don’t have anything to do,” Woodall said

Inside the nonprofit Unique Minds, led by his aunt Helena Gibbs in Belltown, Larry could not help but talk about his plans to give back.

“I want a youth center with boxing in the middle, and stations for clubs or arts and crafts. Any type of thing to keep them from getting involved in drugs, alcohol and violence,” Woodall said.

Larry graduated from Cape Henlopen High School in 1995 after collecting a Sussex County cross country title and a state championship in track and field.

“I did the 4-by-200 and the 800 in track, and then later did cross country. Cape was a very competitive team, but with Tim Bamforth and coach George Pepper, they were great as far as not just having us be great sportsmen, but also on and off the field we had a great bond. If we had a problem or needed help with schoolwork, they would take their extra time out and help us. It was like growing up in a family environment in sports,” Woodall said.

Larry felt it was important for him and others to have outlets in which they could gain positive experiences and learn different strengths they may not know they had. He recalled the team approach to cross country Lake Forest took against Cape at one meet involving the Spartans’ slowest runner.

“Their job was to break even with our leaders at the first 100 meters so we couldn’t maintain that pace the whole race. Even if you were slow, you still had a purpose in the race,” Woodall said

Clinching the very first Sussex County Cross Country Championship at the Sussex Tech course, Larry recalled circling back and running the final 100 meters backward to encourage his teammates. He remembers encouragement like that during the track and field season too. 

“If you were waiting for your event, you could go and talk to another person from another school who was waiting for their event. Most of the people that I made friends with throughout Delaware were from different schools that I met at track events,” Woodall said. 

Following graduation, Larry joined the Army and went to Fort Knox in Kentucky for training. He said he values the lessons he learned in the Army.

“The main thing was respect, but when you look to your side and you can see the person next to you going through the same thing that you’re going through, it helps you get through it because you know you’re not by yourself. We would encourage each other and let one another know no matter how bad it is, we’ll get through it and we can help each other,” Woodall said.

At 23, Woodall was out of the service and turned to Job Corps before eventually joining the Pennsylvania National Guard.

“When I got out of Job Corps I entered into amateur boxing and became a regional Golden Gloves Champion and Central Pennsylvania Champion,” Woodall said.

The veteran’s dad, Larry Woodall Sr., trained in martial arts, and his uncle Kenneth Woodall was a boxer, so he knew he could be competitive if he tried the sport.

He noticed the comradery in boxing was similar to track and embraced the family atmosphere. 

“Even though you might be going against your opponent in a ring by yourself, when you get out of that ring, it’s one team enjoying the sport of boxing,” Woodall said.

Still, in his mid-20s, Larry Jr. said, unfortunately, his cockiness eventually cost him a shot at a national title. 

“I was on a 4-bout win streak and headed for nationals. In my last fight, I got a little bit too cocky, and I am embarrassed to say but I got an unsportsmanlike call and lost the event due to the points reduction. It made me learn, and I respected the sport even more for reminding me there's zero tolerance for acting up. That was during the time Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, so I was fortunate they let me back in the sport,” Woodall said

These days, Woodall is taking the lessons he learned and helping a few local kids train in boxing. He is a certified USA Boxing coach and has been training a core group of six since last February. One of his older boxers, Jourdy Perez-Lopez, made his debut Dec. 15 in Cherry Hill, N.J., and there are plans for the 13-year-old to box again sometime in January. 

“The main thing I’ve told my kids today is they can’t have an attitude in this sport. I had an attitude in the sport and it stripped me of my regional title, but it made me aware that you have to be respectful,” Woodall said.

Larry Jr. believes he was able to grow as a person from his mishap.

“When I was growing up I had a bad temper, and boxing got me to a point where I was able to discipline that aspect of myself,” Woodall said.

A father of four, including Jade Warrington - a junior shot-putter on the Cape track team - Larry Jr.’s dream of a youth center stems from his formative years and the reality of 2024. 

“I want to start this to give back to the community, because I see where a lot of kids are going in this area. Whether it’s vaping, pills or heroin, this is a crisis, and somebody has to do something in our area. Once summer gets here, there's hardly anything for them to do. My main goal, the youth center, is so it can reach all the kids in the area,” Woodall said

The ‘95 grad believes it is much harder for kids to avoid trouble these days than it was when he was growing up,

“Peer pressure is getting stronger now because of social media. It's easier for kids to be successfully peer pressured even if there are no peers around, all because of what likes or dislikes are being seen through social media. What I'm trying to do is to have it so they don't even want to look at their phone because everything is based on physical activities. It keeps them involved in something so that their peers will see them doing something good and they'll wind up being curious,” Woodall said.

The Army veteran’s dream youth center would likely be a pole building with plenty of space. Boxing would be the main theme, with a ring in the middle and equipment stationed around the ring, but he also envisions offering various technical education classes as well as GED assistance. 

Woodall believes children are the future and he would like to help give them a place to go, especially children experiencing homelessness or in foster care.

For now, Larry Jr.’s focus is on the boxers he is currently training.

“As a kid, you always want to do stuff, you’re always wanting to learn - your brain is a sponge soaking up knowledge like water. While this isn’t going to burn them out, it has them wanting to come back the next day because it's fun and exciting. We go places; we don’t just box. We go to the state park, we run on the beach, we even go go-karting sometimes. It’s all about having fun and getting their minds off the platform of social media and drugs,” Woodall said.

Decorated as a runner and boxer, Woodall is hoping the lessons he was taught growing up in the Cape Region and during his lifetime will allow him to give back and improve the lives of those growing up now.