By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

No matter where he is or what he is doing, come 1:30 on a weekday afternoon, Al Silva feels the inevitable pull of the gym.

For the better part of a half century it was a time for which no watch was required — when, by force of habit, he would head off to Waipahu Gym for another day as the volunteer coach and heart of the Waipahu Boxing Club.

"Mr. Silva," as generations of fighters including Andy Ganigan, Paul Lucas, Jesus Salud and Brian Viloria came to respectfully refer to the caring, no-nonsense coach, was the one they turned to for ring instruction and usually ended up coming away with a lot more.

Living in retirement in Lihu'e, Kaua'i, the 85-year-old Silva has found that far from being able to consign boxing to a place in his garage amid the yellowed newspaper clippings and assorted mementos, the attachment has grown stronger and the separation from daily coaching almost painful.

"I really miss it," Silva concedes. "Not having a gym to go to at 1:30 every day depressed me."

So when Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas met with the former territorial lightweight champion about joining forces to help officer Mark Ozaki, a former state amateur champion, bring Police Activities League boxing to the Garden Island, Silva needed little prodding ... less than the youngsters who have come to crowd his driveway seeking instruction.

Once, Kaua'i turned out noted fighters, Yasu Yasutake and Benji Mactagone among them. But this is about more than just turning out champions in the ring. Freitas says he, Ozaki and Silva share a vision of what P.A.L. participation in general and the lessons of boxing in particular can provide.

It's about how, through boxing, they can, "give some stability and guidance to those who may need it," Freitas said. And how sports participation can be the carrot that enhances academics as well.

In this, Freitas looks to what he calls the young (the 32-year-old Ozaki) and old (Silva) — who knew each other from amateur days — to merge their experiences and enthusiasm for the project.

Already Ozaki, a school resource officer at Kapa'a High, has begun working with the national P.A.L. organization to secure the promise of equipment and come up with funding to get the program started. A board of directors has been formed and the plan is moving ahead. "The kids are asking me, 'when can we start?' " Ozaki said. "There's a waiting list already."

There is also an old, empty civil defense building outside Kapa'a near Mahelona Hospital they are working to secure and call home. It needs cleaning and reconditioning as a training site and study hall but has a warehouse that lends itself to a gym and adjacent classroom space.

The whole place comes with a commanding vista. "The most beautiful view in the world from a gym," Freitas marvels. "A million-dollar view of the bay," Ozaki adds.

But, then, Silva will tell you that to their eyes any gym where teenagers are into boxing and out of trouble is a beautiful sight, too.