Hands down, best bet

By Lia Bichel
Australian champion boxers Sam Soliman and Sam Colomban ran a workshop with the Year 9 boys to help them learn to make right choices in life and walk away from violence.
Mr Colomban used his own life experience to send a positive message.
“When I was younger I made some bad choices and got into a lot of dangerous situations which could have got me seriously hurt or killed,” Mr Colomban said.
“But I learnt from my mistakes and realised that walking away from violent situations is always the best choice because you never know what’s going to happen if you take the bait and react.”
Boxer Sam Soliman also told the young men the best defence is to walk away.
“They want to start a fight, get a reaction from me,” Mr Soliman said.
“But the best reaction is to always put your hands up, smile, say ‘I don’t want any trouble’ and walk away.”
Endeavour Hills Secondary College principal Barbara Mothersdale said the program was beneficial.
“The messages about walking away from violence is not something new for these boys,” Ms Mothersdale said.
“But Choices is unique because it forces the boys to look at the possible consequences of their actions and provides them with the tools of how to walk away. And hearing this message from world champion boxers gives it a lot of weight.”
The workshop was part of Choices, a Live No Fear program run by the State Government.
Minister for Crime Prevention Andrew McIntosh said the program was important for young men.
“We are grateful to the boxers for sharing their stories in the hope that the next generation will be able to deal with any violent situations they are faced with,” Mr McIntosh said.
The Choices program has been held in 15 schools in Victoria throughout June, July and August and is supported with an online forum at www.livenofear.com.au.
Participants are invited to continue the Choices discussion online and share their experiences.