ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Youth sports are an important part of every community. They teach children important lessons, along with discipline and social skills.

At Inside Control Academy in St. Petersburg, a kickboxing class also teaches them self-defense.

“We’re fighting, we’re learning self-defense. It’s a really fun class and stuff because you’re safe and you’re learning really good self-defense stuff in case you were in danger or something bad were to happen you can self-defend,” participant Jocelyn Thorn said.

It’s fun for the instructors, too.

“I enjoy working with kids, and myself being a smaller person and a female, I’ve seen how much it changed my life, and I wish I started sooner so when I get to work with these girls, it’s so good,” kickboxing coach Kimberly Loucks said. “Confidence building is something that a lot of people hear about. They want to do it, and what that means to build confidence is to be yourself.” 

These children are building social confidence as well because they are homeschooled kids.

Jump For Kids is a program that provides opportunities for homeschooled kids to get involved in youth sports and make new friends, which can be tougher to find than it is for in-person-schooled kids.

“Yeah, it can be a little bit difficult, especially because the stereotype around homeschooled kids, too; and being a homeschooled kid, it’s home so having this opportunity to go out and meet people is really important,” participant Jac Thorn said.

The kickboxing and golf programs are new this year. The academy also offers flag football in the fall and plenty of other sports.

Jeff Pope started the program in 2014 and is thrilled to see how it impacts these kids’ lives.

“A lot of them have never even been exposed to playing team sports, so for them, to learn how to play flag football and then they can play with their friends in the neighborhood, get out and exercise, it’s a really cool experience to watch them grow and become better at the sports,” Pope said.

“I think it’s great, so being homeschooled, you’re in a smaller bubble than most kids. So when they get to come here, meet me, see me, they also get to be around other people training here at Inside Control Academy, so they’re able to see other women and men here, other people that train as well and they get to kinda feel a part of a community,” Loucks said.