by Eoin Walsh

Sitting behind his desk in his completely white room with serene music in the background, Gregory Toledo doesn’t give much away. But there is plenty hidden behind this well-built, stony-eyed man.

As the new EXCEL adjustment counselor, Toledo puts students on Individual Education Plans in smaller classes with a little more structure to cater to their needs.

Toledo worked as a behavior specialist in Nantucket Public Schools and before that for a secure behavior treatment program for juveniles in Boston, so working with kids is natural to him.

Toledo, in his early years, lived in poverty without a father. According to Toledo, he grew up with a group of 20 male adolescents who were all in the same position.

His friends, who were not exactly productive members of society, were all angry. They disliked school and just did not care.

“I’d say it was a rough stint as a teenager. I used to get in a lot of trouble with police officers. I guess looking back I was worse than any student I’ve ever worked with,” Toledo said.

Toledo’s turnaround came when an older kid in the neighborhood named Rodney approached him. Toledo recalls Rodney saying, “You’re the one who’s going to make something of yourself. You’re going to be somebody.”

Looking back, Toledo agrees that he just needed some structure to be able to succeed, and ultimately, it was boxing that provided him with this direction.

“Boxing has helped more poor men, more poor young men than probably anything. And I know I was one of them,” Toledo said.

Toledo has learned many things from what he calls “Violent Chess.” For one, he learned how to control his anger and maintain the ability to think clearly at all times. He also found that long lost “father figure.”

While for many young boxers their idols are the champions of the world, Toledo’s were the trainers. Toledo said the trainers inspired him by putting themselves aside, trying to help others.

For Toledo, his trainer in life was his mother, whom he refers to as the “difference” and a “rock.” According to Toledo, once on the right track, thanks to boxing, his mother and Rodney, Toledo’s talents and true character blossomed.

Now an avid reader, Boxing Association of America award-winning writer, International Boxing Research Organization historian, film noir movie collector and devout Catholic, he proved Rodney right: he has made something out of himself.

Just as he needed structure and a “father figure” as a kid, he provides both of these things to students at Brookline High School in his job now.

“I’m just a corner man, I’m just an assistant,” Toledo said. “That’s all.”

Eoin Walsh can be contacted at [email protected].