Coaches strike delicate balance in guiding Nico Hernandez’s path to Olympics

Lewis Hernandez toiled for 13 years to craft the unique boxing style that propelled his son, Nico, into the elite ranks of the world’s junior boxers and, ultimately, to the Olympics.

The definition of that style is being fluid and adaptable– with an overriding rule to be prepared for anything.

“We spent so much time crafting how he boxes over the years,” Lewis said. “We rely a lot on each other when he fights. I know him better than anyone and I know what he needs to do better than anyone.”

So when Nico qualified in March for this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as a light flyweight, a quick realization hit both father and son — for the first time, somebody else was going to have the reins.

“That was a big concern,” said Nico, 20. “My father started training me when I was seven years old. That’s not a knock on USA Boxing or anything like that, I’ve only just had one coach my whole life.”

What Nico, Wichita’s first Olympian since 2004, and Lewis didn’t fully realize in March was that the person who would become Nico’s coach with Team USA, Kay Koroma, had been paying attention to how Lewis had been doing things for quite some time.

“I’ve actually known Nico and Lewis since Nico was 10 years old,” Koroma said. “And more importantly, I’ve seen how hands-on Lewis has been and what he’s done to turn Nico into the boxer he is today.

“In that time, I’ve built up a tremendous amount of respect for how they do things because I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. And it’s a beautiful thing.”

And what Koroma has been masterful at since Nico started going back and forth between Wichita and the Olympic training is keeping the lines of communication open with Lewis, who has a full-time job and can’t travel with Nico all the time. In a situation that could’ve been fraught with egos and hurt feelings, it’s been quite the opposite.

“Every day Nico works out with me, Lewis and I talk,” Koroma said. “And it’s the type of relationship where if Nico has a bad day, I don’t hesitate to tell him. One of the things I’ve admired about Lewis and Nico from watching them over the years is that they tell it like it is. They don’t sugarcoat things.

“I’ve never been an ego guy. Never occurred to me. How would that ever help anything get accomplished? This is Nico’s time and Nico is the one who is going to have to go out in the ring and try to win a gold medal. We all know what the ultimate goal is here and that’s to win a gold medal, which I think Nico is entirely capable of. He has so much potential and talent and he’s extremely coachable.”

Koroma will be the man in Nico’s corner when the fights begin in Rio, but there’s still a chance that Lewis could be there in some capacity. The family has been trying to raise money to send Lewis to Rio, where he could participate in Nico’s training leading up to his first fight.

Team USA leaves for Rio on July 19 and opening ceremonies are Aug. 5.

“That’s what we’re hoping for, for me to be able to go,” Lewis said. “I’ve worked things out for my job where I can be away if need be. It’s definitely helped ease some of our fears with Kay as his coach and being able to communicate like we have. It’s a unique situation, but I think everybody has handled it pretty well.”

This story was originally published June 17, 2016 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Coaches strike delicate balance in guiding Nico Hernandez’s path to Olympics."