L
Candi Gouveia, left, and Erica Bryant, right, participate in a boot camp class.
PACKING
MORE THAN
A PUNCH FROM BOXING BAGS TO YOGA MATS
by BETH A. KLAHRE photos by MADELINE GRAY
12
WILMA
AUGUST 2021
ocated in the heart of downtown Wilmington is one of the best-kept fitness secrets around.
The Sherriedale Morgan Fitness Center, 302 South 10th Street, is owned and run by the city of Wilmington. The gym has a rich history as a boxing center. The late SHERRIEDALE MORGAN became a local boxing legend after winning a U.S. Army boxing championship and subsequent inductions into the Carolinas Boxing Hall of Fame, The Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame, and the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame. After his Army retirement, he was hired to operate a boxing program in an old firehouse on North Front Street. Years later, a new facility was constructed in the current location and named in his honor. There are still a fair number of boxers
who come to work the bags and do their strength and conditioning at the 10th Street gym, says STEVEN SCHMITTER, recreation supervisor of fitness. “We also have some members, both male and female, who know enough boxing to use the bags as part of their workout but do not box competitively,” he says. Over the years, the center has evolved into a complete fitness center offering free weights, universal equipment, treadmills, stationary bikes, and StairMasters, along with personal and group training and a variety of classes for its 400-plus members. Schmitter’s interest in fitness goes back to middle school when he escaped summer boredom by working out mimicking ESPN bodybuilders on TV in his garage. After earning his exercise science degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, he became the
