Leading Our Youth to Abundant Life  is the acronym for the L. O. Y. A. L. program in Washington, PA. Started by Avery Turner, who is opening a new recreational center for the youth and carrying on the tradition of boxing in Washington, and also looking to keep kids off the street and out of trouble.

“There’s no defense against an excellence that meets an oppressing public need,” is a quote that Turner lives by. The quote is attributed to an online source to motivational speaker Les Brown and publisher John H. Johnson.

“Kids were shooting up everything, and sports started falling down. There were no YMCAs and no skating rinks, social media and video games started kicking it even harder, the kids were in the house and not outside and when they were outside, they were outside in trouble,” Turner said.

The story of the L. O. Y. A. L. program dates way back to 2008 when Turner started WCPA Sports (Washington County, PA), which covered all the school sports in Washington County. That was the first time Turner had gotten involved with the youth, but unfortunately, he had to let it go.

“I wanted to create my own space and something for the kids. I had to let it go because of work, my kids and I had grandkids coming as well, so let it go in 2011 or 2012,” he said.

So, from then on, Turner continued to work with the youth but didn’t have as much time to work with the youth fully. From working the midnight shift every night and not having enough time to commit himself fully. One day, he had an epiphany, and he started L. O. Y. A. L. Initially, he wanted to start it as a magazine for all the schools in Washington County, but then he didn’t know what to do with it. He then realized the kids needed a place to get off the street. 

The first way he wanted to get involved was when he started coaching boxing in 2022 at the Brownson House Boxing Club in Washington. Originally, he had no way of establishing the L. O. Y. A. L. brand, so the first way was to get kids off the street and start taking them to the boxing gym. Eventually, he started helping out the coaches, but that’s when he finally had that calling to commit to the youth.

“I had a job making $3,500 a week at a construction site, but sometimes I was getting in too late to take the kids to practice, so if they weren’t going to practice they were going right back to the streets. So, I had to decide to quit my job and fully commit to the youth,” Turner said.

The next step for Turner was to set meetings with schools, state representatives and county commissioners to discuss his plan. Within the next four months, he got a call about a grant, went to a meeting about the grant and got the grant for the building. It all came at the perfect time as well, as the city had decided to tear down the Brownson House due to the building becoming run down and it is costing too much to repair.

The new boxing club will include not just boxing, but Wrestling, Muay Thai, after-school programs and studio for podcasting. However, the building is just short-term according to Turner, as the program will begin to renovate and move into a bigger building in the summer of 2026. This new building is set to include boxing, wrestling, muay Thai, a basketball gym, a weight room, a hot tub, a music studio, a podcast studio and a clubhouse. 

The L. O. Y. A. L. program is looking to build up the youth and give them a safe haven for the kids to have somewhere they can go and give them an outlet, whether that outlet is through sports, music, or the after-school program.

“When you train a brain, you change lives. Boxing trains the mind before the muscle, and it also instills a lot. The ultimate goal is to build a champion and not just in boxing, but in life,” said Jeff Morganti, former professional boxer and trainer from the Brownson House.

Morganti trains multiple fighters and is the co-trainer for former International Boxing Association (IBA) champion, Matt “Sweet Child” Conway, as well as his brother Mike “Maverick” Conway.

The program is also looking to add other things, such as dance classes and a Zumba class for kids and adults to join as well.

“I think a lot of times, young people are pushed to the side, especially at-risk youth, and those are the ones I felt drawn to because of the situation because you never know what anyone else is going through. They need to know someone cares. When younger people act up, they just need help,” said Carla Dunlap, who will teach Zumba and dance class at L. O. Y. A. L. Dunlap is also a 1989 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College.

The building is located at 31 W. Chestnut Street, Washington, Pa. The date for the opening is TBA.