with Dr. Mario Longoria
Osmar Alaniz arrives early every day at the Lackland Air Force gym, a routine he has followed for the past forty-nine years. He may well be the only Latino coach in any sport who has participated in three Olympic games. A resident of San Antonio for the past half-century Alaniz arrived in 1973 to assume the position of Assistant Boxing Coach for the Kelly Air Force Boxing Team. Considered one of America’s best young boxing coaches, Alaniz’s rise to international competition began in the mid-1960s when he served as an Olympian boxing Trainer and Assistant in preparation for the 1968 Olympics Summer Games.
His first Olympic experience in 1968 was both rewarding and educational. The Olympic Boxing team fared well in the competition capturing 2 Gold; 1 Silver; and 4 Bronze Medals. The names of the medalists included Ronald Harris (Gold), George Foreman (Gold), and Albert Robinson (Silver). After coaching in the Olympics in Mexico City, Alaniz served his country in Vietnam earning a Vietnam Service Medal with four Bronze Stars, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Shortly after serving in Vietnam, he was assigned to Hamilton AFB, “Home of Air Force Boxing.”
In 1973 the Air Force Command moved the boxing program to Kelly Air Force Base. Over the next three decades, Alaniz coached hundreds of boxers serving in the Air Force and accepted numerous international coaching assignments. In 1977 alone, Alaniz coached and prepared the USA National Boxing Team against the USSR [Russian] Boxing Team in Shreveport, Louisiana. He then coached and prepared the Armed Forces Boxing Team to compete in the “Conseil International Du Sports Militaire (CISM)” Championship, this time in Cairo, Egypt.
Coach Alaniz also hosted five Armed Forces Championships tournaments at Kelly AFB and coached numerous teams’ to also participate in the San Antonio Annual Golden Gloves competition during the same period. For the next three years (1981 -1983) Coach Alaniz traveled extensively with numerous Boxing teams to clinics, festivals, and CISM championships stateside and worldwide. While serving as the Air Force Boxing coach at Kelly Air Force base, Coach Alaniz was also assigned to plan and conduct numerous Boxing Camps/Clinics in the United States and abroad. He trained boxers in Germany, Cuba, Bolivia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Alaniz was honored to serve as an Assistant Boxing Coach in the 1984 and 1992 Olympic Summer Games. Alaniz was also given the responsibility as the Administrative Assistant to the President of the International Boxing Federation during the Olympic Games. As a coach, Coach Alaniz’s fighters captured a total of 20 Olympic Boxing medals, including 11 Gold, 3 Silver, and 6 Bronze. In 1998 Alaniz was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as their National Boxing Coach of the Year.
Coach Alaniz has been recognized for his achievement and dedication to Amateur Boxing by the following U.S. and International Boxing organizations: U.S Air Force Inter-Service Sports Council, The International Military Sports Council, the Olympic Solidarity Boxing Program, The Olympic Committee from Argentina, The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, The Federacion Ecuatoriana De Boxeo, El Ministerio De Cultura Juventud Y Deporte – Costa Rica, The International Amateur Boxing Association, and the Mayor of the City of San Antonio for his participation in the 1992 Olympic Summer Games. Coach Alaniz estimates that has trained over 3,000 boxers in the years 1966 – 2004.
Coach Alaniz has been a teacher, mentor, and counselor. He trained America’s best amateurs boxers, sculpting their boxing skills and shaping their athletic lives and careers. Alaniz attributes his coaching success to his personal values of preaching a love of the sport, dedication, physical /mental conditioning and an unshakable belief in oneself to both successfully compete in the sport; and when out of the ring, to exude respect and character in their relationships.
