This one is for my friend, Sally Roberts, 2x World Bronze Medalist on Team USA and founder of the “Wrestle Like a Girl” Foundation and all female athletes. I have been unsuccessful in getting my 8-year-old girl to wrestle. Presently, she prefers basketball, and that is okay, too. I’ll keep trying, though. As I watch my son’s love of the sport grow, it is exciting to watch the increased involvement of girls in the sport.
Women’s wrestling has come a long way since I wrestled in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Now, it is less a matter of overcoming resistance and bias and more a matter of opportunity. The USA recently won its first Gold Medal in Women’s Wrestling, but we are still a long way from sanctioned high school wrestling for women in all 50 states.
So, why would I want my daughter to wrestle? I want her to wrestle for the same reasons that I want my son to wrestle. “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy” (Dan Gable). Wrestling teaches the life lessons and self-confidence that serves women, as well as men.
I believe that among other things, wrestling teaches self-discipline, self-confidence, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and mental toughness. Who can argue that such skills do not serve our daughters, as well as our sons.
What is the female equivalent of “stud”? ‘Cause, if there is such a word, it will describe most of the girls I have observed wrestling in my son’s program. Actually, there needs to be a better word for these girls. They can hang in with the boys—in many cases, they destroy the boys on the mat—but, at the end of the day, they are 100% girl. Women wrestlers are breaking stereotypes. As I seek to promote the concept of “well-centered fitness” (i.e., Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social well-being), the female wrestler can serve as a model. Strong, healthy, and self-confident.
I might never be successful in getting my little girl to wrestle, but, nonetheless, she will always be encouraged to be a strong woman and a role model to other girls. To the young ladies who do take up the sport, show ‘em what it means to “wrestle like a girl”! Carpe momento!
Support women’s wrestling. For more information on how, visit:
http://www.wrestlelikeagirl.org/