NFR Mat Classic XXXVI

Non-fishing related
Flymph

Flymph

Life of the Party
Just thought I would pass this on to those of you in the Tacoma Dome area and have an interest in HS Wrestling. This coming Friday and Saturday the best of the best Washington State High School Wrestlers will rise to the occasion to be named "Champion" at their Weight Class and their school's division. It is quite a spectacle and the kids are well showcased in an Olympic Style atmosphere. I am blessed taking 8 boys and 1 girl to this event who are very excited about Wrestling in front of thousands of people!
 
It’s been growing a lot! I’ve noticed more and more schools getting involved, and honestly, it’s been really cool to see. The level of talent is definitely picking up, and it’s just nice to see more opportunities for girls in the sport.
 
Josh said:
How big is HS girls wrestling these days? Seems like it's seen some growth.
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Girls HS and College Wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the US and in Washington. As the Wrestling cheerleaders have greatly diminished, the girls Wrestling has gradually increased. I might say they are more fun to watch at times because they rely more on technique as opposed to brute strength that quite a few of the boys still insist on.
 
At high School level, are the girls wrestling boys or the girls wrestling girls? Curious.
 
Good luck at state, Coach! Wrestling has been a fantastic sport for my daughter. I wish we’d found it sooner (even though I was skeptical at first.) My kid wrestles guys in practice regularly but only girls in competition — though some smaller chicks seem to be pretty competitive with guys. Intense sport!
 
My daughter wrestled for Lakeside HS and Lake Stevens wrestling club (aka Pin City) throughout high school until she graduated in 2012. She was one of 4 girls on her highschool team and she was the only girl in the Lake Stevens wrestling room which was a physial/mental/emotional challenge for her. She also had the advantage of coaching from Brent Barnes, the LS head coach and ongoing personal coaching from Burke, his son and a highly accomplished WA wrestler. She went on to wrestle at Simon Fraser and did several camps at the OTC in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, her top-end was limited by the genetics she inherited from me... so she wasn't able to make it to the next level.

Not sure about now but at that time, dual meets were 'best man up' so if a girl was 'the guy' then they wrestled boys. Lakeside did not have a strong team and my daughter was in a light weight class so she wrestled boys in most dual meets with modest/low success. On the weekends, there were gender-specific tournaments at which she excelled.

The thing that I appreciated most was that the self-confidence and discipline she gained from wrestling carried forward to other challenges in life. She's now in law school and standing up and fielding a question from a prof. is no big deal when you've put on a singlet and fought someone in front of 10K plus screaming people...

She no longer wrestles but I'm still a huge fan of the sport, especially for girls who can get in their own way due to self-confidence issues.

Blurry photo of her and USA legend Jordan Burroughs at the OTC below.

Aika_and_Jordan.jpg
 
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I will be there supporting my grandson. He will be wrestling at 144 lbs. As a Sophomore this will be his second trip to the big show. Last year he was an alternate. This year he placed 3rd at district. Our district/program competes against two of the highest rated programs in the state. The drive, commitment, work ethic and team pride these kids display is uplifting!
 
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