“It’s a work in progress, I’ll say it like that. Everybody is doing their best to make it a work in progress.”
The work in progress Donald Gabreski is talking about is including females on Bay High School’s wrestling program.
“It’s new to all of us, I want to say it like that,” Donald Gabreski, Bay’s assistant wrestling coach, said.
Wrestling is a testosterone driven sport. Due to the physical contact required, some believe the sport shouldn’t be co-ed, but don’t think Bay’s program feels the same.
“It’s a sport for everybody,” Damien Stayer, a Bay junior wrestler, said. “Whoever wants to go out there and work hard and win, it doesn’t have to be a gender out there.”
“I believe that we haven’t had a girl wrestler before,” Isreal Castillo, Bay assistant wrestling coach, said. “It’s a team sport so we just have to encourage them and bring them on as part of the team.”
“Years past, I kind of cringed at it but for some reason, just this year it felt like the right thing to do,” Vern Barth, Bay head wrestling coach and Athletic Director, said. “I just thought it would be great to have them out here.”
“I came out and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to do this,’ and so as it turned out, it was pretty great,” Trophie Long, Bay freshman wrestler, said.
“I think it shouldn’t matter if you’re a girl or boy,” Caitlin Coller, Bay freshman wrestler, said. “If you can compete in the sport and compete competitively, I think you should go for it.”
Coller did indeed go for it and competed in her first match.
“She just went out there and threw this dude across the mat,” Darrin Evans, Bay senior wrestler, said. “It was just so hype. Everybody loved it.”
“The gym shook with all the exhilaration,” Barth said. “It was just great to see the hard work she’s been putting in.”
Wrestling is a full body contact sport and in order to win, hands are going to be on body parts. Some say it’s not right for girls or boys to put themselves in this situation.
“It’s not like that,” Long said. “If you do the routine right, then you’re not going to do that. It’s not going to be a difference.”
“Just another person helping them to get better,” Stayer said. “I didn’t look at it any different.”
“I think that if the girls comfortable with it, I think we should be as well,” Evans said. “Because it’s not really that big of a deal as long as they’re comfortable with it.”
“Let me say it like this, the guys don’t give them any benefits there because it’s like, ‘Hey, it’s either you or me,’ and same way with the girls,” Gabreski said. “Everybody is wrestling at their full potential.”
So if you’re a female looking to join this traditional male sport, “There are girls out there that are stronger than guys,” Stayer said. “Anybody can do it as long as they’ve got the mental focus.”
“If a girl wants to be in wrestling and show what she’s got, than let her do it,” Long said. “Just let her be an inspiration to other people.” .
“Don’t care what other people think and don’t let them persuade you that it’s a boys sport,” Coller said. “If you want to, go out there and do it.”
Courtesy of: WJHG