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In this article, Alexius writes about the new all-girls wrestling program at North Middle School.
north middle school girls wrestling program
north middle school girls wrestling program
By: Alexius Nyna Burnett
By: Alexius Nyna Burnett
Wrestling is one of the oldest hand-to-hand martial arts sports and, for the first time ever, North Middle School now has an official all-girls wrestling team. This is exciting news, as this is the first year and a new chapter of District 7. North's team is led by Head Coach Dan Coulter and Assistant Coach Jason DeForest, who are ready for this season. The team is ready to grow amongst the success from their hard work and determination, and overall build a stronger community and lifestyle that will shape them into better human beings.
Head Coach: Mr. Coulter
Head Coach: Mr. Coulter
North Middle School’s head wrestling coach is Dan Coulter. He has been coaching wrestling for 28 years, and this year will be his first year with a girls-only team; he also coaches middle school football and, in the past, has coached soccer at the high school. In addition, Mr. Coulter teaches woodshop at North and previously taught math and social studies. Coulter became a wrestling coach because of what wrestling gave him during the 12 years that he had competed, and now he wants to give it back to the community, as he believes it is something that is truly important to pass on to others. It taught him self-discipline, perseverance, and how to be successful in life. Without grinding and working hard in life, there is no triumph in return. That is why, in wrestling, camaraderie gets built through the wrestlers’ battles and hard work. They fight with intensity; if one wants to be successful in life, they have to learn how to persevere through situations. The wrestlers have built a great community and support group amongst each other. As Mr. Coulter said in a well-executed and truly inspirational statement, “Life's a grinder at times and I have to learn how to grind through hard times to go through fun times.”
For the past 13 years, Mr. Coulter has fought exceedingly hard to start a girls' wrestling program. His idea started when his daughters, who had done wrestling, were never able to have many opportunities to wrestle against girls, as there were hardly any girls who did wrestling. Then, once they got into middle school, boys got physically stronger and meaner. As a father, it hurt Coulter's heart to see a situation like that happening with his daughters. After that, he had decided he would begin to fight for the rights of a girls' wrestling program. For years, he would have discussions with the GP athletic director, saying, “Hey, they don’t have a season. We should get a season.”
Finally, after a long 13-year scuffle, this year will be the first girls' wrestling season. With this year being the first season, Mr. Coulter believes that it will definitely be a learning process at first, especially with the rapid learning curve. However, Coulter does believe that this is a perfect opportunity for the girls to try this sport out, especially since it will not be so overwhelming with the boys. The girls will have their own space and focus, and altogether learn and grow as a unit.
After a while of working hard and putting in the determination and getting to understand all the drills, the season will get more intense, and they will find more and more success within it. Coulter said, “Whatever drive you have to find success, you'll get success in this sport." Mr. Coulter loves what wrestling gives back and how much joy it brings, as well as the hard work, determination, and overall community-building the girls experience within the team and out in the world. He also loves to see the success that was worked up and the first wins of his athletes, as it brings him so much excitement seeing the payoff he and his athletes have achieved.
Photo of: Dan Coulter
Assistant Coach: Mr. DeForest
Assistant Coach: Mr. DeForest
Mr. DeForest is one of the assistant coaches. He has been coaching wrestling for the past 25 years, and has also coached football at North Middle School. Affectionately nicknamed Mr. Defo by his students, he previously taught Pre-Calc 2, Pre-Algebra, and now Geometry and Algebra. Mr. Defo started doing wrestling when he was in sixth grade, and it was the first sport he ever did. Wrestling had kept him in shape and made him tougher, but he also learned how to be appreciative in life, take care of himself, and learned to manage the mindset of losing and winning. Wrestling would become his favorite individual sport, as participants have no one to blame for any losses but themselves. An aspect of wrestling that Mr. Defo loves is how it establishes the controls of dominance and powerfulness but also gives a sense of urgency to fight back and get out of the situation. As Mr. DeForest says, “Sometimes you're going to be successful, and sometimes you will be in a predicament and have to fight to get out of it”, which goes perfectly with what wrestling teaches.
Mr. DeForest is glad the girls now have their own practice, solely because they will not be in an awkward environment with interesting predicaments. He also regrets how his daughters were not able to wrestle as they would have liked. He took them out of wrestling because they would have been forced to wrestle boys, who are generally physically stronger, and he was concerned about the conflicts that could have happened if the girls beat them. Now, the girls will face their own pace and can feel more powerful than before. At meets, there used to be just a small group of girls in a corner surrounded by boys dominating the place; now, girls will just surround themselves, which will definitely give them some power and confidence.
DeForest is also excited to see who the girls will become. Girls tend to be attentive, people-pleasing, intelligent, and able to learn quickly. However, at first, they will definitely have to get used to all the wrestling and sweat. Mr. Defo's predictions for this season are that, at first, there will be a struggle and getting used to this sport, mainly because the teams they will be going against already have a majority of experienced girls. However, after the third or fourth meet, the growth and improvements will be strong and clear.
Lastly, Mr. Defo says that anything that is worth something in life is going to be difficult. His favorite rhinestone is a diamond because “It takes thousands and thousands of years of pressure and so anything worth while takes hard work. The reward you get from being successful is from not giving up when the work was hard, but pushing through those difficult situations and getting success in the end from all the work put into it.”
eighth-grade wrestler: natalie morales
eighth-grade wrestler: natalie morales
Natalie Morales, an eighth-grader at North Middle School, is one of the wrestlers on the team. She has wrestled for the past seven or eight years, ever since she was five years old. It has been a passion of hers for a long time. In sixth grade, she went to State for the first time for wrestling and it was a tough match, but she ended up persevering and winning. This was a milestone in her life and one of her favorite memories on the mat. She also looks up to her cousin Audrie Sanchez, a freshman wrestler at GPHS, who goes to state every year.
She loves the wrestling community because of making so many new friends, and the coaches are great. She says that Mr. DeForest is tougher and harsher but funny. Mr. Coulter is hilarious and gentle. As of now, practice is lighter and easier. Morales thinks that the season is going to be quite different from before, since the boys always had their matches first. Now, the girls will spar first. Overall, she says about her wrestling experience, “I've really enjoyed meeting new people and going to the meets so far. I've also enjoyed the experience of meeting the girls on our team and getting to know them more and more.”
Fun fact: Natalie said that, if given the option to either wrestle ten chimpanzees or five kangaroos, she “would rather wrestle ten chimpanzees because I’m pretty sure kangaroos know how to box.”
Picture Including Natalie Morales
These coaches want to build a close and powerful community with their student athletes, who are hard workers and a fantastic addition to society. As this season begins, there will be some growth and struggle; by the end of it, the wrestlers will be new and improved, and hopefully find a love and passion for wrestling. This is just the beginning of the program. As the girls start to put their shoulders to the wheel, North Middle School's girls' wrestling program is going to shine bright and bring a successful future to the girls.
Sources:
Sources:
Interview with Dan Coulter
Interview with Jason DeForest
Interview with Natalie Morales
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