More From What You See

There's a lot behind the scenes when it comes to wrestling. It's not just about tackling a person but it brings many benefits to the wrestlers.

According to biggerbetterbeards.org, “Wrestling is a well-appreciated sport that comes with many benefits to High School kids, helping them achieve and develop important qualities such as self-esteem, work ethic, leadership skills, and sportsmanship.”

One student in YB, Linh Doung, the caption of the YB wrestling team, says how wrestling has given her benefits and how it has changed her as a person, “Yes, I used to play volleyball and I enjoyed being a team player a lot but I was used to depending on others (which is not a bad thing). Now I prefer to take initiative and focus on being strong individually. Wrestling has given me a lot of valuable knowledge on weight management, healthy eating, and developed a sense of body awareness”.

Other two team players, Vy Nguyen and Eduardo Flores, also have benefited the same like Linh, by “caring more about their weight” and “eat less junk/sugary foods”.

According to Linh Doung, wrestlings plays a big part in her life, she says, “I honestly think that wrestling played a big part in me finding my passion and being able to pursue my passion. When I was going through a tough time in my sophomore year, my coaches and captain helped me gain the courage to seek help. After that experience, I realized that I loved to learn about mental health and the human body. In one important interview, I was telling the person interviewing me about the skills I had and many of those skills came from wrestling. In addition to my other specs and resume, I really think that the communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to take initiative that I learned from wrestling really helped me out I landed a job at Kaiser Permanente hospital and as it turned out, my supervisor and the head surgeon also wrestled.”

Linh also says that, “Wrestling has helped me build connections with people really easily. When you find other people that wrestle, it's a really special feeling and we always seem to connect instantly.”

Wrestling is a great sport for boys and girls. But wrestling has always been seen as a boys sport until recently more and more girls have been joining wrestling all over the world.

Last year for the YB wrestling team there were only two girls in the wrestling team. This year there are six.

Linh Doung explains how being a girl in the wrestling team has made her feel, “Sometimes it's awkward because it’s mostly guys and guys joke around differently but I am used to it now. Some people feel weird about boys and girls wrestling because of the physical contact but I never had a problem with it.”

“A great plus is that the girls wrestling community is really nice and friendly. Girl wrestlers are super supportive of each other. At girls’ CCS, all the girls warm up with each other and braid each other's hair before the tournament. While the guys tend to keep to themselves,” Linh says.

Vy Nguyen shares how she also feels being a girl in the wrestling team, “Honestly, I don’t think it’s super-duper special to me, all the girls in wrestling are just as equally as the boys.”

A guy from the wrestling, Eduardo, shares his opinion on the girls that are in the team, “I think they are all cool and strong, and some of them are even better than the boys. They all show determination, skill, and technique.”

Even though wrestling is ending soon, next year would be great if more girls and boys would try out.

“Wrestling is such a unique sport. I guarantee people, you will not find another sport like wrestling in YB. Another reason is that every type of body has an advantage in wrestling and I have seen so many different wrestlers,” Linh Doung says.

“In volleyball or basketball, you might be put at a disadvantage if you are short but in wrestling, short people have a good reach. There are so many moves you could choose to do so you have a lot of creative freedom. Also, I have seen wrestlers of all races and physical capabilities ranging from blind, deaf, and even amputees. Wrestling really has no limits.”