| My name is Kennedy Hsu, I’m 15 and a Sophomore at Palo Verde high school. I started wrestling my Freshman year of high school at my Club (Legends of Gold Las Vegas) and High School (Palo Verde). Since the age of five, I have been doing Jiu-Jitsu and Dance. One of my friends from Jiu-Jitsu, Emma Albanese, started wrestling and I thought it was very cool, but I didn’t think I’d ever wrestle. She reached out to me and told me to come to a practice with her, and after a few years she helped me find the club LOGLV. |
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| When I started high school, I reached out to the high school wrestling coach to asked if I could come condition with the team. I found out quite quickly how few girls actually did wrestle, and how it was difficult to fit in with a team full of high school boys. After a few practices, I learned that that two of the five girls on my team go to LOGLV as well. I started going to my Club in October of 2020. As soon as I walked into LOGLV the first thing I noticed was that the wrestling room was packed full of girls. I didn’t realize it at the moment, but I was extremely lucky to have many different kinds of girls to practice and wrestle with. Not only that, but I had amazing coaches that threw me into competitions and classes, as soon as I started practicing on a regular basis. |
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| I have grown so much as a Student-Athlete, Wrestler, and as a Person since starting wrestling. I love how strong I feel inside and outside of the wrestling room. Being able to do a full-contact sport, or as one of my high school coaches calls it “legalized fighting”, makes me feel more confident. It’s so cool to be a part of the fastest growing women’s sport in the world. In my next three years of high school, I am working towards making the World Team, becoming a Nevada State Champion, and an All-American. Also, I want to work on my Leadership skills. After high school, I would like to go to the University of Iowa to continue my Wrestling career. I have set very high goals for myself, but I do believe that hard work and dedication will get me there. |
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| In my first year of wrestling, I only won 1 match. I never gave up and it only motivated me to work harder. Starting my second year of wrestling, I have won 8 matches this season. I remember after losing all my matches, competition after competition, Coach Bill told me to take a breath and realize the types of competitions we were doing. These were competitions that consisted of mostly girls, from all across the country, who have been wrestling for years. These were not easy for me by any stretch of the imagination. He told me once I got back to my high school season, I’d start to see all the work I’ve put in, pay off, and I am starting to see what he meant. Wrestling has ultimately taught me how to be part of a team, how to be strong, and how to push past my mental limits. I can’t wait to see the future of girls wrestling, and I hope more girls will try it. |
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| There are countless people who have helped me become more confident as a wrestler and have helped me grow. My coaches from LOGLV: Coach Bill, Coach Mackey, Coach Joe, and Coach Hocker have done so much to give me a season during this pandemic, and have pushed me nonstop. They have all given me countless opportunities to wrestle out of state like at the World Team Trials in Texas, the girls South Dakota Duals, and they have helped me make many unforgettable memories. They have also given me amazing opportunities to wrestle girls from all over the country; girls who inspire me so much to keep wrestling. I’d also like to thank my current and past high school coaches: Coach Lytle, Coach Wade, Coach Adam, Coach Clint, and Coach Terry who have all helped motivate me to be a successful Student-Athlete. And of course, I’d like to give huge shout out to my family for all the support they have given me through finding my way in a new sport–and the aches and pains that come with a contact sport, and all the time and miles they put in to get me to wrestling practices, tournaments, and dance practices and competition. |
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