Coach Michael Klapp Reed High School
Coach Michael Klapp and Nora Ochoa Picture Courtesy of Michael Klapp
The Growth of Girls’ Wrestling in Northern Nevada
We are so fortunate to have a strong wrestling community in Northern Nevada, and in Nevada as a whole. Though we may not be a “wrestling state”, those who lace up their shoes and step on the mat are as passionate as anywhere. As the country and world embrace the incredible growth of womens’ wrestling, we are seeing similar trends in Nevada. I believe there are several things we can do to accelerate the growth of girls’ wrestling in our area, making Nevada a hub for women’s wrestling.
First of all, we can acknowledge the successes of girls that have wrestled in Nevada, and continue to wrestle here. Nevada girls have been among the best in the country for the last several years. Junior, Sterling Dias of Slam Academy, is a Cadet world medalist and multiple-time high school National Champion. Reese Larramendy, from the Reno area and wrestling at Wyoming Seminary, is a word-team member and national champion. Along with Sterling and Reese we have six other Nevada high school girls that are nationally ranked! At the college level, there are many young women wrestling, including Alison Petix of King (#4), Peyton Prussin of Life University (#7), and Morgan Norris of Presbyterian (#7). Morgan earned a WCWA National Championship last season qualifying her for the Olympic Trials. Our girls are good and getting better.
Secondly, we need to grow girls’ wrestling at the youth level. Due to astounding support from the Sierra Wrestling Association (SWA), we are seeing more and more girls wrestle each season. Led by the efforts of Nevada Elite, more and more young girls are choosing to wrestle and learning all the lessons that come with the sport.
Finally, we need to fully embrace and nurture girls’ wrestling in middle and high schools. The NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) has made strides each of the past several seasons culminating in the pre-Covid addition of a Girls Invitational to be held alongside “Boys State”. At the same time, we can do more here. Hopefully, we will see a sanctioned girl’s division at the state tournament in years to come, so girls can be rewarded for their efforts at the same level that boys currently are. I am hopeful and really feel like this is just a few years out.
That said, we as high school coaches can more actively recruit girl wrestlers. It is not enough to simply say, “we will welcome anyone in our wrestling room—girls just haven’t been interested.” Girls will flock to our amazing support if we let them know this is a real option for them, and if we provide opportunities for them to wrestle other girls at their level. Like Coach Howe pointed out, the lessons to be gained from wrestling are life-changing. We are remiss in our duties as coaches and mentors if we don’t actively work to get girls involved so they can reap these benefits as well.
What does actively promote girls wrestling in clubs and high schools look like? Here are several things I might suggest: Hold “girls only” pre-season practices or open gyms. Though girls will generally do well in practices with boys, many girls are much more comfortable stepping on the mat for the first time when gender is not a concern. Post flyers and hold pre-season meetings that are girl-specific. Schedule travel to tournaments that have girls’ divisions, or are for girls alone. Once we get beyond Covid restrictions, California is an amazing place for girl’s wrestling. Most of our boys teams travel to California to compete—girls deserve the same effort from our coaches.
We live in challenging times. Kids need chances to develop toughness, resilience, and work-ethics. Our sport has done this for boys for a long time. Girls deserve it too.