Growing Women’s Wrestling
McKendree’s Kori Bullock gets a win at the 2019 WCWA Nationals.
guest writer Shannyn Gillespie
IG: @coachshannyntalks
Twitter: @coachshannyn
Female wrestling in the US is growing by leaps and bounds partially due to States adding high school girls wrestling as a sanctioned wrestling state tournament, colleges & universities adding women’s wrestling as a sponsored or varsity sport, and partially because many of the women’s wrestling pioneers in the below video series decided to join and continue to grow man’s oldest sport.
At the start of this 5-part video series, there were 22 girls sanctioned high school wrestling state tournaments and by 2021-2022, there will be at least 28 states on that list. Sanctioned means the high school state athletic governing body has approved a state tournament series which is recognized (and held) alongside the boys wrestling state tournaments in many cases.
At this writing, there are also 80+ colleges & universities that offer women's freestyle wrestling as a club or varsity sport and that number will likely get to 200 by the end of the decade. In just 20 or so years, women’s college teams have also shown exponential participation growth: 5-8 freestyle teams in 2004; 30+ teams in 2017; & 80+ teams in 2020. Coaches, high school students, & parents will undoubtedly continue this growth by reviewing the article How to Become a Woman College Wrestler.
Below, you will hear & see some of the amazing stories that have inspired the author about how or why many of these pioneers got involved with women’s wrestling and what it will take to sustain female participant growth. The last episode is led by 4 male women’s wrestling collegiate coaches who offer a unique perspective as to why the sport has continued to fight an uphill battle in the minds of many Americans...
Growing Women’s Wrestling Video Series
How to Become a Woman Collegiate Wrestler featuring:
Shannyn Gillespie, Head Coach Homewood-Flossmoor H.S. (IL), NCAA Bronze Medalist
Randi Miller, Limestone College Assistant Coach, Olympic Bronze Medalist
Dany deAnda, Presbyterian College Head Coach, 3X Jr. World Medalist
Liz Short, Joliet Central H.S. (IL) Assistant Coach, World Univ. Bronze Medalist
Erin Golston, USA Wrestling National Team, 2X Jr. World Medalist
Growing Women's Wrestling Ep. 1 featuring:
Ally Somera-Zyko, Pan American Bronze Medalist
Jenna Burkert, 3X World Team, Youth Olympic Games
Erin Clodgo, World Team, 3X Jr. World Team
Growing Women's Wrestling Ep. 2 featuring:
Ali (Bernard) Sprenger, 2X Olympian, World Bronze Medalist
Toccara Montgomery, Olympian, 2X World Silver Medalist, World Bronze Medalist
Leigh Jaynes, Head Coach Delaware Valley, World Bronze Medalist
Growing Women's Wrestling Ep. 3 featuring:
Donell Bradley, Team Georgia Coach, First ever H.S. Girls Wrestling State Champ (HI)
Brandy Green, Limestone College Head Coach, 5X USGWA Champ
Carlene Sluberski, Univ. of Providence Head Coach, 4X CIS Champ (CAN)
Growing Women's Wrestling Ep. 4 featuring:
Brian Jackson, Missouri Baptist University Head Coach
Amond Prater, Fontbonne University Head Coach
Tyreece Gilder, Waldorf University Head Coach
LeRoy Gardner, University of the Ozarks Head Coach
The above videos were provided by facebook.com/coachshannyn2/. For YouTube & Instagram formats, please use the hashtag #growwmwrestling and: