[Beyond Borders]

This has always bothered me. I was wrestling in high school around the time women started infiltrating the ranks of the sport and it drove me nuts.

This was around '95-'99 and the women who wrestled acted like they were on some kind of crusade to prove themselves. Why they would have thought it was a good idea in this particular sport, and why it was allowed when they had their own leagues for stuff like basketball and baseball was really beyond me even then.

While most were not much to contend with, some guys struggled to pin them and get the match over fast - obviously a very desired outcome - due to their low center of balance (they can thrash their hips for a long time to keep their shoulders from going all the way down at the same time if they are determined enough). In rare cases with a weak young man, he might get worn out and if the girl has enough stamina she might manage to flip him over and pin him later in the match. Usually not but it happens.

Wrestling girls is an extremely tough thing psychologically for a kid. People will get mad if you touch them inappropriately so you have concern about that. On the other hand, if you beat them too hard or too fast or hurt them people in the crowd or on their team will surely take offense - maybe even try to fight you - so you're weary of that. Finally, if they beat you or even just get a run for your money it's a crushing blow to your young ego and reputation.

There was one tournament we went to in high school when a kid got beat by a girl. It was the first any of us had seen it happen. We later heard that some of his teammates put a blanket over his head and beat the shit out of him for embarassing the team. It's more accepted now and kids are less hard than they were in that time, but still.

When you see teenage boys get beat by girls, the pain and humiliation on their face is heartbreaking. The thing is they are usually the youngest kids or the weakest kids who lose - so it doesn't really prove anything other than reminding the boy of his inferiority. Total dorks and outcasts at the worst - the bottom of the pecking order in their social circles at best. So you're often talking about youngsters who are already having huge struggles trying to fit in.

They turn to the sport to toughen up so as not to be picked on, or to prove their worth so they can fit in better. Some will improve and some are just a lost cause but you respect their trying. And then you throw them in a ring with a girl and they become the laughing stock of the team, maybe even school when word gets back. I have no doubt that many young boys who go through this quickly quit the sport and withdraw from the crowd.

I went back and coached a bit this last year at my old high school and there are more girls wrestling than ever. At smaller tournaments they make an extra effort to pair them up with other female opponents just to get them some decent matches they can win, and that's great, but the effort to do so makes the sham all the more evident. They are as much handled with baby gloves as they were when I was a kid. So much for equal rights.

A couple guys on my team knew how I felt about girls wrestling and I think it got back to one of the fathers. My bad, but I couldn't mask my disappointment that they didn't have their own league at this point, and I felt bad for my rookie male wrestlers when they matched up with a female. We had a moment later in the season when the guy's foster daughter ran out of the room crying after losing a match and I let her go do her thing.

The head coach was out of the auditorium on a phone call, I had other matches to tend to, and next thing you know this fat piece of shit was in my face screaming and whining because I wasn't out their babysitting his daughter. Why he thought that job was mine rather than his is beyond me, and as a coach, I don't think nursing the outburst of every kid makes any sense.

With males in a male sport, I prefer a tough love approach. As far as I've ever known it's ingrained in the culture. Go let the kid get it out of his system and then approach him in the stands or locker room later to talk about better way for dealing with their emotions in the future. To me this is unwritten common knowledge about how wrestlers support each other when emotions get too high.

I mean, try following a masculine man who has resorted to tears or exploded after a public defeat so you can "talk to him" and see how far you get through his emotional wall...

But because it was a young woman, presumedly, I'm expected to drop all my other obligations, leave all the other kids hanging, and sit out in the parking lot being her therapist.

The most sickening thing is this is exactly what the head coach did after he saw the drama that was ensuing and got off his call. He sat out there forever on the damn ground with her talking to her while she cried while I juggled his responsibilities inside. Fortunately, it was my last tournament of the season and I was off to Asia and able to wash my hands of the whole mess. I bonded with some of the girls on the team and admired their fighting spirit, but the whole thing is ridiculous to me.

There were some tournaments where I saw more talented girls in this smallest weight classes dominating their opponents, but for the most part they don't offer any real competition to capable male wrestlers. Around here this would be obvious.

Funny story: In my own early wrestling years, taking on a girl was nerve-wracking for all the things I mentioned, especially as a freshman still new to the sport. All the things going on in your mind - don't hurt her, don't touch her, don't beat her too fast, don't let her last long enough to become a threat, etc...

Well, one tournament I got sick of it and flipped a switch in my mind and decided to prove a point. I wrote about this on the forum before. I took offense to her putting me on the spot and so I didn't go easy on her at all, and in fact I competely humiliated her.

I didn't waste any time and this was the move I used to pin her:



If you're not familiar with wrestling they call that the Saturday night ride, for obvious reasons. It's an embarrassing display of dominance for even a guy to be pinned this way, and all your limbs are tied up so nothing you can do about it - was one of my favorite pins.

With the girl it was even more suggestive than in the pic as I was further down on her body (again, women have a lower center of gravity). Shiteating grin on my face and my whole team was laughing hard, God bless their wicked hearts.

I got pissed off scowls from all the parents and her team the rest of the tourney, and for the rest of the day thought someone might try to clock me. But it was worth it to prove a point and have a good laugh with the boys.

Going back to coach was a great experience to me, something I could have seen myself turn into a lifelong passion. It's very rewarding and working with kids wasn't so bad as I thought it would be. But after getting a glimpse of what it means to deal with these SJW staff in the schools and helicopter parents, I doubt I'll do it again.

Probably wouldn't be welcome back anyways because the principal, who I've known since high school (one year above me in school), has gone militant SJW. She has me on her FB and has gotten all emotional about some of the right wing stuff I post.

I'm not going to play pretend for them and keep my opinions to myself, so what can you do?