It’s never too late for the next first. This short article that my 64-year-old thumbs are tapping into my Smarty Phone (Galaxy Zfold 3 5 G) will be the very first article that I have ever written for this or any other school paper. I graduated from Mariner in 1978. Not sure if I ever even read the school paper, let alone turn in an article for it.
So why now?
Three reasons: Neela Lopez Hernandez, Rosechelle Obare and Penelope Kim. These amazing young women it turns out have become the driving force for the Lady Hawks Wrestling Program. What happened? Most coaches put great thought and considerable planning into how they are going inspire, modivate, recruit and train up their given teams months before each season starts. Usually a a few weeks of uncoached pre season training is offered for athletes to pre prepare a few days a week to prepare for the official start of their sport’s given season. And like all coaches, coach Jaleel Vester (our men’s coach) and I offered to supervise uncoached sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 to 4:30 starting in October.
Let me ask you, how many of you have had a teacher, parent, coach, band or drama director tell you, “Sorry, this isn’t good enough”? I’m writing this because pretty much that, just happened to me. The three above mentioned confident, driven, dedicated young women said to me within the first week if school, “Coach Boggio, we don’t want to wait until October. Could you get permission for us to start doing early morning lifts a couple of days a week?”
Permission was given and I (their seriously proud coach) started unlocking the weight room at 6:00 a.m. twice a week so the three of them could lift before school. But wait… it gets better. Some of the freshman girls that they met at the Hawk Walk, (where they voulenteered their few last gasps of summer freedom to be there) also started attending their well organized 6:00 a.m. workouts.
At this point both coach Vester of the men’s team and I were already sobbing quietly to ourselves (so proud… sniff sniff…) Then… our Amazing Battle Sisters reached out to their brothers in arms from the men’s wrestling team. Several of their wrestling brothers came out. They each thanked the girls for creating this opportunity and running the workout. Now, I’ve been coaching at high schools for 24 years and what normally happens in a high school setting is as soon as a few guys enter the picture the girls will take a step back and allow them to take over so to speak. These boys did not.
Why?
Neela, Penny and Rosechelle had everything under control. As a business owner I’m thinking, “These girls could go to work as personal trainers like, right now.”
If this all sounds strange, let me explain. For years now, the two Mountlake Terrace wrestling teams have practiced together in the same room, all season.
I can honestly say that whatever else happens both in an outside of your school, the “One Big Team” (girls and guys) Mountlake Terrace wrestling room is, and has been, an oasis of respect.
That’s why it didn’t surprise me that our guys gladly followed the leadership of the morning workouts that our girls planned and carried out. Not only do our male coaches and wrestlers fully respect the young women who’ve joined them in this physically demanding sport but, these young women, have genuine respect for themselves.
Why did I write this article?
Because I want as many young women as possible to see firsthand the level of self respect, confidence and leadership that that these three team leaders bring to the wrestling room.
BONUS! These girls are also awesome coaches. I’m expecting two-thirds of our girls team to be new to the sport of wrestling. Ask sophomore Maria Aguilar, who had never wrestled before, won three of her first four matches and took 2nd place in her very first tournament because of Neela and Rochelle’s hands on help coaching her up last season.
