Out of the Mouth of Babes "Our Future Leaders"
Welcome to "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" with Kevin Handley Sr.!
In this enlightening and empowering podcast, we delve into the minds of the next generation—the brilliant and dynamic youth who hold the keys to our collective future. Join our host, Kevin Handley Sr., as he takes us on an inspiring journey through conversations with young visionaries, activists, innovators, and changemakers from around the world.
Each episode of "Out of the Mouth of Babes" brings you candid and thought-provoking interviews with these remarkable young individuals who are making a significant impact in their communities and beyond. From tackling pressing global issues to spearheading innovative projects, these youth leaders are reshaping the world as we know it.
Kevin Handley Sr., a seasoned and compassionate host, skillfully uncovers the stories behind these young achievers, delving into their motivations, challenges, and the transformative experiences that have shaped their journeys. Listeners will be inspired by the depth of insight and wisdom these young guests possess, proving that age is no barrier to effecting meaningful change.
Whether you're a parent, educator, community member, or simply passionate about youth-driven initiatives, "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" offers a unique platform to learn, engage, and celebrate the voices of the youth. Together, we can gain valuable perspectives and support the aspirations of these incredible young leaders, nurturing a brighter and more inclusive tomorrow.
Join us as we amplify the voices of the youth and discover the extraordinary potential that lies within "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" with Kevin Handley Sr. Be ready to be moved, motivated, and inspired!
Out of the Mouth of Babes "Our Future Leaders"
Beyond the Mat: What High School Girls Learn When They Choose to Wrestle (020225)
Claire Abbitt and Ambria Tate are transforming what it means to be high school athletes in Richmond's first-ever sanctioned girls wrestling program. Their journeys couldn't be more different – Claire looking for teammates after moving from South Dakota, and Ambria seeking something that would balance her naturally quiet demeanor with newfound assertiveness.
What unfolds in their conversation is a powerful testament to how wrestling builds much more than physical strength. From practicing in converted storage closets to facing down opponents on the mat, these young women have discovered a reservoir of resilience they never knew they possessed. "Wrestling is a sport where you don't have time to be afraid," Claire explains, capturing the essence of how the sport reshapes mindsets.
Both wrestlers speak candidly about overcoming stereotypes, with Ambria sharing how her grandmother feared wrestling would make her infertile, while Claire tackles the misconception that female wrestlers inevitably become "super buff." Their refreshing perspective cuts through these outdated views: "It doesn't make you any less feminine... it just gives you more strength."
The mental transformation proves even more profound than the physical. Embria describes evolving from someone who would cry before matches to developing the composure to face any opponent. Meanwhile, Claire emphasizes that mental preparation outweighs athletic readiness – a lesson that extends far beyond the mat. As they prepare to become senior leaders next season, their focus shifts to mentorship, wanting to create an environment where newcomers feel welcome and supported.
Whether you're a wrestling enthusiast, parent of a young athlete, or someone searching for inspiration to step outside your comfort zone, Claire and Ambria's stories demonstrate how embracing challenges – even those that initially terrify us – can unlock potential we never knew existed. Listen now to discover why wrestling might just be the perfect arena for building tomorrow's confident, resilient leaders.
Welcome to Out of the Mouth of Babes, the podcast for our future leaders. Today, we have two exceptional young ladies in the room. I'm not going to belabor this. I'm going to allow them to introduce themselves, starting to my left. What is your first and last name, school you go to and all of the interesting things you're involved in, including your academic performance? Go ahead.
Speaker 2:I'm Claire Abbott. I go to Richmond High School, I'm a junior, I'm in the National Honor Society and I'm a wrestler.
Speaker 1:All right, next to my right.
Speaker 3:My name is Embria Tate. I go to Richmond High School. I'm a junior and I'm in the academic competition team and I do wrestling and track.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome. So you guys are, uh, fairly active in school, so I'm just going to get right to it. You know, one of the most important things is that and that has happened within the last year is that ihsa has sanctioned girls wrestling and um, and so it is uh, it is one of the the sports. I think it's a 90s uh, not sure exactly what number sport, but I I know that it's. It's now, um, a sanctioned sport. So, with that being said, richmond had an inaugural team this year. You ladies were a part of it. So can you tell me a little bit about yourselves and how did you get into wrestling?
Speaker 2:I started two years ago in South Dakota. It became a big part of my life and I started it because I was kind of lonely and I needed a team to be with and it really helped me and also it made me stronger and the mentality you get from wrestling is just super important and you carry it with you every day.
Speaker 1:so all right. What about you, amber?
Speaker 3:I started wrestling this year at Richmond High School and I just joined it because I wanted to be a part of a team and on a sport and none of the other sports. I'm not really a team sport type person and I hadn't gotten into track yet and I felt like it would help me be more balanced within myself, because I'm usually more gentle and quiet, and it helped bring out a more assertive side of myself.
Speaker 1:All right. So what was your initial reaction when you learned that Richmond was starting a girls wrestling team?
Speaker 2:I was really excited because I had to wrestle on the guys team the year before, so I was happy to have girls teammates again that I could like hang out with in the locker room and stuff.
Speaker 3:I didn't really know until you came up to me at a football game and told me and I didn't really know anything about wrestling beforehand like boys wrestling or girls wrestling but I thought it sounded like something fun to do and something within my capabilities.
Speaker 1:All right. So you know there was a lot of ups and downs this year. I mean, we had a lot of success, but we also had some failures and there are some things that, looking back on, I know we would definitely change. But what was the most challenging aspect of being part of this inaugural team?
Speaker 2:Not having a set space to practice at, because we were all over the place. We were up in the guys' wrestling room and then we were down in the hallway and then eventually we got like a storage closet to practice in wrestling room and then we were down in the hallway and then eventually we got like a storage closet to practice in.
Speaker 3:so I think that was tough because we were hitting our heads on the wall um, I think the hardest part was really learning it, because it was a new sport for me and developing a mentality that would be more beneficial for it, because at first I was really scared. Before every single match I would get really scared and start crying and by the end of the matches like the end of the season, I didn't do that anymore.
Speaker 1:How has wrestling impacted your self-esteem?
Speaker 2:I think it brought it up. You have to have a lot of confidence to be able to wrestle in those tiny little singlets and you know, you know always working hard and like working out and stuff. It definitely boosts your confidence being able to like know that you can fight somebody or at least like tussle with them yeah, I agree on that but, I was thinking about that earlier.
Speaker 3:It definitely did help my self esteem and self concept and confidence because whenever we go away for wrestling meets I get told I was pretty a lot and told that I was really good at wrestling. And I had other girls come up to me and tell me that they were disappointed. They didn't get to wrestle me because they really wanted to and I seemed aggressive and a good opponent.
Speaker 1:All right, really wanted to and I seemed like aggressive and a good opponent.
Speaker 2:all right, so can you share a memorable moment or experience from this year? Um, I think when we had that team pizza party and we were over at Geneva's house, we got in the hot tub, we took pictures. It was a good team bonding experience. I had a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:I think, um, I think the meet where I didn't get to sleep the night before, I think that was my most memorable like for good and bad reasons one, because I got up to go tell you I couldn't fall asleep and then you're like, your match started. This is your match. I had to borrow someone else's headgear and I had to get right into the match and then after that you took a really funny picture that Kiesha posted and it's like really up close. And I think something else that was memorable is whenever you told us that you were part of a frat and you did the bark thing.
Speaker 1:The bark thing. The bark thing, that's hilarious. Oh man, you had, you are funny. Uh, part of part of um claire mentioned some team bonding activities. Um share a little bit about the importance of those types of activities for a team and some of the other ones that you guys also did me either one I can go first, I think it helped build our team a lot better than a lot of our other schools teams.
Speaker 3:We get along very well and I talk to most of my teammates on a daily basis and I think it helped us see each other as more than just teammates and more as friends and had a support system so that whenever we went and had wrestling meets you didn't feel alone.
Speaker 2:You feel like you had someone to talk to if you were nervous or worried about anything yeah, I never talked to anybody on the team before I met them and then I started practicing with them and now I see them in the hallway and I get to say hi and stuff like that, and I think it's important because you're also like wrestling with these people at practice. So if you don't know them, then it's so awkward.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. And we would go to Saturday tournaments and be together for hours on end.
Speaker 2:And then we'd have the team bonding days where we'd go to the movies, work the concessions and then like Whenever we went to Buffalo Wild Wings too, that was good, and they screamed at the top of their lungs. That was embarrassing Awesome awesome.
Speaker 1:How do you prepare mentally and physically for a match?
Speaker 2:Mentally, I have this like checklist I read off myself every time before I go out that says like I earned this place, like you're wrestling for a reason, you've wrestled for two years, like you're meant to be here and then, physically, you just gotta get, like honestly, some good sleep and that's it for me um, yours is usually very different, because you usually like isolate yourself from everybody else.
Speaker 3:I usually drink something like usually it's Gatorade, like electrolyte Gatorade, so I don't get dizzy. And then I just talk to my teammates until it's time, because if I think about it too much then I I'm going to psych myself out. And then I just make sure I sleep the night before and eat something really heavy and protein, because I can't eat before weigh-ins.
Speaker 1:What is something that you would tell young women who are considering joining wrestling?
Speaker 2:Definitely go for it and don't be scared. Wrestling is a sport where you don't have time to like be afraid and like stay back in the corner. It's something that you have to like go out and do so.
Speaker 3:If you decide to do it, go for it you should definitely try it out at least once and you'll probably be good at it, because it's more of just learning like spatial awareness, and it's it. It builds a really good support system and it changes you a lot as a person and gives you a stronger mentality now, unfortunately, people have their own opinions about, like the sport of wrestling, particularly girls wrestling.
Speaker 1:How do you face stereotypes or misconceptions about female wrestlers and how do you deal with it? Now I don't want to hear you say you slam them down and you pin them, but how do you face them and deal with that?
Speaker 3:What stereotypes?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I mean there are misconceptions and stereotypes about women wrestlers or wrestling in general.
Speaker 3:Well, my grandma she told me that she didn't want me to wrestle and that I should quit wrestling. This was like right before regionals too, because she said that I'm going to like get slammed down wrong and like be infertile or something.
Speaker 2:Infertile.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, like promise and like people think that if they wrestle they'll get like super buff and like super ripped. But I promise you that takes a lot of hard work, like a lot of hard work. It's like if you took a science class and thought you were accidentally going to end up at NASA.
Speaker 3:Like it takes hard work to do that and it doesn't make you any like being a wrestler a girl wrestler especially. It doesn't make you any less feminine than you are outside or before you started, because it just gives you more strength. It doesn't change who you are and make you less of a girl.
Speaker 2:I hear a lot of guys say that girls wrestling isn't as hard, but I know that heather cole would beat the crap out of any of them any day and girls wrestling is just as hard.
Speaker 3:Like they have 17 percent more testosterone on this, so obviously they're going to be a little stronger, but we can hit moves just as good and I feel like archie said that he would not come back and wrestle with us, like he said that we just are too, because I feel like we have to compensate a little bit for lack of strength by being quicker and more aggressive with what we do.
Speaker 1:So you mean the young boy that came down to the wrestling room the one time and got his butt looked and that y'all beat up on for for about a good 35, 40 minutes.
Speaker 2:That little kid that was talking trash right before.
Speaker 3:I find him in the hallway. I be like Archie, you come wrestle with us. And he's like, no, I'm not doing that.
Speaker 2:He said I couldn't beat him. And then after he said, sorry, I doubted you because I had his butt on the floor.
Speaker 1:What what are your ultimate goals in wrestling, like for you, what are your ultimate goals? What do you see yourself in, let's say, into high school college Olympics Like what do you see yourselves?
Speaker 2:I really want to wrestle at Manchester. I think it's just a really good school. It's a D2, so if I could get into that for an athletic scholarship that would be great. If not, it's already got me the opportunity to win a scholarship from Richmond anyway, and it has shaped my mindset for the future.
Speaker 3:So yeah, I'd love to get like a scholarship for it, because I really do want to do it in college. That's one thing I'm very sad about that I started this junior and not before because I think it would have been really beneficial if I had done it freshman, sophomore, junior and not before, because I think it would have been really beneficial if I had done it freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. And I don't want to only have one season left. I want to continue doing it and I hope that going forward, I just continue and I really want to win like at least a few tournaments.
Speaker 2:I think you can do that.
Speaker 3:I got second three times.
Speaker 2:That Centerville tournament is calling your name. Next year it is in the crowns. Oh yeah, the crowns. We're all going to have a crown by then.
Speaker 1:I say the state championship is going to be calling your name too.
Speaker 2:State championship is calling my name for sure.
Speaker 3:I really do want to go to state. I'm working on it right now. You guys were just one win away from going to state this year that was so crazy, honestly, Because I didn't think I was going to make it past the first especially because she was tall and I'm not good at wrestling tall girls.
Speaker 1:So five of you went to regionals and again all of you at least half of you were one match away from going to state. Tell me how you felt on that bus ride going home.
Speaker 2:I felt cheated because the ref made some pretty bad calls and it kind of messed up my mindset in the match. But other than that I definitely felt like I needed to work harder in the future.
Speaker 3:I felt really proud of myself because I did make it past the first round. I made it to the second one, which is one match from state, and the girl that I went against she cut down 15 pounds to be in my weight class, so I didn't really feel like it spoke on me as a person. I just feel like she was more well-prepared and she had been doing it for a long time. Her record was like 3 to 23.
Speaker 1:30 to 30?.
Speaker 3:Was it. No, I'm asking you, I didn't know it was like 3 to 23 for the season, so she had been doing really good the whole time and she was a senior, so I didn't feel like it said anything about me. I felt really proud of myself because I made it that far my first season, my first time ever playing a sport, so I was really happy and you were in a situation where the week before the young lady got injured and wouldn't and didn't continue, which put you in second place.
Speaker 1:And then you're in a position where you were up, you know to somebody that you had lost to, I think what seven, one and um, and then there was some questionable, some questionable things that happened and then she ended up circling back around. So I'm sure that those moments will motivate you and push you to get to the next step. If you could speak to a group of young ladies, young girls, right now, what would your sales pitch be about? Wrestling, what would you say to them? You know a bunch of fourth, fifth and sixth graders right now. What would you say to them to get them motivated to wrestle?
Speaker 3:You'll have lots of fun, you'll learn how to beat people up and you'll build a good community and it'll open a lot of opportunities for you in the future that you otherwise wouldn't have access to, and doing things in general, especially if they're outside of your comfort zone, can open doors to things and interests you never knew that you had definitely.
Speaker 2:I would tell them that it's a great team sport, even if it's an individual sport, and also that their confidence will go up and they'll have. They won't doubt themselves when it comes to a situation where they need to be better than an opponent or somebody else.
Speaker 1:If you had to speak to the AD or the principal or school board member, what would you say to them about wrestling and why it's important to continue to support wrestling?
Speaker 3:Because it's the coolest sport out there, I would say, because it's not like other sports where it's just starting off and it's an individual sport. So the support that we get from the school can determine how well we do in the match, because it's just you on the mat representing your school. So the more funds and the more support we have from the school, the better that we can do and better we can train and prepare for these matches and win and set records for the school and stuff. And I think that it's a good investment for the school to make, especially since it's just starting off.
Speaker 1:All right, claire.
Speaker 2:Well, I think everything Ambria said pretty much sums it up. But yeah, they offer plenty of scholarships for wrestlers, and having that contact with their coaches too and having somebody to lean on is very important for um people our age Cause they'll get into a lot of trouble if they don't have a parental figure telling them like good or bad things to do.
Speaker 3:Especially cause. Most of them don't listen to their parents, because by the time you're in high school, you're at odds with your parents most of the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but hey, if you get kicked off the team team, you got to do what they say so what does wrestling mean to you personally?
Speaker 1:talk to what. Just what does that? What does it mean to you personally?
Speaker 2:to me, it means the ability to like triumph over hardships, because I've put in, been put in some pretty rough situations in my life and being able to come out on top as a winner through all of them has just changed my perspective.
Speaker 3:To me, it means facing my fears, even whenever I don't want to, and finishing things even whenever it's hard, and being able to push through whenever I don't feel like I can win, and having something it's knowing that's determined on how, how well I do, and that I'm not getting off the mat until one of us wins and I determine who wins do you all remember your first wrestling match?
Speaker 2:yes, first wrestling match your very first wrestling match yes yes, tell me what was going on in your mind a lot of nothing, honestly, because I was hopping, I was coming off my two feet, I was hopping in a circle, but that was the first match I ever won too, so that was that made me go bonkers.
Speaker 3:That was insane um, my first match. I wasn't really scared before because I don't know. I was just very calm. I'm usually very calm and I was just there for fun at that point, so and I used the move that I had been working on main, like focusing on which was a high c, and I performed it and I won and it was like a really short match how do you stay motivated after a tough loss or setback?
Speaker 2:um, that's hard because after, um, the weekend where I lost a pretty big tournament and I didn't even place, I was in a mental slump for like at least a week and to get out of it, honestly, I just kept getting out of bed and going to practices.
Speaker 3:That's the only way that it helped Probably my anger with myself and the fact that I lost and just knowing that I can improve and having something to improve and analyzing what went wrong and working on not doing it anymore. And there was one tournament I think it was Beach Grove where I only won one of my three matches, but I wasn't even upset because I got past the elimination rounds and I knew that I went against girls who have way more experience than me. Especially remembering that whenever I would beat girls who had been going for like three to six years and had been wrestling for three to six years really helped me get through that, because it let me like it made me remember that it doesn't matter how much experience they have and stuff or how much experience I have. I can change the outcome next time.
Speaker 1:What's the hardest part about balancing wrestling with school work or other responsibilities that you guys have?
Speaker 2:finding the time to do anything and then also having the energy to do it like you'll get out of practice at like six. You'll be home by like 6 15, then you got a shower and then get to work on homework for an hour, and so, honestly, it's kind of tough to have a job during wrestling season um, yeah, I think getting home especially from tournaments really late, but I don't.
Speaker 3:I don't really do homework at home. I have study periods, so I would just do my chores and stuff and I make sure that I stay on top of stuff so that I can have extra time after wrestling and wrestling was like pretty much the only thing I was doing the entire winter so you know in every wrestling season you will have a tough match or a high stakes match.
Speaker 1:How do you mentally prepare for that? How do you prepare for that young lady that you know is a state qualifier or somebody that's beat you before? How do you prepare for those types of matches?
Speaker 2:I just tell myself that I want it more and that she doesn't want it as much as I do, and it just gives me so much energy and I just go out there and I tell myself, if I can't win, I'm going to give her one hard time trying to get her to win.
Speaker 3:I usually just don't think about it until I get up there and I just remember that I have to do it. And I can't just say I don't want to wrestle, I don't want to do this match, I can't do that, so I have to do it, want to do this match like I can't do that, so I have to do it.
Speaker 1:And it doesn't matter who has more experience or if she is a state finalist, because she never wrestled me before, so talk to me a little bit about sisterhood and on a wrestling team, how do you guys define sisterhood and your expectations for sisterhood like what do you expect from your teammates?
Speaker 2:I know that whenever I go out on the mat I've got at least a couple people cheering for me, and that when I lose I've got some people trying to lift me back up. I just kind of expect my teammates to just be nice and be willing to practice hard and like work hard for something.
Speaker 3:Well, I worked not worked hard but I really focused on building individual relationships with each of my teammates and, I think, having the support because my family's my family didn't come to any of the matches and probably won't, like my sister came to one of them and that was when I had to wrestle up, so I didn't win that match, but I think having the support and having the reassurance there afterwards if you do lose is really a great tool.
Speaker 1:What's your favorite wrestling move and why?
Speaker 2:I love a fireman's carry because it's so easy to set up and hit in a match and most people fall for it. It's like my bread and butter. I can just hit it so easy. And then also, I've never hit one before in a match, but I want to hit a spladle. I love seeing people get spladles hit on them because it's just so funny. And I want to do it on a guy sometime, like when I'm in a guy's tournament and I want to hit a spladle.
Speaker 3:I really like high Cs because they're really easy for me to perform, because they're one quick motion and I have a lot of strength, especially in my legs. So I just have to pick them up after and just perform the movement. But towards the end of the season a double leg blast was my favorite because I think it's more fun.
Speaker 1:Do you prefer aggressive, fast-paced matches or do you prefer more technical, strategic bouts?
Speaker 2:I gotta say if the person's worse than me, I want to be more fast and aggressive, but if they're equal, then I want it to be a nice long match so that I can feel good about it after um, considering I got a 14 second pin at one of our tournaments.
Speaker 3:I don't like long matches. I just I just want to win. I just want to win the match and have it be over. So I like aggressive and fast matches, especially because most people don't expect that from me because of how I carry myself. Whenever I do be aggressive and fast, it catches them off guard. I probably won a few matches I otherwise wouldn't have won just from doing that you know, in wrestling you talk a lot about mental toughness.
Speaker 1:How important is it to be mentally tough compared to physically tough or physical having physical strength?
Speaker 2:if you don't have the mental capacity to be able to build yourself back up after a bad match, you're not going to get any better. Because you're not going to have the motivation to practice, you're not going to have the motivation to go work out after and when you get to that next tournament. If you're still in that funk, you're not going to perform well. So being mentally prepared is so much more important than being athletically prepared.
Speaker 3:In my opinion, being athletically prepared, in my opinion, I think being mentally prepared is very important as well as athletically but mentally, because if you sometimes you can see where people just give up before the match even started because they're not mentally prepared and they doubt theirself a lot. So if you don't have the right mindset and you don't have enough like enough belief in yourself that you can win, then you're not gonna win because you're gonna doubt yourself and the other person's not and they're gonna come out on top. And I think after you lose a match, thinking that that's like a forever thing, like your forever loser, is also a bad thing. I see some of our teammates too. That hinders them a lot and they just stop trying.
Speaker 1:What is your pre-match ritual or routine that gets you in the zone? She mentioned a little bit about yours. What do you guys think your pre-match ritual is?
Speaker 2:Mine. I got my little sheet that I read all my affirmations on Kind of embarrassing. But then I take my pre-workout shot and then I just walk the halls for like a while. I don't think I ever sit down at tournaments, I'm always just walking.
Speaker 3:I usually sit there and I talk to you or Jess, I talk to my coaches and my teammates and I just try to get my mind off of it so I don't scare myself. Or I just talk about how much I don't want to do that and I usually win the matches whenever I do that.
Speaker 1:So wrestling, you know. Dan Gable once said, once said once you wrestle, you can do anything else in life. How does wrestling empower other aspects of your life?
Speaker 2:when you're stronger, you're able to do stuff you're not normally able to do, and then also, like um, I feel a little safer walking the halls at school knowing that like I could probably take somebody in a fight. So I think that helps.
Speaker 3:I think it helps you build courage and not be afraid to face things that are hard. And like to face people one-on-one takes a lot of courage and to know, like I have to go out there and fight them, like you're literally volunteering to like, like, go get beat up or be booked up on a daily basis, so I think that helps a lot if you could come back and give yourself a younger self like um and maybe it's from the start of the season One piece of advice about wrestling, what would it be?
Speaker 1:Some advice that, looking back on it from where you started, what kind of advice would you give yourself?
Speaker 2:Don't be afraid of your teammates, because even if you haven't met them, they're still your teammates and they'll be there for you. Also, dieting is very important and nutrition is important.
Speaker 3:I used to come to practice feeling sick all the time because I wasn't eating right, and then when I started finally learning how to cut weight properly and I would eat the right foods for lunch, then I felt so much better and I wish I had known that before, because I probably could have performed better if I knew that my younger self to do a sport at, because I wouldn't play sports, I like refused, but at the beginning of the season, to always try my best, even when I felt like I wasn't going to win, and to definitely eat more, because after our matches I would go home and I would be like starving Because it burns a lot of your energy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Now you talked about dieting right and so looking towards to next year. What are some of the things that you will do to help you with your dieting?
Speaker 2:I'm not going to eat the school lunch anymore. I meal prep and I'll pack my pack.
Speaker 3:Oh, pack my lunch and probably cut weight honestly um, I think that I'll just do the same thing, except I'll try to eat more like higher, more filling things before practice. I do eat the school lunch because some would be real good, but I just basically the same thing I do this year I make sure I get a lot of protein and make sure my meals are protein-based and I have enough carbs to have energy for wrestling practice, and make sure I drink a lot more water.
Speaker 1:What legacy do you hope to leave behind in the world of girls wrestling?
Speaker 2:I want my name on the plaque for that scholarship up on the wall in the school.
Speaker 3:I didn't know there was a plaque for a scholarship, but you do now. I hope I also do that and I hope next year, whenever we get new girls, I make them feel comfortable and acclimated to the environment and help them prosper within the sport and let them know that it's not like a super hard or dangerous thing to do because a lot of people think it's dangerous. I don't think it's dangerous.
Speaker 1:Especially your grandmother. Granny thinks it's dangerous, granny thinks it's going to shut the whole process down.
Speaker 3:My dad thinks if it was like co-ed, he wouldn't let me do it. He laughed at me whenever I told him I was doing wrestling in the first place.
Speaker 2:I also hope I can be a better leader next year as a team captain and that the girls will actually feel comfortable enough to like tell me things and come to me for advice and like want me to support them.
Speaker 1:That's really powerful. That's really powerful, and you guys are both juniors, right.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So you guys are slated to be the seniors on the team next year, right, yeah, awesome, awesome. Now I'm going to ask you some funny questions. All right, what's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you during a match or at a tournament?
Speaker 2:One time sorry, this is a funny one One time I had a girl get up close and personal, right next to my neck, in my ear, and she growled at me.
Speaker 3:She went get back on the floor.
Speaker 2:That scared me. I did not get back on the floor but like ugh.
Speaker 3:I don't really think any of it was funny. I think my favorite time was one time I was trying to figure out how to read the board, like where it says like who's next. I went over there and I was talking to this girl and they were explaining to me like how to do it and she was like, yeah, I've been a wrestler for six years. I was like, well, I'm trying to figure out if I'm next. And she was like we're next. And I was like we. And she was like we and she's like, yeah, we're next. And I was like, uh, oh, my god.
Speaker 2:And then we went out there and it was like a two-man match and I won.
Speaker 1:Do you have any weird superstitions or good luck charms for competition?
Speaker 2:me. Yeah, I like to wear singlets um Me. Yeah, I like to wear singlets?
Speaker 3:Not really, no, I just don't. I just don't like talk about it too much, that's it.
Speaker 1:If you could wrestle any professional athlete, past or present, who would it be?
Speaker 2:Amit Allure. She um, she's the olympic world champion for the 140 weight class. She's so cool. I follow her on instagram. I check every post. I would love to wrestle with her sometime what's her name again?
Speaker 1:amit allure all right, is it emily or amit amit? A-m-i-t okay, amit n-n-e-l-O-R.
Speaker 2:All righty.
Speaker 1:Amit All right.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Anybody.
Speaker 2:I don't know. You want to wrestle Jordan Burroughs, don't you?
Speaker 3:Who is that? Who is that? I don't know who that is.
Speaker 1:Jordan Burroughs is an. Olympian national champion, just an all-around stud, he was.
Speaker 2:He's scary. I only have one favorite athlete. Who is that?
Speaker 3:Paige Beckers.
Speaker 1:Would you wrestle Paige?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I probably wouldn't win, though, because she's super tall.
Speaker 1:Paige is a baller.
Speaker 3:No, you'd let her win. No, she's super tall. I'm not good at wrestling. She's like almost six foot.
Speaker 1:Oh, Paige is taller than six foot, I think she's about six foot Paige is taller than 6'2".
Speaker 2:She's a basketball player. She's probably like 6'5".
Speaker 1:She's not that tall. She plays for UConn. She's about 6'2", 6'3". She can shoot.
Speaker 3:I'm 5'2".
Speaker 1:You are not 5'2".
Speaker 3:I am 5'2".
Speaker 1:Oh okay, you look taller than me. That's why I put you down at like 5'6 in the program. I'm going to start padding your stats like basketball coaches do. What songs always get you hyped before a match? What you listening to?
Speaker 3:I listen to a lot of SZA.
Speaker 1:SZA SZA, sza, all right, sza what song.
Speaker 3:Dove's in the Wind.
Speaker 1:Dove's in the Wind.
Speaker 3:Love Language. It's more calm, but I just like being calm before my matches.
Speaker 1:You better not say like Lil Durk or something who is that?
Speaker 3:No, I'm just messing with you. Or I listen to A Tribe Called Quest.
Speaker 1:You listen to Tribe Mm-hmm. All right, what you know about A Tribe Called Quest?
Speaker 3:My dad used to play it when I was little.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:Mine's not that interesting. I just listened to like Alex G or Deftones before usually.
Speaker 1:Alex G.
Speaker 2:Alex G.
Speaker 1:And Deftones.
Speaker 2:And some Radiohead, you know.
Speaker 1:Describe your wrestling style in three words.
Speaker 2:Aggressive Fast.
Speaker 1:Describe your wrestling style in three words Aggressive and fast. Fireman carry Aggressive fast fireman carry Fast aggressive.
Speaker 3:But I'm not like that aggressive. I'm still gentle Whenever I'm aggressive. I should really work on that. You told me I should work on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did. I didn't say it in those terms though.
Speaker 3:But, and Fun. I just have fun.
Speaker 2:I agree with that one. I second that Fun.
Speaker 1:Alright, so you guys are the future leaders of the program, right? I just have fun. I agree with that one. I second that Fun, all right, so you guys are the future leaders of the program, right? We talked about making sure. I think, claire, you mentioned one of your goals is to build better relationships or friendships with your teammates, and I think you said that as well. How do you, first of all, how do you define friendship?
Speaker 2:I think it's just someone that's going to have your back before or after anything, and they'll be willing to support you no matter what.
Speaker 3:Someone that's trustworthy and supportive, no matter what odds you guys are at or how you guys are relationship-wise. Someone that's still going to be there for you, whether they're mad at you or not.
Speaker 1:So how do you take those things, those concepts that you guys know that helps. You have friends that you've had and now you incorporate them into your teammates. What are some techniques that you guys are going to utilize to get your teammates to be better friends or to be better teammates?
Speaker 2:I'm probably going to try to actually make them get along, because they be arguing a lot sometimes.
Speaker 3:I just want them to know that they have someone they can ask for advice for anything that will bail them out of a situation um, this year I just tried to be there for them and learn things about them that would that I could do, that would make it easier for them and like make them feel more comfortable before and during their matches, and how to reassure them afterwards, and just the type of what they're more receptive to.
Speaker 1:How do you deal with when there's conflict on the team? How do you work through those issues without talking about any situations or names? How do you work through those types of situations?
Speaker 2:Out of sight, out of mind. I ignore them because it's kind of childish.
Speaker 1:But what I just heard you say, though, was going forward as a leader. You're going to have to figure out how to pull that in, so what does that look like?
Speaker 2:I haven't figured that out yet.
Speaker 1:You got some time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got like about a year to get my plan ready for these people that are on the team this year, like whenever they would be in the locker room too long, I just come and try to stress the importance to them of where we need to be, what we need to be doing, how that you have somewhere to be, you have places to be, people to see you need to go, and whenever they would get mad at each other, I try to talk to each individually and calm them down and like stress to them that their actions now will impact the things in the future and situations in the future, and that it's working against themselves to be at odds or do anything reckless just because they are at odds, and try to make them apologize to each other or at least figure out a solution to the problem.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the biggest things that happens within like schools nowadays is that there's so many distractions for you all, not just in school, but there's so many distractions in life. You know, you guys got cell phones, social media. How do you not allow those distractions to get in the way of what you feel like is important?
Speaker 3:Me. Yeah, I just try to remind myself that right now is a period in my life where I have the ability and the resources to grow and build for the future and that everything I, every brick I place now will make it easier to pursue what I want to in the future and make it easier on myself in the future and understand that I need to have a lot of discipline. That's something that wrestling helped me with was discipline, because even whenever I didn't want to go, I still did. Even whenever I didn't want to do something, I still did. And whenever it would be like before the weight cuts, before the weight weigh-ins and stuff, I would have to have a lot of self-discipline with what I ate and what I did, because my family likes to eat out a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, weigh-ins are definitely rough. I just remind myself that I'm going to be disappointed in myself later if I don't do what I'm supposed to do and put everything else aside and finish what's been started or even win a tournament. I just know that I don't want to be put in a position where someone else is getting their hand raised and I'm not, so I just set everything aside and prepare for that.
Speaker 1:Self-care. You guys spend a lot of time wrestling and school and all the other working and helping out at home and doing all this stuff. Now how do you guys manage your own self-care?
Speaker 2:Like do you mean like showering?
Speaker 1:No, I mean like just taking time for yourself, like just reading a book or listening to movies or watching television, and just taking some time for you that's not centered around anything structured yeah, I think that's important.
Speaker 2:I think that you need to carve out a block of time, like every night, just to do something for yourself what do you do? I I like to read and I also kind of like to crochet too.
Speaker 1:So you make hats and stuff and and like blankets, hats sweaters, just for fun. So did I hear Claire say she's going to make us a scarf? Did I hear? Should I be expecting an Omega Psi Phi scarf at some point?
Speaker 2:I don't know if you're going to want to wear them. They don't turn out too good.
Speaker 3:I just make sure to indulge in my hobbies and the things I know help me keep myself grounded and calm and help me connect with myself, because sometimes I get a little dissociated whenever I get stressed out, and I get stressed out a lot because I'm put in a lot of stressful situations on a daily basis, almost a constant. So I like to draw and do art. I'm really good at it, and I read sometimes and I meditate and I journal and I reflect on things within myself and try to get closer to myself. And I I read the Bible sometimes and I play with my pet hermit crabs too.
Speaker 1:How many do you have? I have two, All right. What are their names? I?
Speaker 3:was about to ask that Jamar and Peekaboo.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's cute.
Speaker 3:They're giant Like they're the size of my hand.
Speaker 2:How long have you had them for?
Speaker 3:Since July.
Speaker 2:Dang Dang Okay.
Speaker 1:All right. So here's an opportunity for you guys, so I'm going to put you on the spot. You guys get to ask Claire a couple questions, you get to ask Ambry a couple questions. While you guys are thinking about that, I'm going to throw a couple out for you your favorite musician, your favorite book that you like to read and the favorite TV show that you guys are watching.
Speaker 2:Favorite musician Probably Mitski. Favorite Mitski Mitski.
Speaker 1:Alright, how do you spell it?
Speaker 2:M-I, t-s-k-i, alright Mitski, I'm going to look it up. She's very poetic.
Speaker 1:I alright, mitski, I'm gonna look it up she's very poetic alright.
Speaker 2:I love Mitski TV shows. I like to watch Breaking Bad. I watch that with my friend Maddie a lot. That's like our favorite show. What else did you say? Book, book, favorite book my favorite book was probably oh, let me think I forgot the title. I see the book, but I don't know what it's called Dang it the Glass Castle. I think the author is Jeanette Walls, but I cannot remember right now.
Speaker 1:All right Book, music and TV show.
Speaker 3:Two of my favorite musicians are Jhene Aiko and SZA. I also listen to a lot of Beyonce too.
Speaker 1:The country songs too.
Speaker 3:Not really. I like Sweet Honeybuckin', though that's one of my favorite ones that are her country songs, and then my favorite ones that are country songs, All right. And then my favorite show. It's a show from when I was little. It's called Octonauts and it's like marine animals, it's like land animals. Go and help marine animals and it helps you learn about marine animals. I watch it all the time I in class too actually what was your favorite? Octonaut, oh my god um quasi, that's mine too.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, I love quasi. And um, oh my gosh, what's the penguin's name? I forgot pedro, right, yeah, yeah, I love ped, I love them both.
Speaker 3:And my favorite book? I don't really know, Because I've read a lot of books.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite?
Speaker 3:genre of book. I like romance books a lot.
Speaker 2:Ooh okay, but oh my gosh, it's just one book.
Speaker 3:I, for I, forget what it's called. This is like a problem. It's basically about a man and he lives inside his mind, but he doesn't want to be alive. Most of the time it's called like I forget, oh my god.
Speaker 2:The author was no, it's japanese. That's why I can't remember, is that the author, because I feel like I know what book you're talking about. Yeah, no Longer Human.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, yes, yes, yeah. No Longer Human. It's like I read it during winter. It's a very depressing book. It is.
Speaker 2:It's super real.
Speaker 3:It's like but I really liked it.
Speaker 1:It's nice to see the words that you feel like put on paper. All right, a couple questions for each other.
Speaker 2:Hmm, hmm, does it have to be Wrestling related?
Speaker 1:As long as it's appropriate.
Speaker 2:I don't want to start, I don't have any, I don't know.
Speaker 3:Is it hard going to school With your twin sister?
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm the least popular, I'm not the popular one, so everybody knows her and I have to follow her around Like, as she greets, like Her thousands of friends. It's annoying you, like her thousands of friends.
Speaker 1:It's annoying. It's her thousands of friends. That's interesting. That's a whole nother podcast within itself. The role of a twin right.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh, shoot, I forgot what I was going to ask you got something else, fire it out.
Speaker 3:I know that you've gone like over the past few years you've worked on learning about yourself. Was that hard? Because I know you and Lucy are so different but you're exposed to her in a constant and you guys have similar friends. But you're exposed to her in a constant and you guys have similar friends, but you're so different from her.
Speaker 2:I just think a lot. It's like I like to sit and write papers and I do a lot of self-reflection. Honestly, it's just that's actually a hobby of mine is to sit and write about topics I know and just to think about them I don't know.
Speaker 1:You guys both sound like poets, so this is going to be a shameless plug.
Speaker 3:You guys should join the Wayne.
Speaker 2:County.
Speaker 3:Writers.
Speaker 1:I was a part of it. Yeah, you should come back. I'll think about it you got any questions for Ambria hmm, uh, I don't know how to word it.
Speaker 2:I feel like you're a very mature person.
Speaker 3:What do you think it took to get there, just being put in a lot of situations that required me to step up and take place of roles I shouldn't have had to be put in, but I overcame that anyways and understanding the consequences of actions and understanding that everything does matter, like every little thing does matter.
Speaker 2:How else do you feel like that helped you to this day and age?
Speaker 3:I feel like I'm a very positive person now because I uplift myself, but I also try to uplift others whenever I can. Even if it's simple, small things that can change a lot about how someone feels about themselves and how their day is going, and about someone's life. If there's something you say to someone one day could be their motivant throughout their lifetime to follow their passion or be themselves or connect with others.
Speaker 2:I agree. I always see you talking to somebody in the hallway so I know what effect do you feel like wrestling had on any outside relationships that you had before?
Speaker 3:Well, I think it helped me to stand up for myself and stop being friends with people who very obviously held a secret animosity towards me especially because it was not very secret and I just let a lot of stuff slide and a lot of comments slide. Let a lot of stuff slide and a lot of comments slide, but I started sticking up for myself and not caring as much or like at all about losing people, because I was more focused on wrestling. I understood that if people were really there for me, they wouldn't be doing that in the first place and I shouldn't want people to like. I shouldn't be worried about losing people and I shouldn't want people around me who act like that and treat me like that.
Speaker 1:Well, ladies, thank you for this time you guys have spent with us Before we leave. There was always one thing that we would always shout out as a group Guys, let's, I want to hear, let's hear it real quick, I start. Who wants to start it off?
Speaker 2:the mantra yes, I got you, I am only one. I am only one, but still I am one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything and because I cannot do everything.
Speaker 3:I will not refuse. I do everything. I will not refuse, I will not refuse To do, to do the something, the something that we can do, that we can do.
Speaker 1:Out of the Mouth of Babes, a podcast for our future leaders. Thank you all.