Wrestling is now one of the fastest growing sports for girls and women.
One local wrestler and the Pleasant Valley Wrestling Club are helping that.
The Pleasant Valley Wrestling Club announced Roxanne Saldivar as the new girls’ wrestling coach.
She’s no stranger to the sport.
“My dad decided, hey, since she’s coming to every meet, why don’t we try putting her on the mat?’ and from there in kindergarten it really took off. I loved it,” says Roxanne..
The family’s favorite sport was ingrained in Roxanne’s life from an early age. Her experience on the mat wasn’t always easy.
“It was very hard, uhm… You were kind of the outcast.”
In a male dominated sport Roxanne struggled to find her place.
But that didn’t stop her from winning matches and collecting medals..
“You can be a princess and can go out on the mat and still dominate and be tough and still have manners and be polite and get a great education.”
She says not only is the sport fun but it teaches girls valuable skills.
“I really believe that wrestling is the foundation for self-defense too. Even if you don’t plan on going big, it’s something good as a female to get involved with and just have a foundation of self-defense,” shares Roxanne.
Her new role as coach is something she’s looking forward to.
“I always had male coaches and they weren’t really too keen on it at that time, so i’m super ecstatic to coach female girls.”
And Roxanne says come October 22nd, she can’t wait to share the techniques to becoming a top wrestler.
To sign up for the girls wrestling team, check out their website here.
