Even in the Darkest Times, There's always a Ray of Light by Emalie

Even in the Darkest Times, There's always a Ray of Light by Emalie - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

For four years, I have been a volunteer coach for youth wrestling for multiple clubs in my community. It has shown me so many new perspectives about this glorious sport I have competed in for eleven years now, but before I get into what it has shown me, I would like you to understand my story and why what coaching youth wrestling has shown me is so impactful.
When I first started wrestling, I was seven years old. I was one of very few girls in my entire state that dared to do something no one else would. My own parents thought I was insane when I had first asked to try it. The first year my brother wrestled, I was six. He was four at the time, and I had asked my parents that season if I could try what he was doing, because I thought “hey if he can do it, why can’t I?” They immediately turned me down, and I was upset. Little did I know, they were just trying to protect their little girl, and they were scared because no other girls wrestled. The following year, my brother decided he wanted to wrestle again, and after arguing (and maybe a couple fits) they let me try a practice, thinking I’d hate it and prove them right, yet they couldn’t have been more wrong. The minute I stepped onto the mat with my hair in a ponytail and my shoes laced up, and tied up with my partner, I fell in love. The first few years were easy, although I believe now that was mostly because I was so young and so naive. When I was around ten or twelve, I started to notice the hate and the comments. People would tell me I was wrestling for “the wrong reasons because you’re a girl” or that I was “desperate to get attention/touched by guys.” I was so confused as to why people were so mean and unkind. I pushed through, and now I am a starting wrestler for my boys’ high school varsity team. I have been able to overcome the crudest of people and the harshest of conditions, and the reason I began coaching is to teach young kids what the sport has taught me, yet I never thought I’d learn so much from the kids in return.
The kids have helped me grow, have pushed me out of my comfort zone, and even have gotten on my nerves a tad, but they’re kids, and kids will definitely get on your nerves. The kids, keep in mind they are as young as four, and can be as old as thirteen, have helped me fall back in love with wrestling. For a while, during my freshman and sophomore years of high school, it was a very rough time, but coaching helped get me through it. Seeing the kids so happy, so full of life, showed me that even in the darkest of times, there’s always a ray of light somewhere to be found. The kids taught me that, even in a sport where success is solely measured by what you put in yourself, you need others to help you, and that you rely on others in this sport, just as much as you rely on the work you put in yourself. They have taught me that even if you are gifted with the right abilities in this sport, you won’t get anywhere in it if you don’t work. There was one kid I coached last year, my junior year of high school, who had the talent to win everything and be a state champion at eight years old, but he didn’t put in the work. Once districts rolled around, it showed he didn’t put in the work. He barely made it past districts to sectionals, and got knocked out of the running for state there. The kids have also taught me that even in a sport where it’s all about what you are willing to take, giving is just as important. I wouldn’t be as driven as I am now, if it weren’t for these kids. Because of them, I have been able to obtain a Division II scholarship, although it is not for a lot, it is almost impossible for a female wrestler to achieve.
These kids are the reason I am still in this sport. I was ready to give everything up my freshman and sophomore years, but as soon as I walked into the room the first night I began coaching my freshman year, they have shown me what it really means to compete in this sport for someone else, which is exactly what I plan to do with my college career. I plan to compete for these kids.