“Honestly, if it weren’t for wrestling, I don’t think I would be a teacher right now,” Coach Lopez, a freshman biology teacher and wrestling coach said.
Coach Lopez said that when he started wrestling back in junior year, he was influenced by one of his friends. Later on, wrestling opened many doors for him.
After talking to a couple of the girls, most of them said one similar thing: they all mentioned how wrestling has impacted their lives.
“Wrestling definitely helped me be more confident,” junior Jasmine Dueñas said.
Dueñas also said that she joined wrestling to try something new, not knowing how life-changing it could be.
Of course, everyone on the team joined for different reasons.
“I decided to follow in my brother’s footsteps,” sophomore Ashley Perez said.
Perez explained that her goal is to be like her brother, if not better. This is one perfect example of how many of these girls decided to give wrestling a try.
Siboney Sarmiento, a sophomore, is the manager for the girls’ wrestling team. She explained how wrestling has impacted her.
“It really made me manage my time better,” Sarmiento said. “It sparked an interest in joining the team.”
Joining the wrestling team has created new opportunities for everyone.
When asked for advice for people considering joining wrestling, Coach Lopez said, “You’re in high school; this is a good time to try new things. You can try it out and if you don’t like it, then you’re back to square one; you don’t have to be in the sport. But if you do try it out, and you do like it, then that can change your life and put you [on] a different course, so it doesn’t hurt to try and see if you like it.”
