Female wrestlers

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JitsMom

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My DD is skipping swim season and joining the boys wrestling team this season. She asked me about how usna feels about females wrestlers. I told her there's none on their roster. She's been training in jiu jitsu for 6 years, we anticipate her doing quite well. Would she be able to join usna's men's team if she's accepted?

On a side note, she's not a good tester. She struggles through her AP classes as she always gets low test scores. This may be the case with SATs. She's hoping to get an athletic recruitment. She's a varsity field hockey player, varsity swimmer, and varsity javelin. She's an average athlete and hopes to stand out as a wrestler.
 
Men's wrestling is a D1 sport at USNA. Doesn't look like there's a women's wrestling team, either at varsity or club level.

So two questions for you to ask: Does the NCAA sanction women participating in men's wrestling? If so, does your DD have D1 talent?

To determine whether she has potential to be a D1 athlete in the other sports, compare her swimming and javelin results with USNA team results that are easily found online. How does she compare? For field hockey, is she already being recruited by other D1 schools?

Athletic recruiting is not the same thing at the SAs as it is at other colleges. So read the many threads here about that topic. In the end, unless your DD is a truly stellar athlete, don't make this your sole or main angle for winning offer of appointment.
 
Wrestling is a great sport, and I believe that all Plebes do it during Plebe Summer. If she were to join her High School Wrestling team and stay with it, I think that would be great. If she were to get a Varsity spot and keep it, that would be outstanding. That is just simply my opinion, mind you.

Edit:
I may not have all the info here. It looks like @MidCakePa slipped in there just ahead of me and is assuming that we're talking about college-level wrestling, and I'm thinking that your daughter isn't there yet, and is a candidate or will be a candidate?
 
Wrestling is a tough sport that requires years of training, dedication, guts and lots of humility. Most successful wrestlers (male and female) begin as young children, much like baseball little leaguers. However, setting success/winning aside, wrestling is a required class for all Plebes as it teaches fundamental skills, mental toughness, and strengthens personal character. Don't give up the ship!
 
DS has trained jiu jitsu since age 10, and joined his HS wrestling team as a freshman. It is an 'easier' transition with some grappling experience, but wrestling scholarships to D1 schools are few and very far between. It's tough. For comparison purposes, DS is a Pan AM jits champion (so, he's pretty good at jiu jitsu) and finally qualified for the state wrestling tournament last year. He is not, at all, being recruited for a wrestling scholarship. He does love it though!
 
I can’t comment on D1 possibilities but I will say that my DS wrestled in high school against a few teams that had female wrestlers in some weight classes. They were treated with equal respect an we’re not dismissed as worthy competitors (they were). They did have a disadvantage in the area of upper body strength. Wrestling requires great dedication and discipline that cannot but help in an application and would be excellent mental and physical training for an SA. Being on a boys varsity team and lettering would likely get the attention of admissions. But making varsity and lettering could be very difficult without prior wrestling experience and your DD would need to judge what the existing competition is like for her prospective weight classes at her school (could she even make varsity?). At large schools, there is typically one varsity wrestler at a given weight class and 2 or 3 underclassmen at the JV level working hard to be next in line.
 
As @THParent mentions, I may have misunderstood the question. If it’s whether your DD will be a more attractive candidate to USNA because she’s a female wrestler, then in fact I did. So let me take another stab at an answer.

I wouldn’t expect one year as a female wrestler on a male team to be anymore meaningful than two or three or four years on a female team such as volleyball or tennis or basketball. Especially if it appears to be a ploy to stand out for the sake of admission.

It’s a novelty for sure, but don’t expect that to put her over the top. And be ready to answer the question of why she quit swimming to take up wrestling in senior year. Not that wrestling is a bad thing —not at all — but USNA likes to know the logic behind extracurriculars. That is, did you do things to look good or gather titles or collect clubs? Or did you do them out of genuine interest and the desire to grow and lead.
 
To amplify on MidCakePa, if switching sports for senior year, it would be nearly impossible to gage (and represent on an application) sufficient participation, competitiveness, and success to have it be a meaningful contribution to one’s portfolio. That’s regardless of the sport.
 
She would whoop my son in wrestling class for sure.

But I don’t think any woman could compete in varsity wrestling for one year and make a D1 wrestling team, even if she was a black belt in BJJ.

Could she join the team? Sure, if she is good enough. But - the male wrestlers are just too strong.
 
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My DD is currently taking a required Plebe wrestling class at the USNA while last quarter she took boxing and did very well as she boxed against other female Plebes. There are many diverse athletic opportunities at the Naval Academy but varsity sports recruitment requires DI level talent. Has your DD considered the Coast Guard Academy which participates in DIII sports?

FYI...Last year the top female javelin thrower at Navy had a season best throw of 163 feet. Compare that to the top Coast Guard javelin thrower who last year had a season best of 99 feet. Only 13 states in the country allow high school athletes to throw the javelin and you live in one of them. Javelin throwers are in demand at the collegiate level. Good luck to your DD.
 
There are zero Div 1 women's wrestling programs as of right now. Although I have not scoured every single roster, I do follow the sport very carefully, and have never seen a woman on a D1 men's wrestling team roster.

There are dozens and dozens of women's college wrestling teams, however. They principally exist at NAIA and some D2/3 schools.
 
JitsMom said:
My DD is skipping swim season and joining the boys wrestling team this season. She's an average athlete and hopes to stand out as a wrestler.
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As the father of a successful high school wrestler I can tell you with absolute certainly, no inexperienced kid (regardless of gender) is going to walk onto the mat and stand out. I've seen two first year all-state football players (great athletes) struggle all season long against mid level wrestlers. The sport is far more demanding and technical than most realize.

My DS was a Section 1 Champ (Large Schools) and an excellent, multi-sport varsity athlete. He will be the first one to tell you, Div 1 college wrestling is a completely different ball game.
 
ders_dad said:
To amplify on MidCakePa, if switching sports for senior year, it would be nearly impossible to gage (and represent on an application) sufficient participation, competitiveness, and success to have it be a meaningful contribution to one’s portfolio. That’s regardless of the sport.
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She's a junior
 
I don't think women's wrestling is a sanctioned NCAA sport. If she wrestled with the men, she would get crushed. I say this as a dad who wrestled back in the day and who has two male wrestlers as sons, one of whom is currently still wrestling. Some of the meets have girls wrestling, and I enjoy watching it. I also hope that it does become a sanctioned NCAA sport for women. It is a great sport, and involves more team work than most may realize. I have seen a few girls who have tried to wrestle with the boys, and my son has already told me he would forfeit such a match regardless of what was at stake. I like to think I raised him right ;)
 
Jeepman said:
... I have seen a few girls who have tried to wrestle with the boys, and my son has already told me he would forfeit such a match regardless of what was at stake. I like to think I raised him right ;)
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How is that right? If she chooses to compete why not compete rather than forfeit? My son wrestled with girls on his team since age 5. One of these great practice partners, leaders, and teachers (female) on the mat is now competing with the US Women's National Team. She would not be where she is today if fathers influenced their sons to not compete. Competing at the collegiate level isn't likely but why stifle the competition and opportunity when it's not necessary.

Training to be an officer, and as an officer in any military service he will be working, training, and in combat with women. Don't stifle the competition in wrestling or the military that makes them all stronger.
 
AROTC Parent said:
How is that right? If she chooses to compete why not compete rather than forfeit? My son wrestled with girls on his team since age 5. One of these great practice partners, leaders, and teachers (female) on the mat is now competing with the US Women's National Team. She would not be where she is today if fathers influenced their sons to not compete. Competing at the collegiate level isn't likely but why stifle the competition and opportunity when it's not necessary.

Training to be an officer, and as an officer in any military service he will be working, training, and in combat with women. Don't stifle the competition in wrestling or the military that makes them all stronger.
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It's right for us, with our values. It may not be right for you. Of course, sometimes we don't know what we would do in a particular situation until the situation actually becomes a reality. In this case, I am sure there are boys out there who would wrestle girls in high school and before, especially in a practice. In this case, what is "necessary" is something we probably don't agree on, and that's that.
 
MidCakePa said:
As @THParent mentions, I may have misunderstood the question. If it’s whether your DD will be a more attractive candidate to USNA because she’s a female wrestler, then in fact I did. So let me take another stab at an answer.

I wouldn’t expect one year as a female wrestler on a male team to be anymore meaningful than two or three or four years on a female team such as volleyball or tennis or basketball. Especially if it appears to be a ploy to stand out for the sake of admission.
Jeepman said:
If she wrestled with the men, she would get crushed.
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My daughter has been jiu jitsu training for over 6 years. Her tournament record is 30 wins-7 losses. Over 10 of those wins were against boys, and some of those boys were in higher weight classes than her. None of them were decisions either, all of them were submissions. She would NOT get crushed! I'd like to find a boy out there that's her weight that would beat her!
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Wrestling is not JJ. Different sport altogether.

Yes, I believe she would get crushed by a D1 wrestler.

I hope I am proven wrong. And I hope she goes undefeated in varsity wrestling and you keep us posted!

And I hope she makes it to USNA. Sounds like a tough kid!
 
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