People tend to avoid struggle as much as possible. A life without struggle might sound ideal for most, but there is a level of satisfaction that comes from experiencing difficult moments, overcoming them, and perhaps most importantly, growing from them. This is the case with Senior Kylee Park, the UC High Varsity Girls Wrestling Team Captain.
Park said, “Before I started wrestling, I was doing jiu-jitsu outside of school, so when looking for a sport to join, I was looking for one closest to jiu-jitsu, and there was wrestling.” However, she soon realized that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy.
Park stated, “Wrestling is not like any other sport out there. In my opinion, it is the hardest sport our school offers. It’s the only sport where everyone’s at an equal learning level; girls train like boys, and boys train like girls. Throughout the seasons, you learn that wrestling is all mental over physical, and I struggled to realize this until this year. You wouldn’t get far in this sport without the right mentality.”
Park also noted the difficulty of the sport’s training. She said, “Wrestlers need to have the flexibility of a gymnast, the strength of a bodybuilder, the speed of a track runner, and the mentality of a chess player. We try to cover all those areas at each practice, and I’m getting a lot better each practice. When it comes to wrestling, senior year me compared to sophomore year me is so different, and I have improved greatly.”
She stated, “I think my time spent in wrestling has been one hundred percent worth the while. Although I didn’t get to wrestle my freshman year due to COVID-19, I think I’ve made up for some of the time I missed through the off-season workouts and practicing on my own time.” She noticed this very sentiment across all of her teammates, stating, “Our Girls’ Team has improved so much. Looking back at old videos and comparing them to now, you can tell the difference, and it just makes me feel like a proud mom every time.”
Like any good athlete, Park knows her strengths and weaknesses. She stated, “One of my strengths in this sport is my flexibility, as it helps when trying to escape from a pin. Something I need to work on is my mentality before my matches. I tend to psych myself out because it can be nerve-racking.”
Park’s teammates have pointed out certain remarkable aspects of her character, like Senior Lucy Fairweather, who has known her since the sixth grade. Fairweather stated, “She’s a really strong person. She’s always at the gym to gain more muscle to help the team, and the whole team knows that she’ll always show up, and that she’ll always be early to every practice to get extra work in. Honestly, she’s the most determined person I know.”
As for Park’s strongest area at the sport, Fairweather noted her leadership. “Her performance so far has been amazing. She’s excelling in all the tournaments we’ve been at. Kylee is very organized and responsible; she’s on top of what she needs to do, and it amazes me how much she gets accomplished,” said Fairweather.
Team Manager Senior Ellie Goss agrees with this sentiment. “She’s a really nice person, and as the captain of the team. She’s very good at motivating the people on the team and keeping them in check with weight and everything else of that sort,” said Goss.
Fairweather believes that “…this season has been challenging, but we’ve been doing our best and showing everyone what we can do. I feel like our team will make it far, and especially certain individuals like Kylee. I’m very confident in our team.”
Park echoed this statement: “Our season so far is looking great. I can see so much improvement in everyone, including myself.” Park and her teammates embrace the struggle to reach their goals, and now she has her eyes set on one to attain: making it to state competitions.