Girls Wrestle Despite Sport’s Rough Reputation

ANAHEIM —  When Daneen Smith decided to go out for wrestling as a freshman at Esperanza High, she knew she would be in for some finger-wagging.

Smith, however, is not easily deterred. And despite pleas from family members and friends, she went ahead with her plans. Three years later, Smith is getting ready for her third season.

“When I told my mom I was going out for wrestling, she was so upset. My dad said if I want to give it a try, then I should do it. But my mom hated the idea. But after awhile, after my mom watched me wrestle, she started to get into it,” Smith said.

Smith, who also plays soccer and swims, said she’s always been a competitive person. And as long as she could remember, she had wanted to try wrestling.

“I’m a girl who likes to play rough,” Smith said. “In soccer, I’m always getting in trouble for knocking down people and playing rough. But that’s what I love about wrestling. It’s a rough sport.”

Smith said sometimes when she wrestles a guy, she’ll notice him holding back. “I guess he thinks he’s going to hurt me or something. But when I show him I’m serious about winning, he’ll start wrestling hard. . . . He doesn’t want to get beat. Especially by a girl.”

Smith, along with five others on the team, is among a handful of girls in the county who compete in wrestling.

“I really like to wrestle. Since I’ve been wrestling, I’ve gained a lot of self-assurance,” Smith said. “I would like to see more girls come out. And maybe one day there will be a separate division for girls.”

In most cases, coaches grudgingly accept girls who try out for their teams. But others, like Steve Marshall, who coaches Smith, is happy to see the girls’ interest in the sport.

“I think it’s great that girls are coming out for wrestling,” Marshall said. “I would like to see the girls’ ranks grow to the point that a separate division would be created. Like what happened with girls’ water polo.”

Marshall said despite what some coaches might think, he does not treat the girls differently than the boys.

“I tell them before they join that if they think they’ll be treated any differently than the boys, they’re wrong,” Marshall said. “But in most cases, these girls aren’t looking for special treatment. They want to wrestle.”

At Villa Park, Coach Steve Stewart said two girls have come out for the team. Stewart, a veteran coach, is starting his first year there. The former University and Esperanza coach has a reputation for running a tough program.

“The girls are new to wrestling. And when they came to me about joining the team, I explained to them how difficult the sport can be. That it requires dedication and commitment. They seemed to understand that, so I say, ‘Why not,’ ” Stewart said.

Although Southern Section rules do not prohibit girls from going out for wrestling, Stewart said the bottom line is that it’s tough for girls to make the varsity lineup.

For the most part, the only action the girls see is in frosh-soph, junior varsity meets, or varsity meets in which the score is lopsided. Sometimes the girls are on the “B” team at tournaments.

“It’s tough for a girl to get some varsity matches,” Marshall said. “I can only think of one girl, and she was from Pioneer [in Whittier]. She was pretty good and was wrestling since she was a young girl. But she was only one wrestler.”

Alan Clinton has coached wrestling at El Modena High for 14 years. His teams are ranked in the top 10 every season. There are no girls wrestling on his team.

“My personal opinion is that like any sport, if girls have their own division, then I’m all for it. But I just can’t get behind coed wrestling,” Clinton said. “I mean, we try to teach our young men moral values and respect for women, then we tell them to go out an beat the crap out of them? No, it should be separate.”

Like Clinton, Anaheim Coach Joe Mark has no girls on his team.

“I don’t have a problem with it. But I would like to talk to the parents before a girl comes out,” Mark said.