OVIEDO, Fla.— It’s another afternoon in the Hagerty wrestling room.
The season is well underway as the road to states continues.
But over the years something has changed.
“We had one girl my first girl here. One or two the second year. Last year we had about five or six girls and this year we are at over ten,” said Scotty Diaz, Hagerty’s head wrestling coach.
There has been a steady rise in girls wrestling.
“Just to show that anybody can do this sport. I think this is a phenomenal sport and it shouldn’t be limited to just the boys,” said Coach Diaz.
Hagerty junior, Jada Llamido has been wrestling since 6th grade.
“I love the sport because it makes me motivated to win and to see my team win and all of that,” said Jada Llamido, a junior at Hagerty.
She wins a lot. In fact, Llamido is currently ranked 7th in the nation for girls wrestling.
“She is one of the hardest workers in the room. I don’t know if there is anyone else in our room that will outwork her,” said Coach Diaz.
She is a true role model for the sport.
“It shows me that girls can do exactly what boys can do,” said Llamido.
Proving that in wrestling, gender doesn’t matter.
“To me it doesn’t really matter if you are girl or boy because it’s all technique and strategy so it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl you can still kick a boys butt,” said Llamido.
It also opens the doors for more people to reap the benefits of the sport.
“It did so much for me as a person and I think that it can do a lot for a lot of people as far as gaining confidence, discipline, and things like that,” said Coach Diaz.
This growth is more than just a win on the mat.
“It gives me hope that more colleges will have girls wrestling not just a few colleges because college for boys wrestling is super big that anyone can go to any state and can be like oh I want to go there they have boys wrestling instead girls is like they only have it as these states so more options for girls,” said Llamido.
A change that gives a chance for the future.
“I have a four year old little girl who comes to club practice with me and she is always like daddy I want to wrestle and I want her to have the opportunity if that’s what she wants to do,” said Coach Diaz.