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GRYPHON WRESTLER HAS
A HEADLOCK ON SUCCESS
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World junior champion is Canada's top female
aboriginal athlete of the year
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BY LORI BONA HUNT 2/27/03
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I expected Tara Hedican to be larger than life. The second-year history student is the first Canadian woman to win a world junior wrestling championship. She's also a two-time Canadian junior national champion and a three-time Canadian senior national silver medallist. This week, she received the Tom Longboat Award as the country's top female aboriginal athlete of the year, beating out competitors from all other sports. Her next goal is to be among the first women to wrestle at the Olympics.
I'm so sure I can pick her out of a crowd that I confidently tell her just to show up at a popular coffee spot on campus for our interview. Never mind that it's high noon in the world of coffee drinkers and that there's certain to be at least 100 other people around. Someone with her athletic ability and résumé of medals and awards must surely have an aura about her.
Good thing Hedican spots me and my notebook first. The 20-year-old is shorter and smaller than I anticipated, with a quiet voice and a shy smile. Meeting her is a refreshing reminder that stereotypes are usually just that, and a reaffirmation of just how little I know about wrestling. It's a sport that relies as much on intellectual strength as physical prowess, Hedican tells me.
"That's what I like about it. When you're out there on the mat, it's just you and your opponent. You don't have a team with you. I just take it one point at a time, one match at a time. I try not to look too far ahead."
That's the secret of her success, says Doug Cox, who coaches both the Guelph Wresting Club and the Gryphon team. "Tara is strong and her technique is good, but her mental state is the best," says Cox, who, along with high school coach Mark Howlett and fellow Guelph Wrestling Club coach Dave Mair, has worked with Hedican since her mid-teens.
"Once you're among the top 100 wrestlers, you're all basically at the same level and it becomes a mental game," says Cox. "This is where Tara shines. She thrives on competition. I think she likes the pressure."
Since enrolling at U of G, Hedican, who also plays on the Gryphon rugby team, has captured gold at both the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and the Ontario University Athletics championships and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at both competitions. In addition, she won gold at the Dave Shultz Memorial Tournament in Colorado this year, was the 2001 Junior National's Most Outstanding Wrestler and Senior Provincial 2001 champion and received U of G's Mary Beverly-Burton Rookie of the Year Award.
Hedican won the world junior title (a category for people under 20) last fall in Switzerland. She says standing atop the podium listening to O Canada furthered her ambition to compete in the 2004 Olympics, which, if efforts are successful, will be the first games to include women's wrestling.
"When I was still in high school, I told my coach: 'I want to be in the Olympics.' Women's wrestling wasn't even on its way to becoming an Olympic sport, but he just said: 'Go for it.'"
Cox, himself a former Olympian, says he knew from the start that Hedican had what it takes to be a champion. "Here was this 15-year-old kid, showing up five nights a week to practise with the university students. She was always here on time, ready to get the job done."
And the same holds true today. I stop by the Athletics Centre one evening and find Hedican out on the mats practising moves with other Wrestling Club members, flipping people over her shoulder and pinning them down with ease. She explains later that they were working on technique, which is why it looked effortless, and assures me that being slammed to the mat isn't painful. "Wrestlers hardly ever get injured. You only get hurt when you're up against someone who doesn't know what they're doing."
Hedican, who is the daughter of Prof. Ed Hedican, Sociology and Anthropology, has been wrestling since she was 12. She discovered the sport by chance.
"I was in junior high and heard they were looking for girls for the wrestling team, so I just thought I'd give it a try."
She didn't realize just how good she was until high school, when "I hardly ever lost any matches. I have a bit of natural talent, but the main reason I do well is that I work a lot harder than most people do."
Hedican, who wrestles in the 63-kilogram weight class, practises six days a week, in addition to running about six hours a week and weight training before competitions.
"Plus, I've been practising with university athletes since I was in Grade 10. I think that has given me an advantage."
Zoltan Hunyady was one of those university athletes. As a Gryphon, he was a CIS champion and a three-time All-Canadian and is still an active competitor for the Guelph Wrestling Club. He has considered himself Hedican's teammate for the past five years.
"I was already in my third or fourth year at U of G when she started practising here," he says. "I knew right away she would be good. She is by far the most aggressive female wrestler I've ever seen and has a lot of natural ability. She's become a wonderful draw for the club - it's great to have the world junior champion here."
Hedican has only recently begun to understand that being a champion often means being a role model.
"I guess younger athletes do look to me as an example," she says, adding - with just a hint of pride - that both her younger sisters wrestle. She also conducts sports clinics and gives motivational talks to children across the province.
The Longboat Award has special meaning for her as well. Growing up in Guelph, she didn't realize the effect her accomplishments might have on other aboriginal athletes. "I want to be someone that other aboriginal kids can look up to," she says.
For Cox, seeing Hedican flourish in this new role is more satisfying than any of her athletic successes.
"When I first met her, she was so shy, she would look at the ground when you talked to her. Now she is very different. That's what is so great about sports - they can convert a kid from being shy to being self-confident by building up his or her self-esteem. With Tara, that's the greatest thing for me to have witnessed."
When it comes to the future, Hedican isn't sure what she'll do after university, but she is certain about one thing: "Wrestling will always be in my life." She notes that many competitors continue into their 30s and even beyond.
"Wrestlers come in all different shapes and sizes - that's why I like it. Being short can be an advantage, being tall can be an advantage. There is room for all body types. It just depends on what you do with your body type."
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Alaskan woman captures U.S. title
ELITE: O'Donnell will get an opportunity to go to the 2004 Olympics.
By Eric Smith
Anchorage Daily News (Published: May 14, 2003)
When the Olympics roll out the welcome mat for women wrestlers next summer, Tela O'Donnell hopes to be among the first to walk across it.
The Alaskan established herself as a contender to do just that Saturday when she captured a U.S. Open national wrestling championship in Las Vegas.
O'Donnell, a 2001 graduate of Nikiski High, knocked off the top two wrestlers in the 55-kilogram (121 pounds) weight class for the title. Next she'll compete in the U.S. team trials in Indianapolis, where a berth in August's world championships is at stake.
O'Donnell, ranked third in her weight class entering the competition, eked out narrow decisions over top-ranked Tina George in the championship match and second-ranked Stephanie Murata in the semifinals.
In the championship match, O'Donnell beat George, a heavy favorite who wrestles for the Army, 6-4.
"It was back and forth the whole time and I won in the end," O'Donnell said.
In her semifinal victory, O'Donnell took an early lead and held off Murata at the end for a 9-8 victory.
"The last time I wrestled her she beat me, so it was exciting to see the improvement in myself," O'Donnell said.
During her senior year of high school, O'Donnell, who grew up in Homer, became the second girl in Alaska to place in the state wrestling tournament.
She initially enrolled at Pacific University in Forest Grove, where she competed on the school's women's wrestling team. Last year, she was selected to the U.S. Olympic Development program at Colorado Springs, where she has turned her focus to wrestling while attending classes part-time at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
O'Donnell, 20, said that even if she doesn't qualify for the world championships, she will take her wrestling prowess on the road. A trip to a wrestling tournament in Sweden last year gave her a case of wanderlust.
"Next year, regardless of how I do it, I'm going to go on tours to some places," she said. "It's neat to go to places I'm not used to."
There's one specific global destination she has in mind -- Athens, the host of next year's Summer Olympics, which will feature women's wrestling for the first time.
"My long-term goals are to be a better wrestler and be good enough to go to Olympics and compete well," she said.
For now, O'Donnell is savoring her victory in Las Vegas.
"It was exciting for me," she said. "I smiled really big."
And has she stopped smiling?
"Only when I fall asleep. And I'm not even sure about then."
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Women's wrestling tops in Canada
Karl Yu, Associate Staff Writer 3/24/03
Women's sport at Simon Fraser seems to be on a roll as of late. First the women's swim team captured the NAIA nationals in Kansas and now the SFU women's wrestling team has captured the CIS national title. It was a series of firsts for the women wrestlers. It was the first appearance ever for the women as well as their first national championship under the CIS.
Head coach Mike Jones, who was named coach of the year, was proud of his team. "We're excited we won and we expected them to win also. Over the last two years we've been undefeated in all of our dual meets against other teams, so we know we have a great group of kids."
The team wrestles in both the NAIA and the CIS which might seem strange to the casual observer. Coach Jones pointed out why that was. "The NAIA, at this point in time, doesn't really have a women's division. There are a number of teams but they really haven't established a national championship," he said.
The Clan scored 51 points while Calgary scored 33 and Brock claimed 26 at the nationals. Even though the margin of victory was large Jones was quick to praise rival Calgary. "I think that Calgary has been a No.1 program for a long time," said Jones. "Most of the girls on their team come from B.C." Then again Jones didn't think anyone posed a real threat to the team. "Nobody really pushed us," Jones said. "It didn't come down to one or two matches. We pretty well had it wrapped up after the first day."
While it takes teamwork to win championships, wrestling is an individual sport and many individuals from SFU gave great performances, particularly Carol Huhyn and Emily Richardson, who both took gold. Jones, obviously, had praise for both. "We've grown to expect Emily and Carol to win," he said. "Emily Richardson has had an absolutely great season. The first time she won the senior nationals was last year [in the NAIA], she went to the world's and placed eighth and she had a great season."
"Carol was ranked second or third in the world and she ended up kind of slipping last year coming fifth. Not that she's a bad wrestler; she just had one poor performance that cost her getting into the final. She's got a lot of great wrestling ahead. She's probably also one of the best athletes that we've ever had at the university," said Jones when speaking of his other gold medal winner.
When queried about the coach of the year award, Jones was humble in his reply. "They always give you that if you win, but it's nice to be recognised for those things," he said. "It's not something we're really out to try to win, it's something they give you if you're team does really well."
Coach Jones thought it would be possible to repeat their success but he also thought the CIS should make changes, in regards, to roster size at the nationals. "I think we can repeat next year, but we'd like to see some changes in the rules that would allow us to take more than one person per weight class," said Jones. "We're going to keep lobbying for that. Wrestling is the only sport in the CIS, NAIA, NCAA or any sport that allows only one competitor per school. I don't know why it ever developed that way, but it's something we'd like to change."
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College women wrestlers 'serious about the sport'
By KATIE N. JOHANNES
Tribune Staff Writer 3/1/03
Rachel Bernardes of Missouri Valley College gets on top of Heather Ball of Simon Fraser University during their match in the collegiate women's wrestling tournament at Great Falls High School's old gym Thursday evening. Ball won the match. |
In the stands, the guys may chuckle and make wisecracks about how the ladies look too tough to date, or too pretty to wrestle. But down on the mat, the ladies are all business.
About 100 people came and went from the grandstands in the old gym at Great Falls High School Thursday to check out a women's collegiate wrestling tournament.
"I've never seen it," said Renee Jensen of Havre who is in town to watch MSU-Northern men wrestle today. Her son redshirts on the team. "It seems pretty slow moving. I thought there would be more momentum. The men are more aggressive."
It was the first time she and many spectators, including men's wrestling officials, had seen the sport. Curiosity drew most of them to the gym.
Bob Zadick who was co-chairman of the women's tournament and self-described "gopher," was careful in his comments, not wanting to offend anyone. But he said he gets a little bored watching the women.
"The competition is not quite as advanced," Zadick said. "It's a different sport (from men's). I'm not against women's sports. I think it's great for women. But their strength and skill level and experience -- they haven't been in it as long."
Zadick is quick to report that his opinion is shaped by the years he's spent watching world-class men's competitions. One son, Bill, is a U.S. freestyle-wrestling champion, and the other, Mike, is on his way as a senior at the University of Iowa.
He and men's wrestling official Jerry Middleton said the sport is gaining popularity, primarily because of a Title IX tradeoff. Federal legislation has forced some schools to add women's sports to accommodate a proportionate number of female students.
Asked directly if the girls measure up, and the guys will give respectful answers.
"They're pretty good," said 20-year-old Huron (S.D.) University wrestler Eugene Pierre. "There are some talented girls."
But he said he's heard talk among his buddies that the wrestling girls are "all bulky like men," or that they're checking out the ladies in their singlets.
"Not you, though, right?" shouted one of his friends.
Malissa Sherwood, 26, has heard it all before. She's one of Missouri Valley College's star wrestlers in the 121-pound class.
"I tell people I'm on the women's national (wrestling) team, and they say, 'Oh, WWF or mud wrestling?'" Sherwood said. "It's just stupid stuff."
The sexist remarks just roll off after working on her wrestling skills for about 10 years. Now she finds it more irritating to talk to people who don't know anything about wrestling because she has to explain it to them.
The second-ranked North American champ seems to take the comments more as a challenge. After being the only girl on her high school football team in Tracy, Calif., the guys were saying, "'Hey, Sherwood, you going out for wrestling, now?'" she said.
Before they knew it, she was on the wrestling team, "kicking all the boys' butts," she said.
For Canadian wrestlers at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., women's wrestling is old hat.
"We're second-generation wrestlers," said Ashlea McManus, 18, who is in the 147Þ-pound class. "It's pretty accepted."
Even if they wanted to make fun, they wouldn't dare because "we're pretty tough, strong women... and we're serious about the sport," she said.
Gary Abbott said Canadian women have an easier time of it now because they started high school and college wrestling for girls and women just as the sport was being introduced. Abbott is the director of special projects for USA Wrestling, the Olympic wrestling governing body. He's in charge of developing the women's sport which will be introduced to the Olympics for the first time in Athens in 2004.
In the United States, Abbott said, people are less informed and are uneducated about the sport, which means American women may experience more difficulty breaking into the sport. The United States is a little further behind in the sport's evolution.
"There are about five (college) varsity and 12 club teams in the nation compared to at least 16 varsity and four or five club teams in Canada."
Carol Huynh, 21, of Simon Fraser has seen women's wrestling lose its stigma. Huynh is the North American leader in the 105Þ-pound class. When her sister wrestled in high school, the pressure from the guys was too great, and she dropped out of the sport in college.
"The men have more of an appreciation for the women now," she said. "Now the guys have grown up with it, and it's not such a big deal."
In the United States, where it's still catching on, there are about 5,000 to 6,000 women wrestling, compared with about 750,000 men, Abbott said. In many states, high school girls like Sherwood may be the only girls on the team, and many states, like Montana, have no collegiate programs for women.
Women in the sport is still a new idea for men's NAIA national championship administrator Scott McClure.
"I was just curious," he said, after watching his first five minutes ever of a women's match. "I wanted to see the competition and how many were in the stands. Twenty to 25 years ago, women playing in other sports was a crazy idea. In my opinion, it's just a natural progression."
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We all lose when boys, girls wrestle
Orlando Sentinel on March 3, 1999.By Kathleen Parker
Call me old-fashioned, please, and then beam me to another planet.
I'm watching a junior-high school wrestling match -- reason enough to long for Venus -- when I begin to hallucinate. This must be one of the long-promised flashbacks caused by my misspent youth. For surely, that's not a girl pinned beneath that pile of boy flesh.
Craning my neck, I blink a few times. Sure enough, it's a girl. Wrestling a boy. What silliness is this? Equality's the name, foolishness the game.
While I was ignoring the sports pages the past few years, girls apparently were developing an interest in wrestling. I can't explain the phenomenon and won't try. I guess wannabe girl wrestlers were always in our midst; now they're out of the tomboy closet onto the mats.
In 1997, according to USA Wrestling, 1,629 girls participated in high-school wrestling, up from 112 in 1990 and 760 in 1994. Female wrestling becomes an Olympic sport at the Sydney Games in 2000. Which is to say, women's wrestling is here to stay.
I'm all for women wrestling. I'm for women doing whatever they want -- just so long as they don't do it to or with my son without his permission. The problem with girl wrestling is that they don't have enough same-gender counterparts; ergo, they have to wrestle boys.
Can girls compete with boys? You bet. Can girls beat boys? Sometimes. Do boys get to say, "I'd rather not?" Not if they want to be on the team.
In the match I observed, the girl did win. The boy was smaller, weaker and forever ruined among his peers. The other boys looked at him with disgust: How could you let a girl beat you?
Usually, the results are otherwise, however. Boys typically are stronger, and often the girls get hurt. If the boy wins, he's a bully; if he doesn't win, he's a loser in every sense of the word.
Everyone by now understands the need to allow girls equal participation in sports. Since 1972, Title IX has made it illegal to do otherwise. We who grew up when the only outlet for female athletes was cheerleading can only applaud the respect (and money) now given to women's sports.
But pitting boys against girls in contact sports is an error in judgment that shouldn't need explaining. In our scrambling to manufacture laws of gender-proportionality, we've forgotten the more compelling laws of the jungle.
Instinctively, I know that teenage boys and girls grappling with their evolving bodies and the hormonal challenges of puberty don't need to be up-close-and-personal in the sweaty arena of a wrestling match. Beyond the obvious, what are we teaching our young people about the opposite sex?
In my youth -- right after we finished work on the wheel -- our parents taught boys not to hit or wrestle with girls because they might hurt them. Boys learned to respect the physical limitations of their sisters; they learned, too, that physical relationships between men and women were special, not down-and-dirty like boys' sandlot antics.
What if, instead, they had been taught that girls were the same as they? What if they learned that girls just offered another sweaty body to paw around? The answer may lie in the increase in date rapes and the growing rate of violence against women.
Men my age learned quickly not to open doors for "ladies" after they'd been verbally slapped a few times. The next generation may never recall a time when relationships between men and women were special.
DA*DI Comment:
Violence against women act? What violence against women? This is just leading to cultural permission for a guy to "knock her block off" as much as he might any other guy.
This kind of freedom may have a terrible price tag. In fact, I'll bet on it.
Thanks Kathleen for once again making sense.
Gerald L. Rowles, Ph.D.