A Word from the President....
"Being different is hard, especially being the only girl in a vicious sport full of boys. I was a wrestler on the high school boys’ team, so I experienced firsthand how difficult it is for a girl to play in a male-dominated sport. The most shocking part of the experience was that the hardest part wasn’t the physical contact against boys, it was the bullying and rejection of me by my teammates. They were embarrassed that I was on the team. They thought that since I was a girl, I wouldn’t be any good. They also thought that I wasn’t able to be a part of their jokes and conversations because of our difference in gender. They whispered and wouldn’t include me. For 2 hours every day, I had to exert the most physical force I ever had to in my life. Of all the conditioning, bruises, and sweat, the hardest part about wrestling was feeling alone.
The feeling of loneliness was present every practice until my team’s first meet at the Bryan Invitational. I walked in with my team, carrying my pink Nike bag. Obviously, I was a girl, but I was no cheerleader or mat-maid. I was a wrestler walking in with my team, and I never had so many dirty, confused looks in my life. However, this meet was the first time I could show my teammates and other wrestlers the kind of girl I really was. That day, I pinned one boy in front of the entire crowd of people and won by points against the other boy. That was the day that changed my life and reputation forever. I placed higher than mostly all of my fellow teammates, and all of our placings were announced at school, which meant everybody got to hear my name. Ever since then, I was respected as an athlete, but my difference in gender never stopped turning heads."
-Amelia Devony Miller
Below is an article featured in the Bluffton Connection:
"Being different is hard, especially being the only girl in a vicious sport full of boys. I was a wrestler on the high school boys’ team, so I experienced firsthand how difficult it is for a girl to play in a male-dominated sport. The most shocking part of the experience was that the hardest part wasn’t the physical contact against boys, it was the bullying and rejection of me by my teammates. They were embarrassed that I was on the team. They thought that since I was a girl, I wouldn’t be any good. They also thought that I wasn’t able to be a part of their jokes and conversations because of our difference in gender. They whispered and wouldn’t include me. For 2 hours every day, I had to exert the most physical force I ever had to in my life. Of all the conditioning, bruises, and sweat, the hardest part about wrestling was feeling alone.
The feeling of loneliness was present every practice until my team’s first meet at the Bryan Invitational. I walked in with my team, carrying my pink Nike bag. Obviously, I was a girl, but I was no cheerleader or mat-maid. I was a wrestler walking in with my team, and I never had so many dirty, confused looks in my life. However, this meet was the first time I could show my teammates and other wrestlers the kind of girl I really was. That day, I pinned one boy in front of the entire crowd of people and won by points against the other boy. That was the day that changed my life and reputation forever. I placed higher than mostly all of my fellow teammates, and all of our placings were announced at school, which meant everybody got to hear my name. Ever since then, I was respected as an athlete, but my difference in gender never stopped turning heads."
-Amelia Devony Miller
Below is an article featured in the Bluffton Connection: