BOOK REVIEW: Wrestle Like A Girl is a great read for all wrestlers and wrestling fans
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
If you are looking for a good wrestling book to read, or seeking a unique holiday gift for a wrestler, you should consider picking up a copy of the new book Wrestle Like A Girl.
Co-Written by Craig Sesker and Jamie Moffatt, who previously tag-teamed on a popular book on the Keep Olympic Wrestling campaign of 2013, this new book covers the history of women’s wrestling in the USA. It has a special focus on the champion women wrestlers from the United States who have made a big impact on the sport.
What is also cool is that the book is being distributed by and will benefit a new non-profit organization, Wrestle Like A Girl, Inc., which is working on helping build and enhance opportunities for girls and women to wrestle. The organization was founded by Sally Roberts, a two-time World bronze medalist in women’s wrestling for the United States, who is doing great things for the sport and its future.
The book goes back to the late 1980’s, when a group of pioneer young women became the first female wrestlers to compete for the United States at the world level. It carries readers through the development years of the sport and into the current era of women’s wrestling as an Olympic sport.
The timing of the book is fantastic, shortly after Helen Maroulis became the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal, with her amazing victory over three-time Olympic champion and 13-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan in the 53 kg finals of the Rio Olympic Games. This book tells Helen’s remarkable story, from youth to the top of the Olympic podium. Her journey is inspiring, and she has become a hero to young girls who might hope someday to match her achievements.
But the book tells us the life stories of so many other USA women wrestlers who have carried the torch for the United States and for the sport for three decades.
The book opens with coverage from the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., where the USA had a pair of individual World champions, Maroulis and Adeline Gray, competing on the same magical night in the Orleans Arena.
There is a nice chapter on America’s first World medalist Afsoon Roshanzamir and her close friend and fellow World medalist Marie Ziegler, true pioneers in the sport. Roshanzamir has a compelling personal story, having emigrated from Iran, where she was not allowed to even watch wrestling, to her high school years in San Jose, Calif., where she became a wrestler at a time very few girls were in the sport. It takes her into the international scene as a world-class competitor. After years away from wrestling to start a family, Roshanzamir has returned to the sport as a coach and leader.
Another chapter focuses on Tricia Saunders, the pioneer with the greatest achievements, including four World gold medals and a World silver medal. In addition to being our first female World champion and the American woman with the most World titles, Saunders was a trailblazer who fought for opportunity for girls and women in the sport. She has been inducted in both the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
There are chapters on World champions including Iris Smith, Kristie Marano, Elena Pirozhkova and Adeline Gray, all who have compelling personal stories in addition to great wrestling achievements. Smith is the first African-American woman to win a World title for USA Wrestling. Marano won two World titles and has the most World medals among U.S. wrestlers with nine. Pirozhkova, born in Russia and raised in Massachusetts, won four World medals and made two Olympic teams. Gray is a three-time World champion and five-time World medalist who has been an inspiration for young women wrestlers in recent seasons.
The book also profiles Terry Steiner, the NCAA champion from Iowa, who has been USA Wrestling’s only National Women’s Coach and has been instrumental in building the United States into a world power in this discipline.
A full chapter on the U.S. women athletes from each of the four Olympic Games which have featured women’s wrestling is also included, from the historic first Games in Athens, Greece in 2004, on to Beijing, China in 2008, London, England in 2012 and most recently Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
Readers will learn about the lives of Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann, World champion and Olympic medalist Clarissa Chun, World bronze medalist Leigh Jaynes, Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, and many other stars. There is also a chapter on women’s wrestling’s key role in the helping Save Olympic Wrestling in 2013.
The book does an excellent job of telling the personal stories of these women, not only about what they have done on the mat, but also their life journeys which formed their character and led to greatness. We hear them tell their own stories and give their perspective on the sport and their careers.
There are a bunch of good photos, many from some of the best wrestling photographers on the planet. It is a hard-cover book which is a collector’s item and can be displayed prominently in any bookcase.
All women who have wrestled will enjoy this book. They will be able to understand and appreciate the stories included in Wrestle Like A Girl, because they were all part of helping build and grow the sport in our nation. They all played a role in creating the foundation for a growing sport with great potential for additional diversity and inclusion.
Parents who have young girls in wrestling can give their daughters a special gift, which will inspire them with stories about real-life role models, including current stars in the sports and the pioneers who blazed the trail for them to wrestle.
But really, the book is not just for girls and women in wrestling. It is for anybody who enjoys wrestling or sports, and will appreciate great stories about heroes, who happen to be women wrestlers.
Click here to order the book Wrestle Like A Girl
Co-Written by Craig Sesker and Jamie Moffatt, who previously tag-teamed on a popular book on the Keep Olympic Wrestling campaign of 2013, this new book covers the history of women’s wrestling in the USA. It has a special focus on the champion women wrestlers from the United States who have made a big impact on the sport.
What is also cool is that the book is being distributed by and will benefit a new non-profit organization, Wrestle Like A Girl, Inc., which is working on helping build and enhance opportunities for girls and women to wrestle. The organization was founded by Sally Roberts, a two-time World bronze medalist in women’s wrestling for the United States, who is doing great things for the sport and its future.
The book goes back to the late 1980’s, when a group of pioneer young women became the first female wrestlers to compete for the United States at the world level. It carries readers through the development years of the sport and into the current era of women’s wrestling as an Olympic sport.
The timing of the book is fantastic, shortly after Helen Maroulis became the first U.S. women’s wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal, with her amazing victory over three-time Olympic champion and 13-time World champion Saori Yoshida of Japan in the 53 kg finals of the Rio Olympic Games. This book tells Helen’s remarkable story, from youth to the top of the Olympic podium. Her journey is inspiring, and she has become a hero to young girls who might hope someday to match her achievements.
But the book tells us the life stories of so many other USA women wrestlers who have carried the torch for the United States and for the sport for three decades.
The book opens with coverage from the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., where the USA had a pair of individual World champions, Maroulis and Adeline Gray, competing on the same magical night in the Orleans Arena.
There is a nice chapter on America’s first World medalist Afsoon Roshanzamir and her close friend and fellow World medalist Marie Ziegler, true pioneers in the sport. Roshanzamir has a compelling personal story, having emigrated from Iran, where she was not allowed to even watch wrestling, to her high school years in San Jose, Calif., where she became a wrestler at a time very few girls were in the sport. It takes her into the international scene as a world-class competitor. After years away from wrestling to start a family, Roshanzamir has returned to the sport as a coach and leader.
Another chapter focuses on Tricia Saunders, the pioneer with the greatest achievements, including four World gold medals and a World silver medal. In addition to being our first female World champion and the American woman with the most World titles, Saunders was a trailblazer who fought for opportunity for girls and women in the sport. She has been inducted in both the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame.
There are chapters on World champions including Iris Smith, Kristie Marano, Elena Pirozhkova and Adeline Gray, all who have compelling personal stories in addition to great wrestling achievements. Smith is the first African-American woman to win a World title for USA Wrestling. Marano won two World titles and has the most World medals among U.S. wrestlers with nine. Pirozhkova, born in Russia and raised in Massachusetts, won four World medals and made two Olympic teams. Gray is a three-time World champion and five-time World medalist who has been an inspiration for young women wrestlers in recent seasons.
The book also profiles Terry Steiner, the NCAA champion from Iowa, who has been USA Wrestling’s only National Women’s Coach and has been instrumental in building the United States into a world power in this discipline.
A full chapter on the U.S. women athletes from each of the four Olympic Games which have featured women’s wrestling is also included, from the historic first Games in Athens, Greece in 2004, on to Beijing, China in 2008, London, England in 2012 and most recently Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
Readers will learn about the lives of Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann, World champion and Olympic medalist Clarissa Chun, World bronze medalist Leigh Jaynes, Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, and many other stars. There is also a chapter on women’s wrestling’s key role in the helping Save Olympic Wrestling in 2013.
The book does an excellent job of telling the personal stories of these women, not only about what they have done on the mat, but also their life journeys which formed their character and led to greatness. We hear them tell their own stories and give their perspective on the sport and their careers.
There are a bunch of good photos, many from some of the best wrestling photographers on the planet. It is a hard-cover book which is a collector’s item and can be displayed prominently in any bookcase.
All women who have wrestled will enjoy this book. They will be able to understand and appreciate the stories included in Wrestle Like A Girl, because they were all part of helping build and grow the sport in our nation. They all played a role in creating the foundation for a growing sport with great potential for additional diversity and inclusion.
Parents who have young girls in wrestling can give their daughters a special gift, which will inspire them with stories about real-life role models, including current stars in the sports and the pioneers who blazed the trail for them to wrestle.
But really, the book is not just for girls and women in wrestling. It is for anybody who enjoys wrestling or sports, and will appreciate great stories about heroes, who happen to be women wrestlers.
Click here to order the book Wrestle Like A Girl
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