#TeamUSATuesday: Women's Freestyle National Team member Becka Leathers
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by JD Rader, USA Wrestling
Becka Leathers is currently the No. 2 wrestler at 57 kg/125.7 lbs. for Team USA’s Women’s Freestyle National Team.
In 2017, at the age of 20, Leathers won a World bronze medal while competing at 55 kg.
2019 has been Leather’s first year competing at 57 kg on the Senior level. She did make the U23 World team at 57 kg in 2018, however.
In addition to being a Senior World bronze medalist, Leathers is a Junior World bronze medalist as well. Also while the she was in high school, Leathers was a four-time USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion, two-time Junior Nationals champion, and a UWW Cadet Nationals champion.
Leathers took some time out of her busy schedule to answer to answer some questions.
What is your favorite movie?
I don’t really have a favorite, but the first one that comes to mind is The Devil Wears Prada. I love Meryl Streep and I think that it’s a really entertaining movie. I like how they go into the fashion world and bring in an outsider.
Who is your favorite musical artist?
I listen to a ton of throwbacks, so for hip-hop it would be Rihanna, for rap Lil Wayne, and country is Chris Young or Blake Shelton. For my overall favorite, however, I’ll go with Rihanna because I like anyone with a powerful voice that sounds real. Not just your basic pop star that’s going to pop up overnight and then fade out.
What is your favorite food?
I really like Asian food, but I love home cookin’, so I’ll go with barbeque.
What is your favorite sport to watch other than wrestling?
Surprisingly, it’s golf. I hate playing golf, but it’s interesting to watch on TV because I can see the strategy rather just going around trying to swing a club at a ball.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
I played all kinds of sports. I played soccer and basketball all through my youth before I started wrestling. And I also played softball in middle school.
Who is your favorite wrestler, either past or present, to watch?
Currently, I really like watching Daton Fix because we’re from the same area and he always shows up with so much intensity. He is such a great person off the mat, so well and soft spoken, and then he shows up on the mat with so much intensity.
What is your favorite place that you’ve travelled to?
I’ll have to give it to Madrid, Spain because it’s the only place outside of the United States that I think I would ever live.
What do you normally do to past time when you travel?
Well, I just started reading books within the last year. I really enjoy that, and now I’m also going to school. That keeps a lot of my time taken up.
What is your college major?
It is small business and entrepreneurship because I really want to be a wrestling coach. I think that my wrestling credentials will be the biggest part of my resume, but besides that I need a degree. I thought that was the fastest track to get me on track in my professional life. There’s a lot that goes into being a coach including the finance and marketing part.
How hard was it to leave Oklahoma?
It’s always hard when you’re close with your family and have a good support system, but the fact that I have a great coaching staff here (North Carolina) and a limited time to pursue this dream made it a lot easier.
How did you first get involved in wrestling?
I watched my brother wrestle. I had no idea what wrestling even was. I was in fourth grade, and I had always been a real active kid and roughhoused with my brother and dad, so when I watched my brother wrestle, I was like, “oh, I can totally do that.” After a year of convincing my dad, he was like, “okay, sure. Go out there and see what you’ve got.” I took to it like a fish in water and the rest is history.
How would you say that wrestling has impacted your life?
Wrestling has been the most impactful thing in my life. I wouldn’t say it forced me to grow up, but it gave me the opportunity at a young age that most people don’t get to experience. I started travelling the world when I was 16. It changed my perspective as I grew up and filled me with experiences that I could grow from. I learned a lot and was exposed to so many different people that I wouldn’t have been if I just stayed in Choctaw, Okla. So, I think that wrestling has impacted my life in every single way.
What kind of advice would you give a younger wrestler?
I would tell them to stick with it. There are a lot of things that are hard in this sport and a lot of sacrifices that have to be made, but the reward is great. Not only winning matches and working hard in the room, but the reward of getting exposed to a bunch of different people. I think that is something that is valuable beyond wrestling.
Do you have any pre-match rituals you try and do before every match?
I’ve tried to make myself break myself of rituals. We learned in sport psych that rituals shouldn’t be a determinate of your wins and losses. I do one thing before every match though, and that’s bounce up and down 10 times and then drop down into a squat. I do that five times in a row and I’m good to go.
What motivates you the most during training?
Knowing that my time is limited. I have a certain amount of time to make my dreams come true, so I have to make every moment count. Our bodies and support only hold up so long.
The Leathers file
Birthday: Nov. 19, 1996
Hometown: Choctaw, Okla.
High school: Choctaw High School
College: Oklahoma City University
Residence: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Club: Titan Mercury WC/Tar Heel WC
• 2017 World bronze medalist
• 2015 Junior World bronze medalist
• 2017 Pan American champion
• 2019 US Open champion
• 2018 U23 World Team member
• 2017 University Nationals champion
• 2016 WCWA national champion
• 2015, 2014 Junior World Team member
• 2016, 2015, 2014 UWW Junior Nationals champion
• 2013 Cadet World Team member
• 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion
• 2015, 2013 Junior Nationals champion
In 2017, at the age of 20, Leathers won a World bronze medal while competing at 55 kg.
2019 has been Leather’s first year competing at 57 kg on the Senior level. She did make the U23 World team at 57 kg in 2018, however.
In addition to being a Senior World bronze medalist, Leathers is a Junior World bronze medalist as well. Also while the she was in high school, Leathers was a four-time USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion, two-time Junior Nationals champion, and a UWW Cadet Nationals champion.
Leathers took some time out of her busy schedule to answer to answer some questions.
What is your favorite movie?
I don’t really have a favorite, but the first one that comes to mind is The Devil Wears Prada. I love Meryl Streep and I think that it’s a really entertaining movie. I like how they go into the fashion world and bring in an outsider.
Who is your favorite musical artist?
I listen to a ton of throwbacks, so for hip-hop it would be Rihanna, for rap Lil Wayne, and country is Chris Young or Blake Shelton. For my overall favorite, however, I’ll go with Rihanna because I like anyone with a powerful voice that sounds real. Not just your basic pop star that’s going to pop up overnight and then fade out.
What is your favorite food?
I really like Asian food, but I love home cookin’, so I’ll go with barbeque.
What is your favorite sport to watch other than wrestling?
Surprisingly, it’s golf. I hate playing golf, but it’s interesting to watch on TV because I can see the strategy rather just going around trying to swing a club at a ball.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
I played all kinds of sports. I played soccer and basketball all through my youth before I started wrestling. And I also played softball in middle school.
Who is your favorite wrestler, either past or present, to watch?
Currently, I really like watching Daton Fix because we’re from the same area and he always shows up with so much intensity. He is such a great person off the mat, so well and soft spoken, and then he shows up on the mat with so much intensity.
What is your favorite place that you’ve travelled to?
I’ll have to give it to Madrid, Spain because it’s the only place outside of the United States that I think I would ever live.
What do you normally do to past time when you travel?
Well, I just started reading books within the last year. I really enjoy that, and now I’m also going to school. That keeps a lot of my time taken up.
What is your college major?
It is small business and entrepreneurship because I really want to be a wrestling coach. I think that my wrestling credentials will be the biggest part of my resume, but besides that I need a degree. I thought that was the fastest track to get me on track in my professional life. There’s a lot that goes into being a coach including the finance and marketing part.
How hard was it to leave Oklahoma?
It’s always hard when you’re close with your family and have a good support system, but the fact that I have a great coaching staff here (North Carolina) and a limited time to pursue this dream made it a lot easier.
How did you first get involved in wrestling?
I watched my brother wrestle. I had no idea what wrestling even was. I was in fourth grade, and I had always been a real active kid and roughhoused with my brother and dad, so when I watched my brother wrestle, I was like, “oh, I can totally do that.” After a year of convincing my dad, he was like, “okay, sure. Go out there and see what you’ve got.” I took to it like a fish in water and the rest is history.
How would you say that wrestling has impacted your life?
Wrestling has been the most impactful thing in my life. I wouldn’t say it forced me to grow up, but it gave me the opportunity at a young age that most people don’t get to experience. I started travelling the world when I was 16. It changed my perspective as I grew up and filled me with experiences that I could grow from. I learned a lot and was exposed to so many different people that I wouldn’t have been if I just stayed in Choctaw, Okla. So, I think that wrestling has impacted my life in every single way.
What kind of advice would you give a younger wrestler?
I would tell them to stick with it. There are a lot of things that are hard in this sport and a lot of sacrifices that have to be made, but the reward is great. Not only winning matches and working hard in the room, but the reward of getting exposed to a bunch of different people. I think that is something that is valuable beyond wrestling.
Do you have any pre-match rituals you try and do before every match?
I’ve tried to make myself break myself of rituals. We learned in sport psych that rituals shouldn’t be a determinate of your wins and losses. I do one thing before every match though, and that’s bounce up and down 10 times and then drop down into a squat. I do that five times in a row and I’m good to go.
What motivates you the most during training?
Knowing that my time is limited. I have a certain amount of time to make my dreams come true, so I have to make every moment count. Our bodies and support only hold up so long.
The Leathers file
Birthday: Nov. 19, 1996
Hometown: Choctaw, Okla.
High school: Choctaw High School
College: Oklahoma City University
Residence: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Club: Titan Mercury WC/Tar Heel WC
• 2017 World bronze medalist
• 2015 Junior World bronze medalist
• 2017 Pan American champion
• 2019 US Open champion
• 2018 U23 World Team member
• 2017 University Nationals champion
• 2016 WCWA national champion
• 2015, 2014 Junior World Team member
• 2016, 2015, 2014 UWW Junior Nationals champion
• 2013 Cadet World Team member
• 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion
• 2015, 2013 Junior Nationals champion
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