#TeamUSATuesday: Women's Freestyle National Team member Abby Nette

Abigail Nette made her first National Team in 2019 and is currently No. 3 at 59 kg. Abby ended 2019 on a high note by winning Senior Nationals in December in Fort Worth, Texas. Recently, Abby took some time to sit down and answer some of our questions.

Favorite Movie?
Rocky 1 or Shawshank Redemption

Favorite Musical Artist?
Sam Smith

Favorite Food?
Boiled seafood or chicken parmesan

Favorite sport to watch other than wrestling?
Softball

Did you play any other sports growing up?
Yes, soccer, basketball, volleyball, soccer and I ran track for a year. I played softball through high school.

Who is your favorite wrestler to watch past or present?
I like watching Daton Fix wrestle a lot. He’s very quick witted with things.

What are your favorite hobbies off the mat?
I like to go fishing with my dad, deep sea fishing too. My dad’s a spear fisherman, but I’m not certified. Sometimes I go snorkeling and watch him fish. I like hunting as well and outdoors stuff in general. Lately I’ve been finding myself in coffee shops a lot, and that’s pretty relaxing.

What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever caught?
I’ve caught a lemonfish before, which is a cobia. I’ve also caught a black-tip shark.

What is your biggest fear?
There’s two different types of fears. One is like an actual fear and I know it’s going to happen, but I fear getting old. I hate that. I hate thinking about what I’m going to look like and what the future is going to be like. I also hate sharks. Going to beach I always get paranoid. I saw Jaws too many times as a kid.

Do you have plans for after your competitive wrestling career ends?
I’m still finishing my degree in college. I’m studying fitness and wellness currently. I’m a senior, and I have about a year left of college. When I’m done competing, I’m just going to see where my career takes me. I could end up being a nutritionist, a dietician or a coach somewhere.

How did you first get involved with wrestling?
When I was six years old, my dad, who wrestled in high school, took me to the Louisiana State Championships. He asked me if I wanted to do it, and I said yeah I want to try it. I also have two older brothers who are currently 33 and 35 years old, so they’re a lot older, and neither of them wrestled. My dad brought me to the tournament, and I just got into it. I’ve loved it ever since

What was the women’s wrestling scene like when you were growing up in Louisiana?
I would say there was no women’s wrestling scene. Growing up wrestling, I was the only girl on the team. In high school, there was one other girl on the team but there was never a girl’s division or anything like that. There still isn’t a girl’s division. Hopefully within the next few years it grows a little more. I think when I first got to college, I was one of three girls from Louisiana that wrestled and made it to college to wrestle.

Do you think the lack of specific women’s wrestling programs in Louisiana is a barrier that prevents girls from trying the sport?
Yeah, I would say. I also think Louisiana isn’t a wrestling state. It’s hard to get into the sport whether you’re a girl or a boy. There are boys that are really good in high school that go to college, and they don’t want to wrestle. They either get burned out or they just want to live a college lifestyle rather than wrestle their entire lives. I feel like it’s not focused on wrestling at all. The lack of girl’s wrestling in Louisiana definitely has an effect on girls trying to wrestle there.

What was the best advice you’ve received in your career?
When I was in high school, I think my junior year, I went to this intensive training camp in Nebraska. There was a quote given to me there. The quote was, “Those that are at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” Ever since then, I’ve been basing my life around this mountain specifically. I always tell myself at the top of the mountain it’s going to be cold. It’s going to be dark. It’s going to be foggy. It’s going to be a long way to get to the top, but once you do get to that top, it’s going to be worth it. It’s going to be so beautiful and so exciting to reach the top.

What advice would you give to a younger wrestler just getting started in their career?
Take advantage of the opportunities that are given to you. I know that a lot of people that are younger that are given opportunities tend to take them for granted and don’t follow through with them necessarily. I was like that when I was younger. But now, this year with women’s wrestling, I’ve been given so many opportunities, and I’ve been wanting to take them. They’ve brought me new friends, travelling around the world basically and becoming better as a person and a wrestler all around. So take advantage of those opportunities.

Do you have any pre-match rituals?
I would like to. I try to amp myself up, if possible. I try to listen to upbeat music because I get really sleepy sometimes. I just try and do things that excite me, and I think about how excited I am… I definitely have to create my own energy.

What is your best wrestling memory?
When I was a kid I wouldn’t put so much pressure on myself. Now, I put a lot more pressure on myself, but as a kid I would just go out there and wrestle. There was this kid from Louisiana that was kind of like my arch nemesis. His name was Jacob Bernard. We would always be in the finals together. One weekend he would win, the next weekend I would win. So I think that would be the best time of my life. The whole gym would be in there watching me because I’d be the only girl wrestling. They’d be like, “Woah this girl is in the finals, she’s super good”. Everyone would know my name and I had not a clue who they were. I think that was just really exciting. I was just happy to be there having fun. This was probably fourth through sixth grade.

How has your first season on the National Team been going?
It’s given me so many opportunities. Travelling around the world has been one of the coolest opportunities. Last year I made the U23 World Team, but before that, I had only been outside of the country once. I’d never been anywhere besides South America. Travelling the world and meeting some awesome people and just developing great friends has been great. I’ve really enjoyed it.

You won a WCWA title wrestling for Emmanuel last season, and then you transferred to Campbellsville. What influenced your decision?
When I won WCWAs, it was a great moment for me, but I think I realized wrestling wasn’t everything to me. I was really unhappy with where I was at, and I thought I could be happier. That’s when I decided to make that change and go somewhere else. It hasn’t come back to bite me in the butt yet, and hopefully it doesn’t. I think this is the year to be happy and have fun rather than put so much pressure on myself because it’s my last year of wrestling in college. I still put pressure on myself, but this is the year to grow. Being on the Senior National Team has been great and allowed me to grow as much as I want to grow. I feel like definitely taking that step further was what I needed.

You were Kayla Miracle’s training partner at the Senior World Championships. What was that experience like?
Going to Senior Worlds was an experience that I hope I hold onto for the rest of my life. Not competing was actually kind of nice. I got to sit there and observe everything and soak in that environment without having to be nervous about competing or any of that stuff. I got to watch different styles from around the world and see how good the rest of the world is. It was a learning experience for sure. I hope that the next time I get to go, I’ll be competing.

The Nette File
Birthday: November 11, 1997
Hometown: St. Rose, La.
High school: Destrehan High
College: Campbellsville
Residence: Campbellsville, Ky.
Club: Tiger Wrestling Club
Twitter: abby_nette7
*Two-time U23 World Team Member (2018,2019)
*2019 Senior Nationals champion
*2019 WCWA Nationals champion
* Third at 2019 Canada Cup
*Third at 2019 World Team Trials