There is no doubt that women wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the nation. There are currently 34 states that have sanctioned women wrestling. That means that they now have a state championship in high school for women. Texas was one of the first states to sanction women wrestling. This gives us a head start ahead of other states around the nation. Every year there are multiple states adding woman’s wrestling and eventually will have women’s wrestling in every state in that nation.
With Texas being one of the first states to have women’s wrestling in high school we have produced talented athletes and people. I had an amazing opportunity to talk to Lexi Basham who is currently attending Texas Wesleyan University and won a NAIA title for the University. Basham made the U23 World Team and wrestled in Spain. Basham has shown to always being an athlete because before she started wrestling she played in boys baseball and she had interest in playing football as well but her parents would not let that happen. When Basham’s brother was a freshman in high school he joined his school’s wrestling team. Basham gave her parents a choice to choose between which sports she participated in being wrestling or football. Basham’s parents chose wrestling and ever since then she has been a wrestler.
Basham was raised with her father being her biggest inspiration. Basham adores that her father works hard to provide the best life for her and her family. Her father also shows great support for Basham on and off of the mat being her number 1 supporter in life. Basham would like to grow up and follow in her father’s hard work ethic.
Being at a high level in a sport always attracts love and hate from the fans. People sometimes may not be able to perform at high level because of the hate they receive. Being a female athlete in a sport that is dominates by males it can be tough to deal with the hate. Many wrestlers and fans feel that women should not be wrestling. But Basham does not let that affect her at all. Basham states “Gender has no barrier on success in my opinion.” Some may choose to acknowledge the haters but Basham continuously ignores those people.
Wrestling requires great resilience and can be really tough at times. When you first start wrestling it is hard to continue because it is a hard sport. If Basham could give advice to herself when she fist started she would say “ Be brave and believe in yourself!” You have to believe that you are there for a reason and show you’re purpose. There is no guarantee that certain people will always have your back but you need to be able to always have yours. Wrestling is a roller coaster with a few highs and many lows. You may reach your lowest low and Basham says when this happens “You have to dig deep and find your why.” There is always a reason why we are doing something and it is your job to figure out why you are doing what you are doing. Basham uses her “why” as motivation and drive. But at the end of the day Basham states “ You need to do it for yourself.”
Wrestling is a fun sport that teaches us a lot of life lessons. Wrestling teaches people to have perseverance. When you hit a mental block when you are either losing in a match or even cutting weight you need to figure out a way to keep going and break through that barrier. Many motivational speakers were wrestlers. For example Rohan Murphy was a wrestler that was born with no legs and has currently talked in 40 states. Murphy talks about his experiences in wrestling and life he faced a lot of adversity and would figure out a way to overcome them.
