When people think of wrestling, they don’t think of girls. That changed this year at Gretna High School. The team is led by two coaches, Kathleen Sackett and Brandon Kinnan. Pre-season has been going on for a few weeks now, and the season finally started Nov. 13.

“There has been a lot of interest expressed in girls wrestling these last few years,” Sackett said. “Nebraska sanctioned the sport about two years ago, and we just officially decided it was time to get things rolling here at Gretna.”

Gretna High decided to create a girls wrestling program due to the interest from many girls after never having one. Many girls on the team have never wrestled before and wanted to try it out, and this was the perfect opportunity. Some also think it can help in many other ways as well.

“I decided to start wrestling because in basketball I was very aggressive, and I thought it would be a good idea to get my anger out,” freshman Julia Hermeling said. 

Even though Sackett was not a wrestler in high school, she said she sees the benefits it brings.

“I enjoy it as a sport,” she said. “I’ve seen the hard work and intensity it takes, and I think it builds a lot of life skills and character for students as well.”

Wrestling brings out many different opinions. Some people, like Sackett and Hermeling, said they think wrestling is good for students. Others seem to think it is harmful. Male wrestling is normally stereotyped as unhealthy – with things like not eating to make weight and working out in super hot places to lose pounds faster. Girls wrestling is typically a little different.

“The girls wrestling has a little bit of a different mindset than mens,” Sackett said. “I think there will be a little bit (of cutting weight) on that level and a little more of girls wrestling up. I think it is one of those things that has lately become a conscious mindset of making sure everyone is doing that in a safe way, so it is not emphasized quite as much.”

The wrestling community is working together to make wrestling safer for both girls and boys, without getting rid of cutting weight, she said. 

“Wrestling put my body through many things and has made me use muscles I’ve never used,” Hermeling said. “It made me very sore after the first week, but I continue because it will make me a better person and help me in other sports.”

She added that wrestling really is a mental game. If a person believes they can’t do something or that something is too hard, their body won’t put in the effort of trying. But, as Hermeling said, she sticks to it because she knows it is going to set her up for success in the future.