W. M. Batson Inclusive Scholarship

When I joined the wrestling team as a seventh grader, the team had experienced some hardships, including a change in the coaching staff, that led to only nine kids joining the high school team. Having wrestled for eight years through the high school's youth program, I felt invested in rebuilding the team. I started by asking friends and family to join, getting a couple of my friends from football to try wrestling. Over time our numbers grew and in my sophomore season, I was named captain, giving me a renewed sense of pride and responsibility to the team. I talked to other students throughout the school along with many kids in my other sports and ended up with a little under twenty participants for my sophomore season. My junior season, however, was the best of my last five years on the team. First, I was invited to join the wrestling board to share my perspective as a team captain on several issues. Additionally, thanks to my efforts, about 25 kids joined wrestling with over half trying it for the first time.  My sophomore year was when Kyra joined the wrestling team. I had been wrestling at the high school level since my 7th grade season, yet this was the first time we had a girl join our team. While I had seen other teams in years prior have girls wrestle for their teams, girl wrestlers were scarce and infrequent. Initially, because most of the other people on the team had already gotten to know each other over the years and formed their cliques, she had trouble finding a group to fit in with. However, as a captain, I made it my goal to make everyone on the team feel included and like they belonged. I did my best to help make her feel comfortable on her new team. I introduced her to everyone on the team, taught her new moves after practice, and drove her to and from practice on days she didn't have a ride. By acclimating her to the team and making her feel at home away from home, she was able to form long-standing friendships with not only myself but the rest of the team as well.  The needs of the wrestling program have aided in my maturity more than any activity, role model, or coach ever has. I became a leader, conversing with schoolmates about joining the wrestling program, and taking an active role in recruitment. I began to listen to the needs of my teammates instead of putting them off, as I could bring them up in the board meetings and make a change for the better. Having to get myself to and from practice on time with all my gear taught me responsibility and time management, vital to my future schooling and career. For me, sports have served as a time for community building. It’s a chance to do something I love with other people who love the same thing. As we share the hardships, highlights, and memories of our sport, it creates an unbreakable bond that can only be described as something of a family. Building these relationships has fueled my desire for inclusion as I see the great friendships that come out of participating in sports. Ultimately, the relationships I have formed fuel the vision that inclusion is not a desire, but a necessity in transforming teams and communities for the better.