A school district in Iowa is hiring more coaches for its girls' wrestling as interest in the sport has increased since it was introduced just a year ago.
According to the Times-Republican, Marshalltown Community School District has made the decision to hire to additional coaches for girl's wrestling.
Director of athletics Ryan Isgrig asked the board to hire a head coach for the Marshalltown High School team and another for Miller Middle School.
“When we first came here two years ago, we sat in front of you for esports and girls wrestling,” Isgrig said. “We continued to evaluate those programs, and I think they have trended in the right direction.”
Isgrig said Marshalltown officials originally expected about 25 girls to sign up for wrestling, but they weren't sure how many would stick with it.
“We were really excited with the number of girls interested,” he said. “As you know, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union sanctioned girls wrestling two years ago. They don’t wrestle with the boys anymore. They wrestle only the girls.”
The first Marshalltown year ended with 12 high school and three Miller girls completing the season. The second year wrapped up with 20 MHS and 12 Miller girls.
Isgrig said he believes the popularity of the sport will continue to trend upward.
“As you can see, the numbers definitely jumped up,” Isgrig said, noting that additional coaches will help offer the girls support, as wrestling meets might typically see four or five girls competing at the same time. With only one coach currently that coach can't be in every corner at once.
“Having a coach in their corner during a competition will only help our girls out,” he said. “Not having a coach in their corner might set them up for failure. You want those kids to have a coach there to throw an arm around them, win or lose, and be in their corner to support them.”
