Traveling can be a nerve-wracking concept. This may seem even scarier when you aren’t traveling with family. Three Liberty wrestlers took on this challenge as they went to compete for gold in a completely new environment.
All girls on the wrestling team were given the opportunity to wrestle in the Netherlands. Though only three decided to go: Taylor Cavanh (she/her), 11, Harper Johnson (she/her), 11 and Callum Wu (she/her), 11. Many questioned why these girls even wanted to go across the world just to wrestle.
“I wanted to experience new techniques of wrestling and a whole new culture for sightseeing. I was excited to live through this trip with some of my teammates. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip and nothing would’ve stopped me from experiencing it,” said Johnson.
Although Freestyle wrestling is the same sport in every country, the way that countries do it varies. America and Iowa specifically, have their own ways of doing things that make it harder to get the hang of.
“It was more and less stressful than wrestling in America. They (Netherlands) don’t have a set time or round… they just keep going until they think enough matches have been wrestled,” said Cavanh, “I was also surprised at the quality of wrestlers. I expected tougher competition but I only got two tough matches.”
Wrestling in a whole new country is a very different experience. While many people think it’s too scary, Johnson considered it a wonderful new atmosphere.
“Wrestling in a different country was a blast. I was able to meet so many new people and learn different things, all wrestling-related. Everything was just a little different from wrestling in the U.S.. Every girl wrestles Freestyle, and every guy wrestles Greco-Roman. Here in the U.S., all high schools wrestle folkstyle, which is not done anywhere else in the world,” said Johnson.
Wrestling is a sport that causes anxiety for many. When you want to perform at a high level, it can make you more anxious.
“During the wrestling parts I was stressed about making weight, but that ended up fine. Performance wise I wasn’t super stressed, once I got that first match out of the way I was okay. I definitely didn’t wrestle my best but that’s okay. Having my actual teammates there helped me feel more calm because I knew them,” Cavanh said.
Traveling across the world for sports is an amazing opportunity. These girls gained new experiences and new wrestling skills.
“This trip made me love the sport a lot. It was one of the moments or memories that I will get to tell my kids about. This trip was the type of thing that makes you grateful and appreciative that you get to be a part of something so amazing and for me, that’s girls wrestling,” said Cavanh.
Many things differ when you play sports in different countries. This can make the performance level harder and more difficult. This was definitely the case for the girls as they had to wrestle in the division for twenty-year-olds.
“It was my first time wrestling Freestyle, so just getting comfortable wrestling that was hard enough. But also I was in U20. I’m 17 for context. Like when I heard I had to wrestle that, it just baffled me,” Wu said.
One of the great things that going to new places brings is the friends you make along the way. The girls all expressed how they made many new friends that they still keep in touch with.
“I met many different people from many different countries. I met the head coach of the French national team while watching some matches. We compared the similarities and differences between wrestling in France vs. America. He even told me about how he dreams of visiting America with his family someday,” Johnson said. “ I also met a wrestler from one of the Danish teams. He watched one of my matches and then asked if he could help me with some things he noticed. We exchanged wrestling shirts at the end of the tournament and continue to stay in touch via Snapchat.”
Not only was this experience great for meeting new people, but it was also for getting to know your original teammates even better.
“While it wasn’t the first time I’ve gone to a camp with Harper, sharing a dorm with Harper and Taylor was a new experience. Also navigating through being roommates together definitely made us closer. I think it will even make us closer for next school season,” Wu said.
These girls will have a similar opportunity next year, as there will be an international tournament in Estonia.
