I am discovering girls wrestling as a grandma to a young girl who is thrilled with the sport of wrestling.  

My 6 year old granddaughter has struggled her entire life with Sensory Processing Disorder. As a toddler, putting on clothes and brushing her hair became impossible sometimes. Her “hair hurt”. We all hated cooler months because it meant the fight over socks and shoes. Underwear was a huge deal, it hurt. We’d go thru 20 pairs (I kid you not) to find one that didn’t hurt.

As a part of her occupational therapy to help her feel more comfortable, she was encouraged to lift heavy bags of sugar and carry them close to her body. She ran obstacle courses and pulled herself up ropes, sometimes pulling herself UP a 7′ slide using a rope. Anything to get her to use her large muscle groups and get the required “input” her brain needed to help her body feel better. She runs like the wind. She always felt better laying in the recliner with her head upside down and her feet far above her head.

One evening she was upset about something minor and we found her doing sit ups with her feet anchored above her bed in a part of her sister’s bunk. It looked like a warrior challenge and she was doing the sit ups so fast and for so long because it “made her body feel good”. She has a six-pack that would impress anyone.

Her sensory issues and flare ups are better when she gets adequate sleep and input. Sensory issues are no joke for the child or the family coping.

She went to a girls wrestling clinic and after pulling little girls all over the mat playing a game with a towel roll, she exclaimed, “My body feels amazing I want to do this every day.” Thus, her love for wrestling began.

As her grandma, I wanted to learn all I could about wrestling, particularly girls wrestling. So as I learned, I decided to share.