Somar Wrestling attracts college coaches to SoCal for combine
ORANGE, C.A. – – Last weekend, three college coaches were able to build connections and share information about their programs with girl wrestlers in Southern California. Somar Wrestling brought in Shauna Kemp (University of Jamestown), Donnie Stephens (University of the Cumberlands) and Mike Mena (Lindenwood University).
Somar’s Richard Ramos has been working with coaches to host this event since 2016. The format provides a shared learning experience for coaches and athletes while presenting an opportunity for girls to start thinking about the most fitting next steps.
“When we started, girls were signing with coaches when they had no idea how that coach structured their work outs, how they communicated to their athletes, or anything about the programs,” said Ramos. “Most athletes were just excited to say someone wanted them to be on their team. This led to a large number of athletes either leaving the team or quitting the sport all together . . . Bridging that gap is crucial if we hope to have teams continue to offer the support and opportunities to the girls in our sport.”
Lindenwood Head Coach Mike Mena said that collaboration is the key to teamwork. “As a panel we hope to create awareness that there are opportunities for these young girls to continue their wrestling careers at the collegiate level and potentially earn a scholarship to help afford their college education.”
Coach Mena added, “What I think is kind of neat about the combine format, is sometimes we may come across an individual with a unique set of circumstances and because of her participation at the combine, she may discover good answers to some very difficult questions.” As a coach, Mena is “looking for athleticism, good character and a willingness to utilize those qualities in the sport of women’s wrestling for Lindenwood University.”
In a clip posted on Instagram by @somarwrestle, Coach Stephens said that California has always been important to the Cumberlands. “It’s good we’re doing things like the combine—it gives me a chance to get in here, not just to see what the results on the mat are but what the wrestlers are like, how agile the kids are, what their work ethic is and to put them through drills to see if they’ll fit into our program.”
Ramos does not stand alone in his observations on the importance of connectivity within the sport. Combines for girl wrestlers are on the rise on the East Coast through the Let’em Wrestle organization. Let Her Wrestle has held several well-coordinated events this year, and has confirmed that seven colleges will be represented at their next event in Red Bank, NJ on October 27th.
