Wrestling is not typically thought of as a women's sport, but these Treasure Coast athletes are changing that notion.
Team Barracuda Wrestling Club was started by Coach Tom McMath in 2006 and practices out of the Jensen Beach High School wrestling room. McMath said the team started out with three athletes, and the club has grown to about 70, including some girls.
The girls team has six official members, but since some other girls in the area don't have official programs, they come to practice with Team Barracuda. Athletes come from Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Palm Beach counties to practice with the team.
"Being around the sport and being around the girls now, you see how females can benefit from it also," he said. "Boy or girl, it's about the sport of wrestling and what it does for you as a human."
Raven Borsman, 8, competes in the I OWN FLORIDA championship series. Borsman has wrestled with Team Barracuda for a little over a year.Team Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.Team Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.Team Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.Team Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.Team Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.1 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamRaven Borsman, 8, competes in the I OWN FLORIDA championship series. Borsman has wrestled with Team Barracuda for a little over a year.1 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamRaven Borsman, 8, competes in the I OWN FLORIDA championship series. Borsman has wrestled with Team Barracuda for a little over a year.2 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamTeam Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.3 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamTeam Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.4 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamTeam Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.5 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamTeam Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.6 / 6The Treasure Coast has Florida's first all-girls duals wrestling teamTeam Barracuda Wrestling Club female members practice at Jensen Beach High School. The team is Florida's first all-girls K-12 duals wrestling team and has athletes from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.The club is youth-driven, so unlike high school wrestling, the team is able to practice year-round. From the fall to winter, it's folkstyle wrestling season, which is the traditional style of wrestling seen in high school.
In the spring, the team switches to international-style wrestling. That includes the freestyle and Greco-Roman style used in the Olympics. The latter is all upper-body, so wrestlers cannot touch their opponents' legs. Freestyle focuses on takedowns and getting the opponent's back on the mat.
How many matches they compete in a year depends on the athlete. The team competes almost every weekend, but athletes can choose to do one or more brackets. A bracket is a visual diagram that maps out the matches for a tournament and shows who wrestlers will face in each round as they advance.
One of the coaches, Anthony Calzadilla, said during the off-season, girls in other areas will either take time off or play other sports while the boys continue to train with their coaches. He said he reached out to athletes and offered them a place to train with Team Barracuda, so when the school season comes around they have an entire offseason of training under their belts.
Years ago, while Calzadilla's son was at wrestling practice, his daughter Lily, who was six at the time, came into the room to watch and asked if she could wrestle. At the time, there was no girls wrestling program, so she was told no.
"She was very persistent," Calzadilla said. "He [coach McMath] said, 'If you really want to wrestle, if your dad is OK with it, you can wrestle boys.' "
After Lily began wrestling, other girls started joining the team as well. Calzadilla said when the younger girls came to the team, that's when there was a shift in the program and why it was possible for the all-girls team to form.
Lily, now 14, said she and her two brothers have always done everything together, so she didn't understand why that couldn't apply to wrestling.
"If they get to wrestle, why can't I," she said. "When we play basketball, we play basketball together, so I didn't really see a difference."
Raven Borsman, 8, started out doing jiu-jitsu and used to train with a different team before coming to Team Barracuda, which she has been on for a little over a year.
"I wrestled my friend from Team Barracuda for my first tournament and I lost, but I was like, 'Hey, that team is pretty good, can I switch over there?' " Borsman said. "From the other team to Team Barracuda, it's really switched — my game switched, everything switched."
The older girls joining the team not only allowed them to enjoy the sport, but it has helped pave the way for the younger girls on the team. Raven's mom, Tara Borsman, said there is a difference in mindset because Raven isn't as intimidated to wrestle boys because she's seen the older girls do it.
"A few months ago, I was helping at practice and it just hit me," Lily said. "I love wrestling. I love the sport, but I wish I had one person that I could see practicing in the room that I could've looked up to and thought, 'I want to be like that.' "
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida's first all girls-duals wrestling team based in Jensen Beach