It's Okay to Be Different

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) eighth-grader Amber Koepke has stepped up to the mat as the only female wrestler on the Seeley Lake Wrestling Team. After starting the season a few weeks behind the rest of the team, she has one match under her belt and looks forward to competing in the All-City Championship April 6 at Sentinel High School.

Koepke said she grew up loving the feeling of being different. Instead of playing with stereotypical girls' toys like Barbie and doing makeup, she loved to play with Hot Wheels, get dirty, do Motor Cross, Freestyle and play football. She thought she could be a super hero when she trampled her brothers or rode her dirt bike.

"My dad always told me that I was one to be noticed in a crowd of people," said Koepke. "I just want all the girls to know that they shouldn't be afraid of being different. They should be afraid of being the same as everyone else."

When it came to wrestling, Koepke thought she could do that too. Koepke said there are many girls at SLE and at the Seeley-Swan High School that would like to wrestle but they are afraid of being judged or made fun of for being different.

"If you lose, you lose, but you win at heart because you know that you tried. I want to show girls it is okay to be who you want to be. I really badly wanted to wrestle."

Koepke is not the first female from Seeley Lake to wrestle. Catalina Parcell wrestled for Seeley Lake Wrestling Club in 1998 when she was seven years old and in the first grade. According to Danni Parcell, she was named Rookie of the Year along with another teammate. Her younger sister Cascade Parcell also practiced with the team but never got in the ring for an official match.

Koepke started with the team a little late because her grandparents were concerned it was a "guy's sport" and she had just recently recovered from a broken wrist.

Koepke has learned that if someone has had a hard life, they can "throw it all out on the mat."

"I wouldn't go onto the mat with anger because you lose all your energy," said Koepke. "but it is a way to clear your mind. After my first match I never felt so good."

Koepke explained that she has bottled up a lot of her thoughts and wrestling is a way to let everything go."

Koepke went to the first meet and took photos for the team. Once she realized there were other girls wrestling, she decided she wanted to compete.

Koepke entered the ring for the first time March 16 at Hellgate. Head Coach Mauldin said that there are around 20-25 girls wrestling from Hellgate, Target Range and Washington Middle School. Koepke wrestled the only girl in her weight bracket twice. Her competitor Sara had been wrestling for four years and was more than 10 pounds heavier.

Head Coach Chris Mauldin explained that the first match Koepke was more timid because she didn't know what to expect.

"I was really scared and got so worked up. She was so much bigger and buffer than me," said Koepke. "Finally when I was out on the mat, she had me put to the ground, I got back up and was full of energy."

Before her second match, Koepke listened to music.

"I needed to listen to music [as my relaxing get-away] to clear my mind for the second match. My mind was definitely not clear for the first match," said Koepke.

Maudlin said in the second match Koepke did a good job of defending.

"Her bag of tricks isn't real deep yet so it was a lot of instinct and real basic stuff," said Mauldin. "But she put up a good fight and did a couple of escapes [and scored points on the escape]. You could see [in the second match] she got really focused and really into the match."

Koepke said the first match she let her mind take over her heart. "Your heart is going to know what you want to do, it's going to speak to you when you wrestle," said Koepke. "Your mind will get to you but once your heart steps out and takes the place of your mind it is like none other. When I got my points my heart was over my mind."

"The best part about it was when I got off that mat, I knew I lost, but I was so proud of myself at the same time. I felt like I won," said Koepke.

Maudlin was happy with how well she did. "Amber didn't win them but she got compliments from both the wrestler and the wrestler's mom."

"Her mom came up to me and told me to stay in this no matter what anyone says because her daughter has never been taken down that fast and I put up a really good fight," said Koepke. "All the compliments made me feel so good about myself."

Mauldin said the girls that he has worked with in wrestling have picked up on the technical aspects of wrestling quicker than the guys.

"I think it is because you don't have the ego getting in the way. There is ego, aggression and technique and the girls tend to be more about technique," said Mauldin. "I could see her in the early stages of really getting the technique down. The stuff that we have been drilling the last couple of weeks, she was definitely demonstrating that stuff. I think she has some great potential and definitely has a lot of fight in her."

Mauldin said that the other guys on the team have welcomed her to the team. In practice she mainly works with the coaches.

"My teammates are the ones that cheer me on. Soren [Moon] and Isaac [Morse] cheer me on the most and are not ones to leave anyone out," said Koepke.

"She is definitely making it about the wrestling and the guys have been working with her just like they would with anyone else," said Mauldin. "I think she is a great addition. I'm hoping that more girls see her doing this and say hey maybe that is something I could do."

For Koepke, the feeling of accomplishment is what she loves most about wrestling. Even though it is perceived as an aggressive sport, she is surprised how nice other wrestlers are.