Girl Power and Pancakes: Edwardsville Wrestling Club supports the growth of girls wrestling
Edwardsville, IL – – Imagine you’re a ten-year-old girl eating pancakes and chatting with an Olympian, National Champion and All-American. Sounds like a pretty cool experience, right?
Edwardsville Wrestling Club (EWC) Coach Sarah Doty, nee Bollinger, orchestrated a ‘Girl Power Pancake Breakfast’ event to share information about EWC while connecting girls in the community with two incredibly decorated women wrestlers: 2004 Olympian Toccara Montgomery and current McKendree University wrestler Alexandria Glaude.
The breakfast introduced roughly thirty-five community members to the opportunities EWC provides for their athletes, with an ultimate goal to empower young girls to be bold in their future.
Of course, the day started with pancakes. Then the girls got to hear the stories of Toccara and Alex firsthand—how they got started, what kept them in it through the tough times, how the sport helped them love who they are and other important lessons learned. Parents were able to ask questions and the community took another step toward embracing girls wrestling.
“I think it was impactful to show the girls the opportunities available for them in the sport. They got to hear about our struggles, and gratitude towards the sport.”
Toccara Montgomery
“Parents were able to talk to elite athletes and see what their daughters could possibly do, and it was just awesome to see,” said Sarah. “I was very excited that Alex and Toccara volunteered their time to be with us.”
Toccara’s message for the girls was for them to, “Embrace the sport and let it help mold and build them into strong, dedicated and empowered young women.” And for the parents to, “Be their child’s biggest advocate, cheerleader and supporter . . . to help their children honor their commitments without being overbearing.”
Sarah said EWC has had girl wrestlers in the past, but with the rapid growth in participation they are now committed to building a program specifically for the girls. Part of her role since joining the EWC staff in June is, and will continue to be, working to recruit girls to come into the club from the middle school and high school all while growing girls wrestling throughout the community and surrounding areas.
EWC trains wrestlers age 7-14. The Club has been active for ten years and operates out of a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to continuing the legacy left by Jon Davis – service to community, youth wrestling, and to God. The Jon Davis Wrestling Center is a 24,000 square foot facility boasting four mats, a weight room, locker rooms and an auditorium.
Sarah is no stranger to high level competition herself—she’s a 3x WCWA All-American for Missouri Baptist University, graduating in 2016 with a degree in health sciences. Sarah said she absolutely loves her new job as the head women’s wrestling coach at EWC, and we can’t wait to see her help build the program from the ground up.
