PITTSBURGH — A young female wrestler in Homewood inspired her peers to join her, and that group of girls is now a winning team.
Courage, hard work, and self-confidence are three things that make this group of girls winners.
“I don’t let anyone stop me from what I want to do,” said Da’Ziyah Snowden, 8, who is a wrestler for the Westinghouse Youth Wrestling.
We first told you about Snowden last spring. She had just won the state championship. At the time, she was the only girl on her Westinghouse team.
Now fast forward to this year, and there is an entire squad of young girl wrestlers.
“Never give up and think big,” said Malaya Germany, 9, another wrestler at Westinghouse Youth Wrestling.
This year, she won a fourth place. She was the only wrestler girl or boy from the city of Pittsburgh to win the state championship.
“If you go on the mat and say you are not going to win but if you go with a lot of courage you might win,” Germany said.
For the girls, it’s not all about winning either; it’s about showing up, encouraging one another and proving the naysayers wrong.
“I learned how to actually believe in myself more and help people around me,” said Loyal Stevens-Long with Westinghouse Youth Wrestling.
Coach Justin Perkins said that’s what the program is all about, instilling life skills to help shape future leaders, and since he began the program in 2016 his program has gone from 11 kids to 71.
“Accountability, it’s not a team sport you can’t pass the ball to nobody else, that’s how life is, and I think wrestling puts that on display more than any other sport,” said Perkins.
For this group of girls, the season is over, but interested girls and boys can sign back up in November.
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