Only five female coaches stand around the wrestling ring, talking to their wrestlers and hoping for the best. This isn’t any normal district tournament – this is state. 

Caitlin Hohmann, the girls wrestling coach at LTHS, is one of the very few female wrestling coaches in the entire district. But how did she come to this position, and what are the future impacts that her position could have on young girls in wrestling?

“This is a great thing,” Hohmann said. “Women in wrestling and promoting wrestling is always good, regardless of their knowledge of the sport… representation is huge.” 

Hohmann has years of experience in wrestling and got her love of wrestling from her brother. 

“I have been involved in wrestling since I was nine or 10, by watching my older brother wrestle… and then when he got to high school he was wrestling for the high school, and when I got into high school, I was like, well, why not,” Hohmann said.  

Male-dominated fields can be an uncomfortable or foreign environment for women who choose to work in them.

“I think there should be more women in the sport in general,” Hohmann said. “I was one of the first class of women that were involved in the sport when I was in high school, so [the lack of women wrestling] is a problem that we’re fixing,” Hohmann added about her experience with job searching.

Women’s wrestling has only been an Olympic sport since 2004. However, it is slowly gaining popularity, and according to Hohmann, the same pattern applies in organizations and here at LTHS.  

“I do want more girls to grow the sport,” Hohmann said. “There’s a whole movement called ‘Wrestle the Gap’, which is all about women involved in wrestling. There’s something called ‘Sisters on the Mat’, that I support; it’s specifically for girls in wrestling so it’s girls-only practices, girls-only clubs… I definitely want more women in the sport, I can see it growing.”

Women’s wrestling is uncommon to see girls joining, and much less popular than other sports. Part of the reason for this is the stigma surrounding women’s wrestling and how it is perceived in the public eye. 

“Sometimes, they see it as not feminine, they see it as ‘I don’t want to be muscly; I don’t want to wear that outfit; I don’t want to do this,’ and I think a lot of the stigma that women have with wrestling is what young boys have with wrestling,” Hohmann said. “It’s the required uniform, which is spandex… and wrestling takes a specific mindset. It takes a lot of courage to step out onto that mat and face one opponent and if you lose, there’s no one to share that loss with.” 

In the end, Hohmann hopes her presence at LTHS and in the wrestling world will help young girls realize their potential and ability to reach their goals. 

“My goal here on campus is to have as many girls as possible,” Hohmann said “I think it’s important for women to know it’s ok for them to be powerful and for them to step into their power, and I am here to help girls fall into that.”