Assistant wrestling coach Alexis Madsen is pumped to help make Central history

For the first time in Central High history girl’s wrestling will be offered as a winter sport. The wrestling team, which has experienced acclaim in the past, will now finally be able to see how including female athletes will improve their sport. With this change, physical science and IB Chemistry teacher Alexis Madsen will be joining the wrestling coaches as assistant coach to the Girl’s Team.

“I’m most looking forward to the enthusiasm I can bring for females to feel just as strong and equal as the men,” Madsen said when asked about the upcoming season.

“One of the reasons I took the job is because I feel like I have a different relationship with the students I coach, we can have very serious conversations about getting to class on time or talking about grades which is an opportunity not every teacher gets to have—which is totally okay— I’m just a really big relationship builder and to be there for the kids, I’m just so excited”

Madsen who grew up watching wrestling but who does not have personal experience on the mat said “I only knew the basics, and its been really awesome because Coach Foster has been great about breaking down strategies and teaching them to me”

She also feels that all the wrestling coaches Foster, Storm, Gates, and Ovenshire have taken her on as “one of the guys, a fellow teammate and coach and just treat me with such respect, they’ve been awesome”

“What I love to is how Coach Foster has brought the women in, we’re all just one big group it’s so cool to see everyone feel really comfortable with one another and to be in this room, being smelly and strong together, if one girl needs to help a guy or one guy needs to help a girl its totally okay.

“We don’t make a big deal that we’re separate teams, it’s very clear we’ve been one big team since the start” Madsen said.

Recruiting female wrestlers is not a worry for the assistant coach who is thrilled by turnout she’s already seen at open mats.

“I think total we’ll probably have about 10 girls, which for a first year is really awesome. If we’re already starting with 10, I like to think forward and think that next year or our third year, we’ll see as many as 20 or 30 girls”

Madsen is concerned how societal body standards will impact girl’s comfort with building muscle and gaining weight.

“I really want all the girls and I to have a conversation about healthy body image” she said when asked about how to combat her worry.

“I want us all to feel really comfortable and open with our bodies and know it’s okay to talk about weight class and that no one is less or more pretty by weight, its about everybody being strong in our own equal way, because at the end of the day it’s the body we were given” Madsen sated

“We all are beautiful, we all have beautiful bodies—when I eat McDonalds all my weight goes to my thighs and that’s pretty, that’s beautiful— just because we all weigh differently, it doesn’t matter what weight class we’re in,” Madsen said.

“I want all the girls, regardless of their weight, to feel comfortable
taking on an opponent who is a little bit bigger than them and know that they can pin them.”

The girl’s team has already received new uniforms and gear that Madsen hopes will make the athletes feel valued and equal with the boys. She feels Coach Foster has done an excellent job of making it clear the female and male athletes are both to be treated with the same level of respect and importance. Madsen hopes she will be able to bring this same mindset, with her personal experience as a female athlete.

“I went to a Catholic high school that didn’t allow women in the weight room until I was a junior—like at all— when we were finally able to lift I felt so much stronger and better about my body, just as equal as the guys, I’m excited to bring that same feeling to a group of women, to make them feel just as strong and good about their bodies, and that they’re all on the same playing felid